Displaying items by tag: concrete plant
Cemex USA acquires Beck Readymix Concrete
17 February 2021US: Cemex USA has acquired Beck Readymix Concrete. The ready-mix producer operates three concrete plants in San Antonio, Texas and an additional portable plant.
Texas Regional President Scott Ducoff said, “Texas is experiencing explosive growth and Cemex has repeatedly shown it is ready to make moves to help fuel it. By acquiring these facilities, Cemex will be able to deliver our high-quality products that many Texans are already familiar with to satisfy the high demand of customers of one of the state’s most dynamic markets. We welcome our new employees and look forward to a smooth transition for them.”
Cemex holds steady in 2020 as business picks up in fourth quarter
12 February 2021Mexico: Cemex recorded consolidated cement volumes of 63.8Mt in 2020, up by 2% year-on-year from 62.7Mt in 2019. Ready mixed concrete sales volumes fell by 6% to 47.0Mm3 from 50.1Mm3. Its net sales fell by 1% to US$13.0bn from US$13.1bn although the group has reported a slight rise on a like-for-like basis. Operating earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to US$2.46bn, up by 3% from US$2.38bn. However, sales and earnings picked up significantly in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Fernando A González, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Cemex said, “2020 was one of the most challenging years we have faced but it also was a remarkable year that tested the strengths of Cemex and several of our recent strategic initiatives. I am proud of our performance, the organisation, and how we responded to the sudden arrival of Covid-19 in 2020.”
Cement volumes rose by 6% in Mexico and by 8% in the US, but fell by 1% in Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa and by 8% in South and Central America and the Caribbean. Prices fell in all regions except Europe, where they rose by 3%, and the US, where they remained level. Annual like-for-like sales and gross profit increases were noted in Mexico, the US and Middle East and Africa.
The group concluded the sales of its 75% stake of US-based Kosmos Cement for US$499m in March 2020 and of ready-mix assets in the UK for US$230m in August 2020.
Turkey: Brazil-based Votorantim Cimentos has leased three ready-mixed concrete plants from Polat Beton. Dunya News has reported that the facilities are all located in Ankara, Sincan, Kayaş and Gölbaşı respectively.
Concrete thinking
03 February 2021Andrew Minson from the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) kicked off this week’s Virtual Global Concrete Conference with an overview of concrete’s role in the association’s 2050 climate ambition. The association announced in September 2020 that it was starting work on this roadmap for publication in the second half of 2021, just in time for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, currently schedule to take place in Glasgow, Scotland in November 2021. Minson ran through the topic, providing an overview of concrete’s intrinsic sustainable features and the policy levers the association is considering for its forthcoming roadmap.
One point from circular economy aspects of the plan included design for dis-assembly (DfD) and long life, loose fit modes of thinking around how a building using concrete should be conceived, designed, built, used and - crucially – reused. Long life, loose fit, low energy (to use its original name) was promoted by the Welsh architect Alex Gordon from the early 1970s. It covered themes of sustainability, flexibility and energy efficiency for building design ahead of both the 1970s oil crisis and the current climate one. DfD emerged in the 1990s as a way of thinking about a building’s demolition at the start and working from there. Deconstruction or demolition is prepared for through planning and design. It allows components and materials to be removed more easily, facilitating their subsequent reuse. So, components and materials can be removed more easily allowing their subsequent reuse and elements such as columns, walls, beams, and slabs can be disassembled to facilitate this. Last year Global Cement Weekly explored a similar path with the ideas of Dutch architect and commentator Thomas Rau (GCW348) and his concept of building materials as a service, following on from the Building Information Modelling (BIM) system, and the suggestion that companies simply rent (!) building materials from their manufacturers to encourage whole life thinking.
Chart 1: Uses of concrete by European Ready Mixed Concrete Organisation (ERMCO) members in 2018. Source: ERMCO.
Just how much concrete the world uses each year is a question beyond the scope of this article, given its range of applications and diversity of users. For example, the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) estimated 25Bnt in 2009. Later, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) technical committee for concrete, reinforced concrete and pre-stressed concrete placed the figure at around 33Bnt in 2016. It is worth considering how and where concrete is actually used. The chart above from the European Ready Mixed Concrete Organisation (ERMCO) shows how its members used concrete in 2018. Note that use in buildings comprised the biggest share, nearly two thirds, but that the rest included infrastructure, pavements, roads and more. Lifecycle thinking and its various offshoots can apply to all of these applications. Yet it’s easier to imagine a concrete building shell being reused within its lifespan than, say, a bridge or a road. Concrete used in infrastructure seems more suitable for re-use further down the waste hierarchy, such as recycling as an aggregate.
A few final thoughts to consider are that both Cemex and gypsum wallboard manufacturer Etex have invested in modular and/or offsite construction companies in January 2021. Both targets were relatively small companies suggesting growing interest in these sectors by larger players. Offsite building construction suits lifecycle thinking well because the modular components start off being built elsewhere before installation. Factoring in what happens afterwards should be relatively easy and expandable at scale. Finally, LafargeHolcim announced this week that it is acquiring two ready-mix concrete and aggregate suppliers in France and Italy that will give it 35 concrete plants in the region.
Sustainability places lifecycle thinking into mainstream building practice and some methods and tools will inevitably make it into any policy framework the GCCA will recommend. Whether some or all of the ideas above hang around remains to be seen but lifecycle thinking in some form or another is here already and not going anywhere.
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Cemex sells French concrete assets to LafargeHolcim
02 February 2021France: Mexico-based Cemex has sold 24 concrete plants and an aggregates quarry in southeast France to Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim. Finalisation of the deal is expected in April 2021 and no approval by competition bodies is required. No value for the sale has been disclosed. The group said that the divestment is part of its strategy of focused portfolio development into high-growth markets.
Lafarge France completes Euro3m upgrade to Larrieu concrete plant
02 February 2021France: LafargeHolcim subsidiary Lafarge France has completed the renovation of its 70m3/hr Larrieu concrete plant in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne Department. The renovated facility is equipped with six cement silos, two of which are dedicated to low-carbon cements for the production of ECOPact low-carbon concrete. It also has eight aggregate hoppers, including one dedicated to recycled concrete aggregates, and two mixer loading stations with forward truck access for safety. The total cost of the upgrade was Euro3m.
Haute-Garonne sector head Vincent Pelloquin praised the project’s speed and ability to rebuild the concrete plant in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
Lafarge France is presently engaged in a systematic modernisation of its concrete plants.
HeidelbergCement discusses Hilal Cement sale
28 January 2021Kuwait/Germany: HeidelbergCement has detailed the reasons behind the sale of its 51% stake in Hilal Cement, which has been led by HeidelbergCement subsidiary Suez Cement since 2016. The group said that the divestment represents the first step in a ‘comprehensive portfolio optimisation’ in line with its Beyond 2020 strategy.
Chief executive officer Dominik von Achten said, “We are pleased with the closing of the transaction in Kuwait.” He continued, “The focus of our portfolio management is the simplification of country portfolios and a prioritisation of the strongest market positions.”
Hilal Cement operates two cement terminals and four ready-mix plants.
Cemex supplies concrete for Thames Tideway sewer project
21 January 2021UK: Cemex will supply 40,000t of lining-sprayed concrete for the construction of the 13km central section of the Thames Tideway sewer project in Greater London. Engineering partners Ferrovial Construction and Laing O’Rourke will use the concrete for shafts and launch tunnels. The company produced the concrete at its Buxton, Derbyshire concrete plant. It says that it offers ultra-high strength, consistency and two-hour workability in line with the stringent requirements of the job. It also needs to be pumpable with a pipeline length of up to 400m. The producer will deliver up to 3000t/month of the concrete to Central London over ‘a few months.’
Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia president Sergio Menendez said “The Thames Tideway Tunnel project is one of incredible scale which will solve serious capacity issues with London’s sewer system and have considerable benefits for the area’s wildlife and population, while also preventing pollution, creating jobs, a rejuvenated river economy and new areas of public space.” He added “This is a remarkable piece of engineering, and we’re proud to be working with world-class contractors to build this key infrastructure in the most sustainable and cost-effective way possible for one of the world’s greatest cities.”
The 25km ‘Super Sewer’ will conduct the city’s sewage to a new treatment facility at Abbey Mills in the Borough of Newham. The central section runs between 30m and 60m below the Thames past part of West London, Westminster and the City of London.
Cemex UK supplies Vertua Classic concrete for building in Leeds Climate Innovation District
15 January 2021UK: Cemex UK has supplied 70m3 of Vertua Classic concrete to the site of Citu’s upcoming office building in its Climate Innovation District in Leeds, West Yorkshire. It will provide the building’s foundations. The company says that it has a 30 – 50% smaller carbon footprint than a standard mix. It produced the concrete at its Leeds ready-mix plant.
Ready-mix technical manager Tracey Carden said “We are very proud to have supplied our Vertua Classic concrete to the latest phase of work at Citu’s Climate Innovation District in Leeds, particularly as this will be its head office. This is a development that prioritises sustainable construction, making our low-carbon concrete the obvious choice for the office building foundations.”
NCL Industries to establish two new ready-mix concrete plants
05 January 2021India: The board of directors of NCL Industries has approved plans for the establishment of two ready-mix plants at a cost of around US$0.8m. The plants will be located in Hyderabad, Telangana and Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Both projects are scheduled for completion in early 2021. The units will be financed by bank loan.