Displaying items by tag: concrete

Peru: Cementos Pacasmayo’s sales have been boosted by infrastructure work, coastal El Niño reconstruction projects and private projects. Its cement, concrete and precast shipments rose by 10.6% year-on-year to 2.62Mt in 2019 from 2.34Mt in 2018. Its sales grew by 10.3% to US$410m from US$372m. Its consolidated earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 7.7% to US$118m from U$109m.

US: The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has launched a campaign called ‘Shaped by Concrete,’ which aims to teach people about how concrete made with cement ‘shapes the world to make our communities, city and country better’ by telling stories based on the themes of ‘sustainability, resilience and durability.’ “We are excited to share bold, compelling stories of how we can make the world a better place, shaped by concrete,” said PCA president and CEO Mike Ireland.

France: Following a successful trial that began in December 2019, LafargeHolcim has inaugurated a FastCarb CO₂ absorption accelerator into concrete production at its Val d'Azergues cement and concrete plant (integrated capacity 0.4Mt/yr) in Lozanne. The technology involves the capture of CO₂ from the plant’s cement kiln for reinjection into concrete produced with recycled aggregates. François Petry, LafargeHolcim France managing director, said the installation ‘fits perfectly into our Lafarge 360 approach for more responsible construction.’ The five-pillar approach consists of alternative fuel substitution and development, power consumption reduction, formulation of new cements, cooperation with Airium insulation solutions and assistance with low-carbon building design.

Australia: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says that Barro Group’s acquisition of a 43% stake in Adelaide Brighton will not ‘substantially’ lessen competition. The ACCC examined the completed acquisition closely because the two vertically integrated companies have overlap in the market for the supply of cement, ready-mixed concrete and aggregates.

It found Barro and Adelaide Brighton will continue to face competition from Boral, Holcim and Hanson, three large vertically integrated competitors with national operations, along with a number of smaller independent competitors. The ACCC looked at competition impacts on the pre-mixed concrete and aggregates markets in Melbourne, Brisbane and Townsville, where Barro and Adelaide Brighton’s operations overlap and did not identify any areas of concern.

Barro did not seek informal merger clearance from the ACCC prior to acquiring Adelaide Brighton. However, the ACCC says it may reopen its investigation if it receives further information that alters its current conclusions.

UK: CemFree cement-free concrete has been applied volumetrically for the first time in a 52m3 repair to the Woodford West Viaduct on the M25 London ordbital motorway in Essex. The reason behind the choice of method was the unavailability of batching plants at night, which was the only time that a team of Jackson, DB Group and Axtell employees working on behalf of Connect Plus were permitted to perform the work on the UK’s busiest road. CemFree said that 9.4t of CO2 emissions were cut by comparison to the same project undertaken with ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Jackson director of highways Paul Watson said, “We hope this marks a turning point on the M25 and the wider Highways sector for using low carbon alternatives.”

Cemfree uses 95% ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and a 5% alkali activator, removing the need for cement. This gave CO2 emissions of 114kg/t, which the company says is 77% lower than conventional (OPC).

UK: Hanson has appointed Andrew Simpson as its packed products director, adding operational responsibility to his commercial remit. He is responsible for sales of all of its packed products, including cement, ready-to-use concrete and aggregates, and will now also look after manufacturing at the company’s ready-to-use production site in Nuneaton, as well as its construction aggregates packing plants across the country.

Simpson started his career with Hanson in 1997 when he was appointed area sales manager for Castle Cement, part of the HeidelbergCement Group, which bought Hanson in 2007. Since then he has held a number of different sales roles and attained a degree in Business Studies from De Montfort University in Leicester. In 2017 he was honoured with the freedom of the City of London and installed as a Liveryman of The Worshipful Company of Builders Merchants in recognition of his work within the builders’ merchants’ industry.

Germany: Holcim Deutschland has announced the successful development of Holcim EcoPact Zero, a net-zero carbon concrete. It says that it is in talks with customers in Germany and will make the first deliveries of EcoPact Zero in early 2020. Holcim Deutschland CEO Thorsten Hahn said, “The use of clinker-reduced cements and the optimisation of the binder content play a central role. The still unavoidable CO₂-footprint is fully offset at with the support of various certified environmental projects.”

UK: Quinn Building Products has fitted a waste heat recovery (WHR) plant into the aircrete block production process at its Quinn Lite Plant in Fermanagh. The installation will pump thermal energy from excess heated water back into the pre-curing chamber to sustain the chemical processes by which the blocks are aerated. Quinn Lite production manager Kieran McGorman said that the upgrade ‘forms part of a larger, company-wide drive to minimise the impact of our operations on the environment and to maximise efficiencies wherever possible.’

Thailand: Siam Cement Group’s concrete and aggregates division SCC Concrete Products and Aggregates (CPAC) has entered into a joint venture agreement with Swedish digitisation specialist BIMobject for the formation of BIMobject Thailand Co., Ltd. (BIMobject TH) on a 51:49 basis in favour of CPAC. This will provide building information modelling (BIM) - a service platform for use in conceptual design, material selection, and construction simulation of customers’ projects. Siam Cement Group president and CEO Roongrote Rangsiyopash said, “This is in line with SCC’s strategic plan to extend its breadth of innovative construction solutions.” The joint venture will have US$170,000 registered capital.

Germany: Concrete furniture manufacturer InGrau has won a commendation at the Iconic Awards for innovative interior design for its InLight concrete ceiling light. The product also received a nomination for the German Design Awards 2020. It is 1.25m long and made of concrete 5mm thick, making it light enough to hang from two invisible wires in addition to its power cable. InGrau founder Jens Maasen told Beton.org that the company’s next project will be the design of 1.5m and 1.75m InLights.