Displaying items by tag: readymixed concrete

Romania: Holcim Romania has announced its acquisition of independent ready-mix concrete market leader General Beton Romania. The latter operates eight batching plants with a total of 160 employees. Its markets include Arad, Bucharest, Constanta and Sibiu. Holcim Romania says that it plans to use the acquisition to grow its ECOPact green concrete’s footprint.

Europe, Middle East Africa regional head Miljan Gutovic said “General Beton provides an excellent addition to our strong and diversified ready-mix concrete operations. Over more than two decades, General Beton has been a long-standing Holcim partner as well as a growing and highly successful business. I am delighted to welcome them to the Holcim family.”

Turkey: Fernas Group has acquired Çimsa Çimento’s 1Mt/yr Kayseri and 1.2Mt/yr Niğde integrated cement plants and Ankara grinding plant, as well as ready-mix concrete assets in Aksaray, Ambar, Basakpinar, Cirgalan, Ereğli, Nevsehir and Kahramanmaras. Reuters News has reported the pre-tax value of the deal as US$110m.

South Korea: Korea Cement Association (KCA) members’ cement shipments fell by 90% over two days to 13,000t on 8 June 2022 from 180,000t/day prior to a truck driver strike which began on 7 June 2022. The association claimed that producers lost US$23m-worth of sales in the first two days of the strike, which also affects other industries. 17 ready-mix concrete batching plants in the Seoul area have suspended operations. The Korea Herald newspaper has reported that the association representing the construction industry has also voiced concerns about the supply situation.

US: Concrete companies have reported an on-going shortage of cement as a contributor to increased costs in the construction industry. Local press has reported that the shortage is the result of high demand, most notably from commercial projects. A lack of cement truck drivers has reportedly exacerbated the supply situation.

North Carolina-based ready-mix concrete producer Metrocon president Dan Crosby said that his company’s facilities are currently operating at 60% capacity due to the shortage.

France: Lafarge France has announced a total planned investment of Euro46m in upgrades to its 1.6Mt/yr Saint-Pierre-la-Cour, Mayenne, cement plant and its 1.2Mt/yr La Malle, Bouches-du-Rhone, cement plant. The Holcim subsidiary will invest Euro40m to convert the Saint-Pierre-la-Cour plant to low carbon cement production. Meanwhile, it will invest Euro6m in the La Malle plant’s conversion to ultra-low carbon cement production. The L’Usine Nouvelle newspaper has reported that the transitions will complement the company’s strategy of over 25% EcoPact reduced-CO₂ ready-mix concrete sales by 2025.

Mexico: Holcim Mexico has launched ISO14044-compliant full-lifecycle Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for its ready-mix concrete range. The company says that the EPDs will help designers and builders to inform their materials selection processes. The Redacción newspaper has reported that data from five cement plants contributed to the declarations.

Concrete and aggregates director Manuel Sirtori congratulated the team for "demonstrating leadership by promoting transparency and reducing emissions in the construction industry."

Austria: Alpacem has held the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of its new headquarters at Wietersdorf, Carinthia. The company will invest Euro6m to establish the new headquarters on the site of its Wietersdorf cement plant. It will contain 50 office work stations, with meeting rooms and socialising zones.

In 2021, Alpacem says that it supplied 2Mt of cement and 350,000m² of ready-mix concrete to projects in the Alpine/Adriatic region.

US: The former Lehigh Hanson Redding cement plant is the subject of a new acquisition deal. Martin Marietta has now agreed to sell the plant, which is in California, and related cement terminals to CalPortland for US$250m. The deal also covers 14 ready-mix concrete locations. The parties have also established arrangements for any future agreement for the sale of Martin Marietta’s Tehachapi cement facility and its related cement distribution terminals. Martin Marietta acquired both plants from Lehigh Hanson in October 2021.

CalPortland’s parent company Taiheiyo Cement said that the acquisition will enable it to build a supply system to meet the growing demand for cement in northern California, Oregon and Nevada. It added that the Redding Plant is an important plant in northern California, which its expects can improve customer satisfaction through an investment to develop more efficient systems. The company concluded “As a result, we expect steady growth in revenue and profits for Taiheiyo Cement’s US cement and ready mixed concrete businesses, which in turn will contribute to the achievement of the medium-term management plan from fiscal years 2022 to 2024.”

Japan: The CP Concrete Consortium has received US$80m in funding under the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO)’s Green Innovation Funding Programme. The funding will support the consortium’s development of its Carbon Pool Concrete reduced-CO₂ concrete production technology until 2032. Hazama Ando Corporation leads the consortium along with 14 other members of the Japanese Ready-Mixed and Returned Concrete Solution Association.

Carbon Pool Concrete technology can be used in the construction of pavements, buildings and other civil engineering structures. Through comprehensive carbon life cycle evaluation, the consortium is attempting to robustly link the use of its technology with carbon market instruments and environmental and social governance infrastructure funding. Its aim is to redefine concrete as a carbon neutral material.

US: Lehigh Hanson has finalised arrangements for its acquisition of ready-mixed concrete and aggregates producer Corliss Resources. The company sold 300,000m3 of ready-mixed concrete and 2Mt of of aggregates in 2021. Its operations cover the Greater Seattle, Washington, area.

Dominik von Achten, chair of Lehigh Hanson’s parent company, Germany-based HeidelbergCement, said “The acquisition of the Corliss operations is a great strategic fit with our already strong presence in cement, aggregates and ready-mixed concrete in the Pacific Northwest. The transaction significantly enhances our vertically integrated position in one of the fastest growing US markets. We welcome the 230 Corliss employees to the HeidelbergCement family and look forward to accelerating their growth together."