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Heidelberg Materials inaugurated a plant near Katowice in Poland this week for separating and sorting demolition concrete. This gives us the chance to catch up with the state of construction and demolition waste (CDW) for the cement and concrete sectors and consider the differences between the strategies of the multinational heavy building materials companies in Europe and the US.

The new CDW recycling unit has a capacity of up to 100t/hr. Heidelberg Materials says that it is the “first company in the industry to introduce high-quality, selective concrete separation at this scale.” The company is using its proprietary ReConcrete process to sort out fractions from the CDW including sand, gravel and, finest of all, recycled concrete paste (RCP). That last one is particularly valuable because it can either be used as an alternative raw material for clinker production by replacing limestone or as a secondary cementitious material. Heidelberg Materials is also promoting the potential use of RCP as a carbon sink over the lifetime of a concrete structure via ‘enforced carbonation.’ The RCP is exposed to raw exhaust gases from cement production allowing it to both mineralise CO₂ and act as a clinker substitute. To further explore this option Heidelberg Materials is building an industrial pilot at its Górażdże plant to test the concept with construction expected by the end of 2024.

Both Holcim and Heidelberg Materials have been visibly busy buying up more aggregate recycling companies over the last nine months since Global Cement Weekly last reported on CDW. Holcim acquired Germany-based Mendiger Basalt in January 2024, Switzerland-based Cand-Landi Group and UK-based Land Recovery in June 2024, and Belgium-based Mark Desmedt in July 2024. It also said at the start of the year that it aimed to conclude 15 - 20 new acquisitions in 2024 with a focus on CDW companies in Belgium, France, Germany and the UK. Heidelberg Materials bought UK-based B&A Group in May 2024 and US-based Highway Materials and Aaron Materials in July 2024. Holcim has set itself a target of recycling 12Mt/yr of CDW by 2030 by using its ECOCycle technology. It reported 8.4Mt/yr in 2023 and hopes to reach 10Mt/yr in 2024.

Some of the recycling companies mentioned above are based in the US but the pace of CDW acquisitions have generally been faster in Europe. In the US, meanwhile, the heavy building materials producers have tended to buy more general aggregates companies. Heidelberg Materials announced on 30 July 2024 that it was buying Albany-based Carver Sand & Gravel. This followed the companies mentioned above and Texas-based Victory Rock, also in July 2024. Holcim said in its first half-year results for 2024 that it had ‘executed’ a bolt-on acquisition in the US that would strengthen its aggregate and ready-mixed concrete business. Cemex also revealed a joint-venture agreement with sand and gravel supplier Couch Aggregates and marine bulk product distributor Premier Holdings in July 2024. It said that the move was part of its “ongoing strategy to accelerate growth in the US and expand its aggregates business.” A big recent deal in the sector was the merger of the US-based operations of Summit Materials and Cementos Argos that completed in January 2024. Although at the time we concentrated on the cement-side of the transaction, it also gave the organisation just under 5Bnt of aggregate reserves.

It may be a stretch to call what’s going on here a trend. Yet the large heavy building materials companies do appear to be acting differently in the US and Europe with regards to aggregate companies and CDW recyclers. The main drivers here are the strength of the US market and the stricter environmental legislation in Europe. Higher population density in Europe compared to the US may also be playing a part in the differences in speed of adoption between the two markets. The ongoing Holcim spinoff demonstrates the differences between the two market regions in bold terms. In short, the company has decided to split itself in two in order to meet the different needs of each market. As for CDW, the trickle of acquisitions keep coming and momentum is steadily building.

UK: Aggregate Industries has appointed Tom Murphy as Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Project Manager at the Cauldon Cement Plant in Staffordshire. He will play a leading role in managing the introduction of a carbon capture unit at the site.

Murphy joins the subsidiary of Holcim from Tata Chemical Europe where he was the Plant Manager for a first-of-a-kind post combustion carbon capture plant. Prior to that, he worked as an Energy Chemical Engineer for Tata and as a Research Engineer for the Materials Processing Institute. He holds an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from the University of Manchester.

The CCUS project at the Cauldon Cement Plant is part of the wider Peak Cluster partnership, which was formed by cement and lime producers around the Derbyshire Peak District region and aims to cut collective annual carbon emissions by 3Mt/yr by 2030. More than 0.6t/yr is targeted to be cut at Cauldon. The project is being led by Progressive Energy. It aims to capture and transport CO₂ emissions from Cauldon and other partner plants before sequestering them beneath the eastern Irish Sea in one of the storage options which the project has access to, including the Liverpool Bay CCS or the Morecambe Net Zero project.

Switzerland: Neustark has appointed Christoph Kisker as its Chief Revenue Officer. He will lead commercial functions at the company to target global growth. Kisker previously worked as the VP Global Sales (Digital Consulting) for software-as-a-service company Celonis. Before that he held the role of Assistant Manager at KPMG.

Switzerland-based Neustark is commercialising technology to store CO₂ from the air in recycled mineral waste such as demolished concrete. Its proprietary process captures CO₂ from biogas producers and then binds it into mineral waste such as demolition concrete via an accelerated mineralisation process. The company has rolled out its carbon removal technology at 19 sites across Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein and Germany. Holcim invested in Neustark in 2023.

Greece: Titan Cement’s sales grew by 8% year-on-year to €1.32bn in the first half of 2024 from €1.23bn in the same period in 2023. It’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 17% to €281m from €241m. By region, its sales increased everywhere but earnings only increased in the US. However, the US constitutes the group’s biggest operating region for both sales and earnings.

Marcel Cobuz, chair of the Group Executive Committee, said “An outstanding performance of the first half of the year with strong commercial focus and accelerated execution of our Strategy 2026 across our markets. We are set for delivering transformational key projects, creating long term value for all stakeholders, focusing on decarbonisation and digitalisation, while driving commercial transformation and excellence in serving our customers.”

The company said that its Titan 2026 Green Growth Strategy execution was ‘well on track,’ with four new bolt-on acquisitions completed in the reporting period and it had achieved new performance level in alternative fuels substitution and clinker substitution in blended cements. A carbon capture and storage project in Athens and a newly awarded calcined clay project in the US are also set to enter their feasibility assessment phases. Titan Cement added that its plan to list its US operations in a New York exchange is progressing according to schedule, with the listing expected to take place in the first quarter of 2025.

Italy: Cementir Holding increased its sales volumes of cement by 0.3% year-on-year to 5.13Mt in the first half of 2024. Nonetheless, group sales fell by 3%, to €812m, and earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 4%, to €193m. The producer succeeded in raising its net profit, by 7% to €97m. During the half, it invested €24.7m in decarbonisation, primarily in upgrading the kiln line of its 2.5Mt/yr Guarain cement plant in Belgium.

Chair and CEO Francesco Caltagirone said "Results for the first half of 2024 were in line with our expectations. The adverse weather conditions in the first months of the year and a still weak residential market in the most important geographies, as well as a significant negative exchange rate impact, affected the results for the period, which nevertheless benefited from the reduction of main operating costs".

Cementir Holding confirmed its earnings guidance for the year of €385m (down by 6% year-on-year), but revised its revenues guidance downwards by 6% from €1.8bn to €1.7bn, in line with 2023.

Saudi Arabia: Yanbu Cement recorded an 8% rise in sales year-on-year to US$114m in the first half of 2024. Mubasher has reported that this resulted in a net profit of US$26.1m for the company, up by 14% from its first-half 2023 result.

Saudi Arabia: Al Jouf Cement Company's board has overruled its previous recommendation to increase the company’s capital in order to settle financial obligations. Mist News has reported that the board based its latest decision on its successful rescheduling of loans with Alinma Bank and SAB, increased sales and the success of cost reduction initiatives.

Al Jouf Cement Company additionally filed a complaint with the Saudi Arabian Capital Market Authority against three former board members. The company’s accusations against the former board members include that they allegedly forged the vice chair’s signature, made investments for purposes not designated by the company’s articles of association, lost investments worth US$36.3m, failed to obtain approval for transactions with related parties and misled the company and its shareholders about investments and losses.

India: JSW Cement has entered the competition to acquire a 38% stake in Orient Cement from the CK Birla Group, against UltraTech Cement and Adani Group. UltraTech Cement is reportedly in advanced discussions with CK Birla, having proposed a share price range of US$4.18 - 4.48, which places the enterprise value at US$872m-931m. The Adani Group has also expressed interest in acquiring Orient Cement, although their negotiations have been hindered by valuation disputes and environmental clearance issues.

India: The board of Shiva Cement has approved plans to build a 1Mt/yr cement grinding plant at Sambalpur in Odisha. The unit will be built with Bhushan Power and Steel at one of its operating sites. As part of the deal Shiva Cement, a subsidiary of JSW Cement, has the option to buy the plant for US$45m. Approval from the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation and other relevant governmental authorities will be required to set up the plant.

New Zealand: Fletcher Building says that a mechanical issue with a cement carrier ship is causing operational business for its Golden Bay Cement subsidiary. The Marine Vessel Aotearoa Chief (MVAC) ship is currently docked at Northport while inspections and repairs are made by the owner. The New Zealand Herald newspaper has reported that the ship is owned by China Navigation Company, an operating arm of the Hong Kong-based Swire. The ship normally transports cement around the North Island from Golden Bay’s cement plant near Whangārei. The cement producer added that “The timeframe required to make the necessary repairs and source replacement parts, is not known at this time.” Fletcher Building’s preliminary assessment is that it expects the impact on its 2025 financial year earnings to be up to US$18m.

Golden Bay has enacted its contingency plans to cope with the outage and is talking to its customers. It is using alternative transport options to distribute cement. including the use of an existing coastal barge and the greater use of road and rail options. The company is also investigating longer-term solutions, which include potentially sourcing the use of alternative cement supplies from domestic and offshore suppliers along with securing the use of a replacement ship if required.