Displaying items by tag: concrete

China: Huaxin Cement’s sales revenue increased by 17% year-on-year to US$2.28bn in the first half of 2021 from US$1.95bn in the same period in 2020. Net profit rose by 8.3% to US$378m from US$349m. Cement and clinker sales grew by 14% to 37Mt and concrete sales volumes more than doubled to 3.36Mm³. The cement producer reported that demand for cement decreased in May and June 2021 due to bad weather and price rises of raw materials leading to reduced construction activity.

Spain: Cementos Molins has agreed to acquire Hanson Hispania’s assets in Catalonia. The Expansión newspaper has reported that the business consists of two concrete plants and multiple quarries. It generated sales of Euro18m in 2020 and employs 41 people.

Chief executive officer Julio Rodríguez said "This operation will allow Cementos Molins to reinforce its presence in Spain and strengthen its leadership in sustainable concrete solutions in Catalonia." He added "The strategic location of the plants and quarries, close to the Barcelona metropolitan area, responds to our commitment to offer more efficient and sustainable solutions for homes and infrastructures."

Canada: Lafarge Canada has signed a deal with aerated concrete block producer Cematrix to renew its cement supply and joint marketing agreement with the company. The new agreement is effective until 2026.

Western Canada sales and logistics vice-president Cory Cannon said "Lafarge and Cematrix have worked together seamlessly throughout Canada. The extension of these agreements is a natural result of the joint successes we have experienced on numerous projects with the full expectation that this relationship will only continue to grow into the future."

US: LafargeHolcim US, part of Switzerland-based Holcim, has launched its CementDirect ready-mix concrete delivery mobile and web application (app) on the US market. The app consolidates ordering, tracking and shipping records for customers. Plant operators will be able to sign-off on deliveries and access bills of lading remotely.

Supply chain senior vice president Kristin Beck said “More than ever, ready-mix producers are operating under significant constraints. CementDirect allows for easier access to delivery information and removes the daily burden of managing and storing paper.”

US: Solidia Technologies has appointed Russell Hill as its chief technology officer. He succeeds Nicholas DeCristofaro, who will retire in September 2021.

Hill joins Solidia after 25 years working for Boral, most recently as Group Chief Innovation Officer. In 2012, he led the discovery and development of a new series of ‘green’ products that opened new market segments and geography to the building materials producer. Hill holds a doctorate in chemistry from the University of North Texas and is named as an inventor on 56 patents, consisting of over 20 distinct families. He is a member of the American Concrete Institute, ASTM, the American Chemical Society and Alpha Chi Sigma.

Solidia Technologies produces reduced-CO₂ concrete with lower-energy cement and water-free CO₂ curing.

Mexico: Cemex has supplied over 100,000m³ of its Vertua concrete product range to projects in its home country. Deliveries reached 113,000m³ to 1700 projects by the end of July 2021. Outstanding orders exceed 500 projects. The company launched the low and net-zero CO₂ concrete products in early 2021.

UK: The Mineral Products Association (MPA) recorded a 1.2% quarter-on-quarter decline in the UK’s total concrete sales volumes in the second quarter of 2021. Volumes rose compared to 2020 levels, but remained lower than those in the second quarter of 2019. Mortar sales volumes recorded a 21% quarter-on-quarter rise, the sharpest since 2012. The association says that this signals the start of new housebuilding activity, as well as a ‘renewed pipeline of works’ in other sectors. It said that it expects demand for core construction materials to remain high for the remainder of 2021, into 2022, with the current construction outlook expected to drive double-digit growth in mineral products sales for the full year of 2021. The MPA anticipates the strongest contribution to come from infrastructure.

Director of Economic Affairs Aurelie Delannoy said “The surge in pent-up demand for materials in recent months, plus declining availability of haulage drivers as well as increasing costs, are causing concerns over future supply capacity, although every effort is being made to mitigate these. Despite challenging circumstances, companies supplying mineral products have on the whole continued to meet the demands, delivering record volumes along the way.”

US: Summit Materials’ net revenue grew by 11% year-on-year to US$882m in the first half of 2021 from US$794m in the same period in 2020. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 27% to US$209m from US$164m. Cement business revenue increased by 10% to US$126m from US$114m. Cement and concrete sales volumes increased by 10% to 1.05Mt and by 7% to 2.16Mm³ respectively.

"These results reflect our team's commitment to operational and commercial excellence, which delivered volume growth in most lines of business and pricing growth in all lines of business. Demand fundamentals remain strong in our rural and exurban markets, while most of the state Departments of Transportation that we serve have returned to typical letting and operating conditions,” said Anne Noonan, the chief executive officer of Summit Materials.

Italy: Buzzi Unicem’s net sales grew by 5.8% year-on-year to Euro1.61bn in the first half of 2021 from Euro1.52bn in the same period of 2020. Its sales volumes of cement and clinker rose by 10.9% to 14.8Mt from 13.4Mt. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 12.3% to Euro352m from Euro314m. The group reported cement sales volumes growth in all territories with the exception of Poland, and Germany to a lesser extent. It also noted growth in ready-mixed concrete sales volumes of 7% to 5.8Mm3 with development in Italy, Poland and Ukraine more than compensating for ‘unfavourable’ changes in the US, Germany and the Czech Republic.

Germany: The Federal Cartel Office has approved the takeover of Heinrich Teufel by Holcim Deutschland. The subsidiary of Switzerland-based Holcim said it had agreed to acquire the ready-mix concrete and aggregates in July 2021. The purchase is intended to increase the company’s presence in southern Germany.