Displaying items by tag: startup

US: Mexico-based Cemex Ventures has invested in construction sustainability early-stage venture fund Zacua Ventures. The producer says that other investors include Andres Construction, GS Futures, Progreso X and Sabancı Building Materials Group.

Cemex Ventures head Gonzalo Galindo said
"As pioneers in the construction industry's transformation, we are happy to be part of this investment vehicle to seek innovative solutions that help boost productivity, sustainability and urbanization.” Galindo added “The collaboration and synergy between the involved partners will help further accelerate our efforts.”

US: Titan Cement Group has invested in renewably powered Heat Battery developer Rondo Energy, in the California-based company’s Series A funding round. The Heat Battery is a 98% efficient electrical heater with high scalability, according to the supplier. Its modular battery provides grid load flexibility, with the possibility of continuous operation. Titan Cement Group says that it will now work in a technological partnership with Rondo Energy to develop new concepts for cement decarbonisation using Rondo Energy’s ‘unique innovation.’

UK: Cemex Ventures has invested in Modulous, a London-based company that uses a modular construction system. Modulous says it digitises its materials supply chain management to reduce costs and time and in construction process. It uses machine learning, generative design and 5D BIM modelling in its supporting software to support this. No value for Cemex Ventures’ investment in Modulous has been disclosed.

"By including Modulous in our portfolio, we offer the industry a unique offsite construction model" said Mateo Zimermmann, head of Cemex Ventures investment in Modulous. "The Modulous innovative approach enables the supply chain to deliver sustainable and high-quality homes, significantly reducing time and costs. Modulous does not require additional capital expenditure, which makes it globally scalable. This team is going to revolutionise the residential development industry.”

Modulous has secured a number of projects in the UK and Europe. It is currently preparing the delivery of a Euro7m residential scheme in London using its design and construction system that it claims will achieve completion 12 months ahead of schedule. Modulous is one of the winners of the 2020 Construction Startup Competition, the annual startup challenge organized by Cemex Ventures.

Mexico: Cemex subsidiary Cemex Ventures has named its 50 most promising construction and technology start-ups for 2020. The year’s list included 14 suppliers of solutions to increase productivity, 12 developers of new materials and construction methods, 13 innovators in the fields of safety and sustainability and 11 suppliers of supply chain-improving applications.

The company said, “The investment ecosystem in construction startups gained traction and closes the year 2020 surpassing US$1.3bn.” It added, “In 2020, Cemex Ventures is one of the companies that leads investment efforts in the ConTech ecosystem, positioning itself as one of the leaders in the industry.”

US: Mexico-based Cemex has announced its investment in Arqlite, a producer of aggregates from waste plastic. Arqlite won the Cemex Ventures Global Construction Startup Competition in 2019. Other investors in the company, which began its research and development process in Argentina in 2016, include Kamay Ventures and Chris Graff.

The Cemex Ventures Global Construction Startup Competition 2020 remains open to applicants until 26 July 2020.

Panama: Grupo Argos subsidiary Cementos Argos has announced the “gradual reactivation” of its operations in Panama. The first stage of the post-coronavirus start of operations consists of “supply to prioritised public infrastructure works and sale to hardware stores,” begun on 9 June 2020. Presently the company is awaiting clearance from the Panamanian government to resume deliveries to “construction customers and other types of projects.”

Germany: Beumer Group says it is supporting logistics start-up Sparrow Networks with its Beam spin-off company. Sparrow Networks consists of a spare parts pool of interconnected cement industry players. Customers can access the inventory on Sparrow Networks’ digital marketplace. Beam is a Berlin-based start-up company builder, supported by Beumer Group, that focuses on logistics and technical challenges.

India: Both Germany-based HeidelbergCement and Aditya Birla subsidiary UltraTech have responded to the government’s partial lifting of the coronavirus lockdown for rurally-located continuous industries by resuming ‘partial operations in some production facilities.’ Orient Cement subsidiary CK Birla said, “We are in the process of partially resuming our operations at our plants in Karnataka and Maharashtra.” Producers require the permission of the relevant state government to restart plants. In Telangana, where the government has not lifted the lockdown, CK Birla’s facilities remain shut.

The Economic Times newspaper has reported that ‘limited transportation facilities, higher than usual inventory and stricter rules regarding labour safety’ have added a note of caution to resumed operations. Shree Cement managing director Hari Mohan Bangur said, given the continuation of restrictions on construction in cities, “We expect just 10% of normal consumption, with hopes of a gradual increase.”

China: Shanshui Cement has said that it expects its first-quarter losses to rise year-on-year in 2020 due to coronavirus. ET Net News has reported that, though losses are normal in the quarter containing the winter shutdown, they are expected to have been greater than usual in 2020 due to decreased sales and delays to startup caused by the outbreak.

Germany: Gebr. Pfeiffer has launched a range of webinars and individual analysis and advice sessions in order to support cement producers preparing for start-up after the global coronavirus crisis. The services include webinars about vertical roller mill grinding and the Gebr. Pfeiffer MVR roller mill range and ready2grind modular system, as well as individual remote inspections. Gebr. Pfeiffer is also offering individual start-up support sessions.