Displaying items by tag: construction

China: China has increased its production of cement by 2.1% year-on-year to 1.97Bnt in the first 10 months of 2021. Xinhua’s China Economic Information Service has reported that the country exported US$19.6bn-worth of building materials over the period, up by 13%, while its domestic construction market grew by 11%.

UK: Construction company Milestone Infrastructure used cement-free concrete supplied by DB Group subsidiary Cemfree to lay kerbs for a new road in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. The work consisted of a road widening in order to create new cycle and bus lanes with floating bus stops and an innovative cycle roundabout. Milestone Infrastructure built 13,000m2 of new paths and cycle lanes, diverted 74 underground utilities and resurfaced 18,000m2 of road. The project begun in February 2020.

Switzerland: Holcim has launched the DYNAMax range of high-performance concretes. The producer says that the range offers higher compressive strength, rigidity and durability than its other concrete products. In 2022, it plans to begin marketing DYNAMax in ten markets in its Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America regions.

Chief executive officer Jan Jenisch said “I’m excited by the launch of our DYNAMax high-performance concrete, advancing our global range of innovative and sustainable building solutions. With today’s population and urbanisation trends, DYNAMax is an ideal material to build smarter cities. It offers high performance to build more with less with no compromise on aesthetics and functionality.”

South Korea: Researchers at Incheon National University have discovered an optimal conductive carbon fibre volume for cement-based conductive composites for use in net-zero energy buildings. The team reported that a 1% conductive carbon fibre content facilitates maximum energy generation from the movements of occupants and the weather against floors and walls. It also enables the storage of electricity at safe voltages. The product is based on triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) technology.

The team published its results in the journal Nano Energy in November 2021.

Europe: US-based CASE Construction Equipment has won a contract to supply Cemex with a new fleet of backhoe and wheel loaders for its building solutions operations in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Spain and the UK.

Europe regional mobile equipment fleet and category manager Craig Hooper said “As one of the world’s largest building solutions providers, Cemex is committed to leading on the path to a low carbon economy and is closely evaluating all areas of its business to make efficiency improvements. The vehicles we use as part of our work are a key part of this and we are pleased to have agreed this contract with CASE for these vehicles, which will provide a significant sustainability benefit to Cemex’s European operations. They incorporate advanced technology alongside lower fuel consumption due to an improved power to weight ratio. We look forward to working with CASE to explore other opportunities to enhance the eco-credentials of our fleet.”

Italy: Buzzi Unicem’s consolidated sales rose by 5.6% year-on-year to US$2.54bn in the first nine months of 2021 from US$2.41bn in the first nine months of 2020. It recorded consolidated cement sales of 23.4Mt, up by 7.5% from 21.7Mt in the corresponding period of 2020. Sales growth in Eastern Europe - especially the Czech Republic and Poland - and the US offset a partial slowdown in Italy, particularly in the third quarter of the year.

The group expects global construction activity to generally remain level into the fourth quarter of 2021. It forecast “favourable” volume and price effects in its full-year results for 2021. It nonetheless noted “growing concern” at rising energy, fuels, logistics, raw materials and services costs in various regions. It forecast group recurring earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) not in excess of 2020 levels.

Uzbekistan: Qizilqum Cement’s nine-month sales fell by 11% year-on-year in 2021. A 4.4% decline in cost of goods sold failed to create earnings before interest (EBIT) growth during the period. The company recorded a 36% fall in EBIT.

Bluestone Investment Bank recorded 4.5% year-on-year growth in Uzbekistan’s volume of construction during the first nine months of 2021. In the first eight months of the year, its cement companies produced 8Mt of cement, up by 18% year-on-year. Cement imports rose slightly to 0.56Mt.

US: LafargeHolcim US and ECOncrete Tech have launched a research and development collaboration to design and manufacture a fully structural concrete scour protection unit for offshore wind turbines. The unit’s specifications include seabed stabilisation and promotion of the growth of marine organisms. The collaboration includes a large-scale pilot project to evaluate the ecological performance of units in an offshore environment. The US/Canada Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Energy programme are funding the project, which will conclude in May 2024.

LafargeHolcim US commercial excellence vice president Josep Maset said “There are many paths to achieving our net zero commitment, and most require innovative partnerships and out-of-the-box thinking. The work we’re doing with ECOncrete Tech is a notable example of searching for solutions that enable increased use of renewable energy in an environmentally responsible way.”

India: Rating agency ICRA has forecast that Indian cement production will rise by 12% year-on-year to 332Mt in 2022. It said that pent-up pre-Covid-19 lockdown demand, rural housing demand and a pickup in infrastructure activity would drive the rise. ICRA predicted that demand would rise by a further 8% year-on-year to 358Mt.

In the first quarter of the 2022 financial year, domestic rose by 44% year-on-year and by 2% compared to the first quarter of the 2020 financial year to 142Mt. ICRA estimated that the top 12 Indian cement producers will record their highest ever average operating profit per tonne of cementitious material in the 2022 financial year. It said that this is likely to occur due to an increase in net sales realisation and cost optimisation measures.

Bangladesh: Seven Rings Cement has secured a contract for the supply of cement to the site of the upcoming Sylhet Osmani Internation Airport in Sylhet. Chief marketing officer Gautam Chatterjee signed the contract with Beijing Urban Construction Group on behalf of the company.

Seven Rings Cement is currently also supplying cement for the new Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Terminal 3 in Dhaka.