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Pressure on water supply and lack of space on site means filter presses are becoming ever more common in European quarries. Water is a difficult issue for many quarries - either they are too remote to tap into the mains supply or, if they can, it is just too expensive. Add into this the need to treat before using it on site or returning it to the open environment, and quarry operations are facing a significant challenge.

It is for this reason that ever increasing numbers of quarries - both new and old

Tsurumi, one of the world's leading submersible pump manufacturers, has created a YouTube channel to showcase its products online. The company, with a history stretching back almost 90 years, says the channel (www.youtube.com/tsurumi) features high quality videos that mix animations with live-action footage. The videos demonstrate Tsurumi's products in working condition and the company says it will educate those uncertain about what different pumps can do

Quarry sites are great places for birds of prey particularly buzzards and kestrels, a new RSPB study has shown. Teaming up with Cemex UK, building materials supplier, the RSPB [Royal Society for the Protection of Birds] surveyed 70 of the company’s quarry managers about the birds of prey seen on their sites. Buzzards and kestrels remain in the top two spots and are reported at over a third of sites.

Jaan Luts, chief executive of prefabricated concrete panel producer Tartu Maja Betoontooted, predicts the company's energy bill will soar by 20% over the next 12 months. The firm invested €40,000 in implementing energy-saving lighting solutions in 2011. Meanwhile, Meelis Einstein, chief executive of Kunda Nordic Tsement, expects the cement producer's energy costs to increase by between 10% and 25% in 2012.The company invested €400,000 in smart energy consumption solutions in 2011.

A report from the VDMA (the German Engineering Federation) says that mid-year business situation is highly diverse for companies in the German construction equipment and building material machinery industries. While some sectors are beginning to approach their record revenue levels of 2007-2008 again, others are still going through “a valley of sorrow.” The organisation says: “Nevertheless, VDMA is working on the assumption that, thanks to good developments in construction machines, the 10% revenue growth,

In the first half of 2011, the net profit cement company Iskitimcement, Russia, a unit of the RATM holding company, totalled €773,353.44 as against a €4.21 million loss in the first half of 2010. The profit before tax amounted to RUB 73.14 million [€1.76 million] as against a RUB 186.32 million [€4.49 million] loss in the same period in 2010.

In 2011, the Granit enterprise, based in the Brest region of Belarus, will equip its fifth production line, and its capacity will hit 3.9 million tonnes tons of non-metallic materials per year and 3 million tonnes of crushed granite per year. About 1 million tonnes of products, including fines of 4-16mm, will be exported, and investment will reach €36.43 million.

The labels, introduced on January 1 2012, will allow customers to base their purchase choices on a product’s calculated impact on the air inside their homes, in line with a decree signed by the French Sustainable Development Ministry, Health Ministry, and Finance Ministry in May 2011.

Thousands of young trees have been planted in the London Borough of Redbridge, England, as part of a scheme to bring the countryside closer to urban families. The 12,000 whips (small trees) along with 25 new specimen standard trees will create woodland and an arboretum at a local park. Organised by charity, Trees for Cities, the planting received funding from various quarters including a £10,000 (€12,100) grant from Lafarge Aggregates & Concrete UK through the Landfill Communities Fund. David McCabe, southe

Metso has signed a contract with Camargo Corrêa and Hydrologic Company to supply equipment to the new crushing and screening plant in Venezuela.The new plant is part of the TUY-IV project, which includes the construction of a dam to supply water to the capital Caracas. The project will be built in the northern part of the Acevedo Municipality of Miranda State in Venezuela, and in addition to equipment, the contract includes supervision services. The value of the order is some €10 million.

French company Fabemi has launched Vertitherm, an insulating concrete block for use in the supporting walls of individual houses or small apartment buildings. According to the company, Vertitherm includes cell insulation to achieve RT 2012 energy performances for low-energy use buildings and “is easy to install.”

Europe is starting to look closer to home for essential raw materials as globalisation creates fierce competition for non-energy commodities. Robert Camp looks at the issues and opportunities. By the end of this year the European Commission is expected to have finalised a new strategy to ensure that European industries get better access to raw materials. The strategy was developed to address global resource scarcity as the world's population increases and emerging economies soak up ever increasing amounts o

Onne van der Weijde has been appointed area manager and a member of the senior management of Holcim Ltd. He joins from Ambuja Cements where he will remain as its chief executive officer, and will report directly to executive committee member Paul Hugentobler, responsible for South Asia /ASEAN excluding the Philippines. He started his career in 1990 in Holcim’s Dutch subsidiary Holderfin as international tax consultant. After this he was responsible for business development and acquisitions in Australia and

The European Aggregates Association reviews progress on improving access to raw materials. Lack of accessibility to raw material resources has become a major issue for the European aggregates industry. On top of challenges companies are facing during the current financial crisis, complex and cost intensive applications for permits are increasing the burden.

With six months to go before the opening of Hillhead 2012, some 350 exhibitors had already signed up by the end of December to participate in the UK’s major event for the extractive and construction industries. Event director Jack Berridge noted that due to very strong demand during the autumn period when major companies such as JCB, Case, New Holland, Doosan, Hyundai and Komatsu had all confirmed their requirements, 97% of the outdoor stand space has been sold.

Chinese construction equipment manufacturer LiuGong Machinery Corporation has finalised its first overseas acquisition by buying a European company. The agreement to acquire HSW (Huta Stalowa Wola) and its distribution subsidiary Dressta was signed by both companies’ executives in the Polish capital Warsaw with celebration ceremonies following at the Baranów Sandomierski Castle in Baranów Sandomierski.

Spanish private research firm, Tecnalia Research & Innovation, is to take part in an international network led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA, which will develop a research programme for the computational design of materials such as clays, solid nuclear fuels, steel and cements. The alliance, called Groupement de Recherche International: Multi-scale Materials Under the Nanoscope, also includes participation from the University of Berkeley, USA; the Federal Polytechnic School o

The newly formed Bulgarian Association of Producers of Inert Materials looks set to become the latest member of the European Aggregates Association. Bulgaria is one of the most recent countries to join the European Union with accession in 2007 and has benefitted from closer relations with other countries within the region. Now its aggregates association is also planning to give its members a more pan-European outlook through its application to join the European Aggregates Association (UEPG).

Icopal's chief finance officer Christian Schmidt-Jabosen says clients and suppliers will react positively to the move, while stressing that the company continues to have a DKK 5bn (€672.3million) bank debt and is facing a tough trading year ahead. Schmidt-Jacobsen believes Investcorp’s loan conversion to equity will improve Icopal's solidity and give the market a sign of confidence in the company.

Demand for Russian ceramic bricks is expected to grow by more than a fifth in the year to March 31 2012, according to national experts. The market grew by 20.7% during the first eight months of 2011, after recording an 18% rise to 5.2billion ceramic bricks in 2010-11.