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Following the acquisition of Hartl mobile crushers in 2010, Atlas Copco Construction & Mining “intensified its focus on the mobile crushing industry.” Now Steve McDonough has been appointed regional sales manager for Power Crushers & Hydraulic Attachments, responsible for the north of England region. In his new role he will be responsible for sales of Atlas Copco’s range of mobile crushing equipment for the demolition, recycling and quarrying industries.

Growth in marine conservation areas across Europe means it is more important than ever that the marine aggregates sector makes its voice heard, according to Robert Camp. Marine conservation is quickly becoming the new battleground when it comes to striking a balance between the environment and the aggregates industry.

To understand what's driving this debate, we have to go back to 1992 when EU governments adopted legislation designed to protect the most seriously threatened habitats and species across

IronPlanet, an online market for used heavy equipment, is to host its first onsite and online auction in February in Florida, USA. The auction from 21- 24 February, will be at the Fantasy of Flight attraction near Orlando. “With equipment onsite, both our global bidders as well as the buyers located in Florida will be able to take advantage of our online auctions and exclusive IronClad Assurance, resulting in better prices for the equipment we sell,” says Greg Owens, chairman and CEO of IronPlane

Anchor Bay Construction Products has sold the entire issued share capital of the company to CRH (UK). The provider of reinforcement, formwork and waterproofing products, with clients ranging from the groundwork, concrete frame and pre-cast sections of the construction industry, is based in Erith, County Kent, south-east England. The company was founded by Keir Donald and Phillip Greene.

The building materials sector in France did fairly well at the end of 2011 and Unicem forecasts growth for between 7-8% for the full year 2011. Ready-mixed concrete saw a 10.3% increase year-on-year in the fourth quarter, and was up 10.7% over the whole year. In the last quarter, aggregate production rose 7.1% year-on-year. In December 2011, aggregate deliveries and ready-mixed concrete both rose 18% year-on-year, according to Unicem.

The German Cement Works Association (VDZ) and the Federal Association of German Cement Industry (BDZ) are combining operations and merging into the German Cement Works Association in the next few months. The newly-formed body will represent 23 domestic companies and about 95% cent of the German industry with a turnover of approximately €2.1billion. “The merger gives us significantly greater clout and reach,” said chief executive Dr Martin Schneider, who will lead the new organisation.

Cemex is launching its second global ready-mix concrete brand, Hidratium. The special ready-mix concrete with self-curing properties is already being sold in France, Ireland, Mexico, Poland and Guatemala, and is ready to be produced in the Czech Republic, Germany, UAE, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Spain and China.

The global market for construction aggregates is expected to increase 5.2% per year through to 2015 to 48.3 billion tonnes. This represents a slower rate of growth than during the 2005-2010 period and reflects a moderation in aggregates-intensive non-building construction activity. Nevertheless, demand for construction aggregates will still post solid gains from 2010-2015.

Anglo American has appointed of Tracey Kerr as group head of exploration. Ms Kerr joins Anglo American from Vale where she was director of exploration for the Americas with oversight of all exploration activities from project generation to completion of pre-feasibility studies. She succeeds Graham Brown, who will assume the role of group head of geosciences on a full-time basis, having led both the Anglo American Exploration and Geosciences Divisions to date.

This year's European Minerals Forum aims to help the aggregates industry look for opportunities from recession Europe's quarrying industry has been hit by the global recession with lower aggregates demand recorded in almost every region. However, this year European Minerals Forum plans to look at how the situation can be turned around to benefit the sector.

"Turning Recession into Opportunities" is the theme for the next session of the forum, which is planned for Wednesday 25 November in Brussels. Organi

In the first half of 2011, Russian company Pavlovskgranit shipped 4, 915, 000tonnes of aggregates. In August, the flow of truck traffic from its facilities reached 50% for the first time in ten years and equalled railway traffic. Earlier aggregates shipments by truck made up between 37-40% of shipments. Earlier this year the company completed installation of a new crushing and screening plant to produce 5 to 2mm aggregate products to meet the higher demand for this grade of material. It also unveiled plans

Sure Equipment Spares (SES) is gearing up for changes to the delivery of parts from overseas, to continue its"prompt service for clients." The company, part of the Finlay Group, has introduced a six-figure investment programme to increase its own stock in light of changes to international transportation. Security checks around the world mean that larger items, such as engines, now need to be screened (usually by x-ray) before being transported by plane.

Aggregate Processing Solutions (APS) is now offering CDE washing equipment to its contract washing customers following the signing of a new agreement. APS will take delivery of the M2500 mobile washing plant and Aggmax portable logwasher as the company strengthens the contract washing side of the business in response to a rise in demand throughout the UK market. John Dunne, managing director of APS said: “We have seen a growing demand for contract washing in today’s market environment where CapEx budgets ar

According to reports the cement contract for the new £1.5billion (€1.79billion) Forth bridge in Scotland could be awarded to Hochtief from Germany. Lafarge in Dunbar, Scotland, has bid for the contract, and the speculation follows the recent announcement that steel for the bridge will come from Spain, Poland and China. cottish ministers are lobbying the UK government and the EU for a change in tendering rules but a bid for the steel contract was not put forward by a Scottish company.

According to Anefhop, activity in the Spanish concrete sector decreased 20% during 2011 and is set to fall by a further 20% in 2012. This will mean a 60% fall in production since 2007. In terms of employment, however, this decrease in activity will not be directly proportionate as up to 50% of staff are employed indirectly, mainly from the transport sector. The impact of the current economic situation will therefore present a reduction of 20% in indirect employment and 10% in direct employment throughout 20

On 31 January it was 150 years to the day since Göran Fredrik Göransson’s new company was formed in Sandviken, Sweden. At that time, Sandvik was first in the world to use the Bessemer process, which would revolutionise steel manufacturing. The company quickly became among the world’s leaders in its industry. "For 150 years, Sandvik has successfully operated and evolved by continuously being innovative and identifying new opportunities in the markets and through various shifts in technology," says the compan

VEM Vermögensverwaltung, the investment vehicle of the German investor Ludwig Merckle, has further increased its stake in the German construction materials manufacturer HeidelbergCement. It is reported that VEM has acquired another 350,000 HeidelbergCement shares for what is said to be just under €10 million. VEM thus increases its stake in HeidelbergCement by two percentage points. Up to present VEM's stake in HeidelbergCement amounted to slightly more than 25%, says the reports.

Chinese construction equipment company Sany is buying Putzmeister, theGerman manufacturer of concrete pumps, in a deal said to be worth €360-500million. Although the terms of the deal have not been revealed officially, the acquisition is a landmark deal for Sany which will give it access to premium quality concrete pumping technology.

Tarmac, the UK’s largest quarry company, says it has become the first company in its sector to secure a new prestigious five-star rating from Achille BuildingConfidence. BuildingConfidence is an independent third-party accreditation scheme which validates supply chain management, health and safety, responsible sourcing and environmental performance. The five-star rating is an incentive and a guide for certified Achilles BuildingConfidence suppliers, enabling them to understand how they perform against the a

Holcim has been allowed to completely replace conventional fuels with waste when making cement at its production plant in Sehnde-Höver near Hanover, in Germany. The permission granted by the local inspectorate replaces an agreement in 2006 to allow the plant to use 70% substitute fuels. Holcim mainly burns plastic waste at its Sehnde-Höver plant, which produces about 1million tonnes of cement per year.