Sweden: UK-based Vortex Global subsidiary Mespo has announced the establishment of a sales office in Sweden in order to “better serve the Nordic region.” While continuing to serve Danish customers from its Denmark branch, Mespo will use the new office to “create customer relationships, arrange site visits and follow up on customer enquiries” in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

US: LafargeHolcim subsidiary LafargeHolcim US has adopted Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) to designate products’ Global Warming Potential (GWP) for easy consumer use, with third-party verification from ASTM International or the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA). Aggregates and construction materials chief executive officer (CEO) Jay Moreau said, “The growth in sustainable construction is driving demand for low-carbon building products that can transparently demonstrate a decrease in our environmental footprint. These new EPDs also push us to continue innovating as we consider the next generation of building materials.”

Germany: HeidelbergCement has estimated sales of Euro4.32bn in the second quarter of 2020, down by 13% year-on-year from Euro4.97bn in the corresponding quarter of 2019. The figure is 11% higher than the average market expectation of Euro3.91bn.

The company said, “With the COPE action plan, the company has already launched a comprehensive bundle of measures in February 2020 that focuses on cost savings and maintaining liquidity. These measures took effect especially in the second quarter of 2020 and made a significant contribution to the fact that cost savings largely offset the burden on earnings caused by the Covid-19-related decline in revenue.”

Russia: Siberian Cement has reported a 4% year-on-year rise in total cement production across its five integrated cement plants to 2.2Mt in the first half of 2020 from 2.1Mt in the same period in 2019. Angarskcement increased production by 9% to 289,000t from 265,000t, Iskitimcement by 8% to 454,000t from 420,000, Krasnoyarsk Cement by 2% to 295,000t from 289,000t and Topkinsky Cement by 1% to 1.0Mt from 990,000t, while Timlyuycement kept production level at 165,000t. The group shipped 101,000m3 of concrete over the period, down by 21% due to the impacts of the coronavirus lockdown on demand.

Vice president Gennady Rasskazov said, “The first half of 2020 turned out to be a difficult period. In April 2020, which traditionally opens the high construction season in Siberia, construction collapsed and demand fell by 20% from April 2019 levels. We closed this gap on a half-year basis due to increased sales after construction resumed. However, the situation remains difficult, it is almost impossible to predict its development.”