http://www.aggbusiness.com/images/rsstitle.gif http://www.aggbusiness.com/ http://www.aggbusiness.com/ Aggregates Business Europe en-us May, 10 May 2007 04:00:00 GMT Mon, 08 03 2010 00:00:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/business-news/rss.xml aggbusiness.com CMS editor@ropl.com jhoward@ropl.com http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=12 Europe's construction sector is forecast to see its 14th successive year of growth in 2007, according to economic industry forecasting group Euroconstruct. Europe is expected to build on the 3.2% grow. This anticipated growth in construction is expected to be matched by a similar rise in the demand for quarried materials and building products. Demand for aggregates in the EU alone rose to more than 3 billion tonnes last year, according the European Aggregates Association, and the figure is likely to be even higher in 2007. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=12 Mon, 23 04 2007 09:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=15 GLA Group, Spain's largest independent aggregates and ready-mixed concrete producer, has acquired two new quarries in Spain. Under the €17.4 million deal, GLA has taken over the barite quarry at Minas Nieves in Corrales de Buelna and t http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=15 Mon, 23 04 2007 16:15:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=35 Germany's HeidelbergCement has ended takeover speculation about the UK's Hanson Group by making an £11 (€16.18) per share bid for the company on 15 May, valuing it at £8billion (€11.8billi http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=35 Tue, 26 06 2007 09:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=36 Sustainability is set to be a top priority for Lafarge's new chairman Bruno Lafont, who took over the post from Bertrand Cullomb last month. Lafont has underlined his drive for improving environmental http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=36 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=37 Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez is reported to be considering nationalisation of the country's cement makers if the industry is found to be worsening a housing shortfall by favouring exports over do http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=37 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=38 Following the announcement of Holcim's partnership with the World Conservation Union, Holcim's Sri Lankan business has announced plans for investment to meet targets set under the agreement. The compa http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=38 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=39 The UK's Quarry Products Association celebrated its 10th anniversary last month with an industry showcase looking at sustainable development and presentation of its annual Restoration Awards. The top http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=39 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=40 Bomb disposal experts had to be called in to Lafarge Aggregates' site in Fareham, UK last month when an unexploded World War II bomb was found underneath the crusher. The bomb was discovered when the http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=40 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=41 The price of sand has tripled in Singapore following an export ban by Indonesia imposed earlier this year. According to the Ministry of National Development, the cost of sand has risen from SG$20 to 6 http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=41 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=42 Holcim has sold 85% of the 54% stake it held in Holcim South Africa to the AfriSam consortium. The sale of the shareholding values the whole company at ZAR16.4billion (€1.7billion) and makes Hol http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=42 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=43 Egypt's Orascom Construction Industries has acquired a 60% stake in Samba, Algeria's largest aggregates producer, for $8million (€xmillion). Samba currently hold reserves of around 60 million to http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=43 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=44 Strengthening of its position in the mobile crushing and screening sector is behind Sandvik's acquisition of Extec and the remaining shares that it did not already own of Fintec. Sandvik announced tha http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=44 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=45 Following a number of high level investigations into cement cartels in Europe, the possibility of a price fixing cartel in a UK quarry has now been uncovered. Alfred McAlpine has discovered accounting http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=45 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=46 Double digit increases in sales have been reported by a number of quarry operators for the first quarter of 2007 with many predicting further growth in the rest of the year. Two of the best performers http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=46 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=47 Skills shortages in New Zealand have helped quarry managers there secure the highest pay increases over the last year. According to a new survey by recruitment firm Hays, average wage rises were in th http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=47 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=48 Eight people died in an explosion at Huifeng Quarry in China's Guizhou Province last month. According to work safety administration officials of the Bouyei-Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Qianxi'nan, in http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=48 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=49 Lafarge has increased its shareholding of Greece-based Hercules, which is the county's largest cement producer. According to a statement from the company, Lafarge has acquired 18.5million shares in He http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=49 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=50 US-based Association of Equipment Manufacturers has announced plans to launch a World of Aggregates exhibition, to run alongside its established World of Asphalt show. The first World of Aggregates, w http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=50 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=51 Bulgaria-based mining company Kaolin has gained approval from the Ukrainian anti-monopoly authority to acquire a 50% shareholding in Papernianskyi Quarry. Kaolin chairman Konstantin Nenov said that he http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=51 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=52 Belgium-based Denis Mertens has been appointed as president of the European Aggregates Association (UEPG). He takes over the role from Didier Audibert (left) who served for two years. Audibert http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=52 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=53 CRH has appointed Kieran McGowan to succeed Pat Molloy as chairman. Molloy's plans to retire from the company were announced in February this year and McGowan officially took over the role at CRH's an http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=53 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=54 Lafarge chief executive officer Bruno Lafont succeeded Bertrand Collomb as Lafarge's chairman in May. Lafont took on the role as chief executive officer on 1 January 2006 and will now combine this pos http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=54 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=55 Shares in Anglo American fell in early June following suggestions that the company may be preparing its building materials subsidiary Tarmac for sale later this summer. The news follows the arrival of http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=55 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=56 Cemex reported that it had gained a majority shareholding of Australia's Rinker on 7 June. Cemex said that it controls more than 50% of Rinker's stock and declared its $15.85 (€11.80) per share http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=56 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=57 Poland's Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has imposed the first fine as part of an ongoing investigation of 11 cement manufacturers accused of price fixing. Cementownia Ozarow, w http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=57 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=75 Growth in Central and Eastern Europe helped to boost the fortunes of Europe's quarry operators during 2006, with many reporting record rises in both turnover and profits for 2006. Holcim was one of th http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=75 Mon, 23 04 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=76 HeidelbergCement has announced plans to sell the majority of its 35% stakeholding in Vicat through a public offering in France, which is expected to take place in the second quarter of 2007. It is tho http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=76 Mon, 23 04 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=77 Holcim Romania plans to invest €68 million on new concrete and cement production equipment and environmental protection during 2007. The upgrade includes installation of new cement production li http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=77 Mon, 23 04 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=78 Increasing production of recycled and secondary aggregates (RSAs) in England and Scotland is the aim behind a new capital support programme from the Waste Resource Action Programme (WRAP). The p http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=78 Mon, 23 04 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=79 Lafarge has added 300,000tonnes of sand and gravel production to its UK operations following the opening of a new quarry last month. Brooksby Quarry near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire gained planni http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=79 Mon, 23 04 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=80 Italcementi's Spanish business Hormigones y Minas has celebrated its fifth year of operation without accidents at any of its three sites in the Basque region. According to Italcementi, the company's Z http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=80 Mon, 23 04 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=81 More than 130,000tonnes of refuse could be diverted from landfill each year by converting it to refuse derived fuel to power Cemex's UK cement kilns. Cemex is seeking permission to use the fuel, which http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=81 Mon, 23 04 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=82 Mexico-based Cemex has announced that its bid to acquire Australia's Rinker Group has been recommended by Rinker's board of directors. Cemex gained approval for the - previously hostile - takeove http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=82 Mon, 23 04 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=83 Conseil de la Concurrance (the French office of fair trading) has fined two French cement producers and several wholesalers €25 million for acting as a cartel in the Corsican market. Lafarge and http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=83 Mon, 23 04 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=84 Paris' newly opened Thiais bus centre, which has office space for 800 people and controls 300 buses, is a showcase for the environmental benefits of concrete. Bus centre owner RATP, http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=84 Mon, 23 04 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=85 CRH's plan to invest more than €120 million in improving the environmental performance of its cement production in the Ukraine has gained approval from the United Nations. The scheme to upgrade http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=85 Mon, 23 04 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=86 The Governor of Florida, US, is to appoint a Strategic Aggregates Review Task Force to help maintain supply of quarried materials, such as crushed rock, limestone and sand, in the state. Under the bil http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=86 Mon, 23 04 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=87 Holcim's Obourg laboratory in Belgium has been refitted to become a fully automated facility. The site has an Insitec ALISS system for carrying out cement composition and particle size analysis, which http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=87 Mon, 23 04 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=88 Italcementi has strengthened its position in the North American market with the purchase of two ready-mixed concrete companies, which will increase the company's sales by 6.5% and its production aroun http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=88 Mon, 23 04 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=89 The Brazilian federal antitrust investigator (SDE) is probing the activity of eight cement manufacturers for possible involvement in a cartel, according to Business News Americas. The companies under http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=89 Mon, 23 04 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=90 Around 25% of the UK aggregates market is supplied by recycled or secondary materials, according to the latest Sustainable Development Report from the Quarry Products Association. The report surveyed http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=90 Mon, 23 04 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=91 Egypt's billionaire Sawiris brothers are reported to have made a e2.2 billion bid for Tarmac but the company's parent, mining giant Anglo American, has rejected the offer. However market analysts beli http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=91 Mon, 23 04 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=92 In its annual finance report (Budget), the UK Government announced a 22% increase on the Aggregates Levy from April 2008 - up from £1.60 to £1.95 per tonne (€1.6 to €2.8) on current levels http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=92 Mon, 23 04 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=93 Holcim CEO Markus Akermann (pictured right) has just signed a three year agreement with the World Conservation Union (IUCN) to work together on ecosystem conservation and biodiversity issues. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=93 Mon, 23 04 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=108 The rate, size and value of mergers and acquisitions underway is usually a good indication of not just how healthy a sector is, but also how confident the industry is about its future. Given the number http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=108 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=109 Quarrying is a challenging industry to work in: On one hand, the industry needs to meet the ever increasing demand from Europe's €1378 billion construction industry for quality aggregates; On th http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=109 Mon, 23 04 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=110 Sharewatch is a round-up of the share movements of the top quarry operators, construction equipment manufacturers and contractors in Europe http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=110 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=111 According to local media reports, a quarry in Markopoulo, near Athens, Greece, was closed yesterday following a court order. The court ruling claimed that the Latomeia Markopoulou quarry had been operating illegally for 12 years and was damaging the local environment and the health of local residents. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=111 Wed, 22 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=112 Lafarge is expected to announce plans to invest US$450million (€333million) on two projects in the Iraqi, according to Mechant Bridge, the investment bank involved in both deals. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=112 Tue, 21 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=113 Trading in Hanson PLC ordinary shares will cease trading on 22 August as part of the takeover of the company by Germany?s Heidelberg Cement http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=113 Mon, 20 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=114 Work to reuse a disused quarry in West Yorkshire, UK has suffered a setback after the local authority refused planning permission that would enable trees to be grown at the site. Under the application the Trees of Light organisation wanted to erect a 25m long plastic greenhouse to propagate trees at Marshall?s Cross Platts Quarry in Southowram. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=114 Mon, 20 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=115 Ministers from the Scottish Parliament have refused to intervene to block plans to expand the superquarry at Glensanda, near Oban, which has been operated by Foster Yeoman (now part of Holcim?s UK subsidiary Aggregate Industries) for 20 years. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=115 Mon, 20 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=116 HeidelbergCement has agreed to sell the Maxit Group to Saint Gobain as part of its strategy to focus on its core business of aggregate and cement production. Under the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, Saint Gobain will buy the dry mortar manufacturer for €2125million. Heidelberg will also use the proceeds to help finance its acquisition of Hanson. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=116 Tue, 07 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=117 Rising cement and clinker sales helped HeidelbergCement's group turnover rise by 12.5% to €4.8billion for the first half (H1) of 2007, compared to the same period last year. Strongest growth was recorded in Heidelberg's operations in the Asia-Africa-Mediterranean basin and good results were also recorded in Europe and Central Asia. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=117 Mon, 06 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=118 Efforts made by Italcementi's Financiera y Minera cement plant in Malaga to improve its environmental performance have been recognised by Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa, the regional ministry of innovation, science and enterprise. Following the positive evaluation, the facility was granted a €1.2million funding package to help further reduce environmental impact. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=118 Fri, 08 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=119 Anglo American has ended market speculation by formally announcing its plan to sell off its UK-based Tarmac subsidiary to enable the company to focus on its mining interests. Tarmac is to be auctioned off and Anglo has said that it hopes the disposal process will be completed in the first half of 2008. The company has been estimated to be worth around £2.9billion (€4.26billion). http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=119 Fri, 03 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=120 Strong organic growth in the second quarter (Q2) of 2007 has given Lafarge its best ever first half (H1) results, according to an announcement from the company. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=120 Thu, 02 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=121 Hanson has reported gains in both sales and operating profit for the first half (H1) of 2007 over its performance during the same period last year. According to the company's statement sales are up 7% to £2043illion (€2940million), while operating profit increased 5% to £226million (€332million). http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=121 Thu, 08 02 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=122 Excavation work by archaeologists at Pode Hole Farm quarry near Peterborough, UK has uncovered a 3500 year old skeleton, which is thought to be part of a larger burial site. The remains of the Bronze Age man were uncovered by routine excavation work ahead of extension of the extraction area at the site by owner Bardon Aggregates. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=122 Tue, 31 07 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=123 Buzzi Unicem subsidiary, Dyckerhoff Beton, has won the contract to supply the specially designed concrete mix for construction of the cooling towers for RWE's new super energy generation plant in Grevenbroich-Neurath, Germany. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=123 Tue, 31 07 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=124 Ireland-based CRH has appointed Professor Utz-Hellmuth Felcht as a new non-executive director. Until May last year, German-born Felcht was chief executive of Degussa, Germany's third largest chemical company. CRH hopes to benefit from his expertise gained through running the multinational company. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=124 Wed, 25 07 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=125 Cemex has announced a 6% growth in sales during the second quarter (Q2) of 2007 to US$4.9billion (€3.6billion), compared to the same period last year. However, operating profits fell 1% to US$1.1billion (€815million) over the same period. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=125 Thu, 19 07 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=126 Lafarge has formed a partnership with the City of Paris to supply material for the construction of this year's Paris Plage. Under the agreement, Lafarge will provide and transport 2400tonnes of sand to create the urban riverside beaches, which have become a summer tradition in the French capital. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=126 Mon, 16 07 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=127 Heidelberg has created two new positions to help ease the process of integrating Hanson following completion of the acquisition later this summer. According to a Heidelberg statement, the takeover of Hanson will significantly increase the size of the Heidelberg Group and the company is appointing a new Managing Board to take responsibility. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=127 Thu, 12 07 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=128 According to an announcement from Cemex, the company has now acquired more than 90% of the shares of Rinker as a result of its share offering. Cemex has said that it will now proceed with compulsory acquisition of the remaining shares that it does not already own. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=128 Tue, 10 07 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=129 Ahead of publication of the in-depth half year (H1) results for CRH on 28 August, the company has announced an interim trading statement, which suggests a strong start to 2007 for the company. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=129 Mon, 02 07 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=130 Commissioning of Heidelberg's new cement plant at Jingyang in the Chinese province of Shaanxi has been successfully completed. The €60million plant has an annual production capacity of 2.3million tonnes and feature modern, environmentally friendly technology. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=130 Wed, 07 02 2007 00:10:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=131 Dyckerhoff, a subsidiary of Italy's Buzzi Unicem, has announced plans to invest €250 million on construction of a new cement plant in the Orenburg region of Russia, close to the border with Kazakhstan. The 2million tonne capacity plant is expected to be operational by 2010. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=131 Sun, 01 07 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=132 Lafarge has announced the appointment of Jean-Carlos Angulo, Thomas Farrell, Gérard Kuperfarb and Eric Olsen to its Group Executive Committee and will take up their new posts on 1 September this year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=132 Mon, 18 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=134 Archaeological investigations in Turkey have uncovered a granite quarry that was probably excavated 3500 years ago during the Hittite Empire period. The 3km long, 1km wide quarry, along with a cave network was discovered near the Paşaköyü resort in the Yozgat city of Şefaatli. According to reports in the local media, archaeologists who made the discovery believe that the granite quarry was used during the Hittite period by Hattusaş and Alacahöyük settlers. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=134 Fri, 24 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=135 Worldwide sales and operating profit reached record levels at Holcim during the first six months of this year and the company has also reported that organic growth is ahead of target. Following its interim results, Holcim has now published its complete half year (H1) results for 2007 showing a 19.5% increase in sales and a 24.8% jump in operating profit, compared to the same period last year. According to the announcement, sales reached CHF13billion (€7.9billion) during H1 2007, compared to CHF10.9billion (€6.6billion) in H1 last year. Operating profits rose from CHF1.9billion (€1.16billion) in H1 2006 to CHF2.4billion (€1.4billion) in the first six months of this year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=135 Thu, 23 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=136 Holcim has highlighted its plans to grow its presence in the Chinese cement market in its half year financial report. According to the statement, Holcim remains intent on expanding its presence in the world’s largest cement market. The company is currently awaiting approval of its bid to increase its shareholding in China’s Huaxin Cement. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=136 Wed, 22 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=137 Holcim has announced that it plans to build on the 3.9% stake it acquired in India’s Ambuja Cement for US$220million (€162million) by acquiring another 20% of the company. Holcim is believed to have offered US$1.12billion (€827million) for the additional stake in the company, in which it already held a 32.3% share, and if successful would take Holcim’s shareholding to 56%. The announcement comes after Holcim stated in its H1 financial report that its Indian operations were key growth drivers behind the region’s strong performance. The company also said that it plans to continue to tap into this rapidly growing market. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=137 Thu, 23 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=138 The potential for too many overlaps between Holcim’s UK subsidiary Aggregate Industries and Tarmac, mean that Holcim is not planning to buy the company outright. However, Holcim chief executive Markus Akermann has not ruled out buying parts of the company. “If the potential acquirer of Tarmac is interested in disposing of some assets, we might be interested,” said Akermann. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=138 Thu, 23 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=139 Cimpor executive board member Edney Vieira has said that the Portuguese company plans to grow its operations in Turkey both through organic growth and acquisitions. Cimpor moved into the Turkish market with the acquisition of Lafarge-Yibitas Orta Anadolu from Lafarge-Aslan Cimento for €535million at the end of last year. The company?s three sement factories, three grinding and packaging facilities and 12 ready mixed concrete plants give Cimpor a 7% market share in Turkey. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=139 Fri, 17 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=140 Kenya-based Bamburi Cement is planning to expand its plant in Uganda to double production to 480,000tonnes to meet growing demand in the region. The company, which is owned by Lafarge, also said that it is currently prospecting in Kenya to find suitable limestone deposits for new quarrying operations. According to Bamburi, east and central Africa is currently experiencing a construction boom that is driving demand for cement. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=140 Thu, 16 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=141 Opening of the extension to Cemex's quartz gravel quarry at Stenden in Kerken, Germany was celebrated with an official ceremony on 10 August. The event to commemorate granting of planning permission to extend the site by 44ha was attended by local dignitaries and key Cemex staff. During the event, Kerken?s mayor Willi Geutz praised the company for the way it had worked together with the local municipality to change the area?s classification on the regional development plan. The opening ceremony at the lake was followed by a celebration for 700 people, including residents from the village of Stenden. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=141 Wed, 15 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=142 Children with mental and physical impairments who attend the Stadtallendorfer Astrid Lindgren school in Germany will now be able to have a new type of learning experience, thanks to Cemex. The company has donated quarried materials to help build a ?feeling path? at the school to allow the children to understand how different materials feel underfoot. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=142 Wed, 15 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=143 Cemex's Rugby cement plant in the UK has just celebrated one year without a time lost accident, beating its previous record of 152 days. Cemex's Kenworth quarry in Dunstable and Lodge Farm quarry in Warwickshire have also set new safety records with eight and three years accident free, respectively. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=143 Fri, 03 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=144 Cemex has announced that it has completed a £2million (€2.9million) upgrade of its wharf facilities at Jarrow, on the banks of the River Tyne in the UK. The investment included installation of new equipment for processing of sand and gravel at the site, which will give the site three times more production capacity. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=144 Wed, 01 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=145 Holcim has acquired the 21% of the shareholding of Canada-based St Lawrence Cement that it did not already own. According to a statement from Holcim, the company has now gained full ownership of the company after gaining agreement from other minority shreaholders. Holcim made the cash offer for the shares, which valued the company at CAN$571million (€374million), in May this year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=145 Wed, 15 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=146 Addition of up to 20% recycled aggregate does not have a negative impact on the performance of concrete, according to a new report. The study, published by the UK-based Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP), provides detailed technical information on the performance of recycled aggregates in concrete. The research demonstrates that blending 20% recycled aggregate with natural aggregate does not have a negative impact on concrete performance. WRAP hopes this report will help the construction industry optimise the use of recycled aggregates in another key construction application. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=146 Mon, 02 07 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=147 taly-based Italcementi has acquired an additional 47% shareholding, on top of the 4% it already owned, in Kuwait’s Hilal Cement, making it the new majority shareholder. Italcementi completed the deal to gain control of 51% of Hilal Cement with Boodai Enterprise through its Egyptian subsidiary Suez Cement Company. Completion of the deal follows a US$2.6 (€1.9) per share offer made by Italcementi, which valued the company at US$89million (€65million). http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=147 Wed, 22 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=148 Following announcement of its half year results, CRH has confirmed that it is looking into the possibility of buying Tarmac from Anglo American. Both CRH chief executive Liam O'Mahony and finance director Myles Lee said that the company would look at Tarmac, which is valued at around €6billion. If CRH was to pursue the bid for Tarmac, it would be the largest acquisition in the company’s history. CRH’s US$1billion (€735million) takeover of US-based Apac last year is currently the company’s largest ever deal. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=148 Wed, 29 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=149 European sales for the building materials group CRH have risen 26% to just over €1.6billion in the first half of 2007 (H1), compared to the same period last year. This rapid rise in sales gives the company an operating profit of €222million, up 46% increase over that recorded in H1 2006. According to a statement from CRH, the rise in Europe, where 55% of its business is based, is as a result of continuing positive demand and the pricing environment in most of the major markets it operates in. The company also attributes favourable seasonal weather conditions during the period, organic growth and a 1.8% rise in profit margin for its good H1 results. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=149 Tue, 28 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=150 Cementos Panama, a joint venture of Holcim and Grupo Argos, is investing to expand its cement production capacity from 750,000tonnes to 1.6million tonnes. According to local media news reports, the expansion is being driven by demand in the local market, which includes the US$5.25billion (€3.8billlion) widening of the Panama Canal that is due to start soon and will be completed in 2014. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=150 Sun, 26 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=151 UK-based BL Pegson Central has been fined £30,000 (€44,200) and ordered to pay costs of £12,500 (€18,400) for two health and safety breaches, according to local media reports. The fines followed the death of a subcontractor working to install a Pegson crusher at Hanson’s Allterton Park Quarry in Yorkshire, UK in 2005. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=151 Fri, 24 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=152 ollowing successful completion of the acquisition of Hanson by Heidelberg Cement through its US subsidiary Lehigh, a number of Hanson staff have resigned their positions as directors. According to a statement from Hanson, chairman Mike Welton and non-executive directors Frank Blount, Baroness Noakes, Sam Laidlaw and John Brady have resigned from the Board as part of the Heidelberg takeover agreement. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=152 Mon, 27 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=153 CRH has announced that it has acquired the remaining 55% of Cementbouw that it did not already own in a bid to expand its presence in the Dutch market. The takeover brings CRH’s investment in Cementbouw to €184million. Cementbouw operates in the cement, fly-ash and aggregate market in the Netherlands and is also one of the country’s leading ready mixed concrete suppliers. According to last year’s financial statements, Cementbouw recorded earnings of €26.5million on sales of €213million in 2006. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=153 Thu, 30 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=154 Sharewatch is a round-up of the share movements of the top quarry operators, construction equipment manufacturers and contractors in Europe http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=154 Tue, 26 06 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=155 Work to create a community park at Hailes Quarry in Wester Hailes, Scotland took a step forward this week with news that the Scottish Executive has given the project a £136,000 (€200,000) grant. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=155 Fri, 31 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=156 A landslide at the Fuhua Cement quarry at Tianfu in China’s Chongqing Municipality has killed two quarry workers and another two are missing, feared dead. According to local media reports, the a http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=156 Thu, 30 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=157 The US-based Portland Cement Association has recognised six Cemex plants for their outstanding safety record. The company's Balcones Cement Plant in New Braunfels, Texas won the top award of Safety Excellence for surpassing 1 million hours without a lost-time accident.  The Fairborn Cement Plant in Ohio received the Safety Honour for accomplishing a three years without a lost-time accident. Further recognition was given to four other Cemex facilties located in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Colorado for achieving more than 365 days without a lost-time accident. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=157 Wed, 11 07 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=158 Holcim Spain has reported that four of its workers at its Carboneras cement plant in the Almeria region of Spain have been killed and four others injured in an accident. According to a statement from the company, the accident happened at 4.15pm today during work to dismantle a hopper following completion of work in that part of the plant. Work at the rest of the site was stopped following the accident and Holcim Spain has launched an investigation to find the cause. The company has reported that the initial investigation showed that the work had been planned by on site engineers and that the collapsed occurred with no warning, so the workers did not have any chance to escape. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=158 Thu, 05 07 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=166 Flying rock debris from the Markopoulo quarry, near Athens in Greece caused damage to a house and vibrations from the blasting were felt more than 2km away. The quarry was closed by court order last month because it was operating without a licence but the explosions heard at the quarry last week suggest that work at the site is continuing. An investigation into the explosion is underway following damage to the roof of a house close to the quarry, which injured one person. The company that owns the quarry has denied that extraction work at the site is continuing. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=166 Mon, 03 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=167 Heidelberg Cement is awaiting approval from the competition authorities in Lithuania to clear the way for it to acquire a 70% shareholding in Gerdukas Cement, according to local media reports. No financial details of the deal were made available but the takeover is thought to be part of Heidelberg's strategy to expand its operations in the Baltics. Heidelberg has been present in the region since 2003 and owns several quarries and four ready mixed concrete plants in Estonia and a cement plant and three ready mixed concrete plants in Latvia. The company currently operate one concrete products plant in Lithuania. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=167 Mon, 03 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=172 Ireland-based construction materials manufacturer Acheson Glover has announced that it has bought the Finlay Breton company from Cemex's Irish subsidiary Readymix. The €49million involves the transfer of eight sites, which Acheson Glover claim generated sales of £40million (€59million) last year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=172 Tue, 04 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=173 Boral Thailand plans to invest AUS$60million (€36.4million) to increase its number of quarries and concrete production capacity over the next five years. According to Boral managing director Andrew Mercer, the company was confident that the growth in demand in Thailand will be strong and the company is expanding with the market. Australia-based Boral has been operating in Thailand for 15 years and in 2005 it established two subsidiary companies there ? Boral Concrete (Thailand) and Boral Quarry Products (Thailand). http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=173 Tue, 04 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=174 Finland-based concrete manufacturer Lujabetoni has started producing concrete in the Russian city of St Petersburg following its acquisition of a concrete plant in Kolomyagi earlier this summer. The company has also said that concrete production at its new plant in St Petersburg will also get underway this autumn. Lujabetoni managing director Mikko Isotalo said that the company is planning to continue its growth in Russia through development of new facilities and further acquisitions. He said that the company?s aim to have five or six ready mixed concrete plants in the region by the end of 2008. Lujabetoni is also expected to look at moving into manufacturing precast concrete element and other concrete products in the longer term. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=174 Wed, 22 08 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=177 Insurance companies which hold a 13.4% stake in India Ambuja Cement have said that they reluctant to tender their shares to Holcim's offer, raising doubt about the success of Holcim's plans to increase its shareholding. Holcim, which already owned a 32% shareholding in Ambuja, announced last month that it had acquired an additional 3.9% stake in the company. At the same time Holcim also revealed plans to buyout another 20% share of Ambuja to take its shareholding to 56% - Holcim?s second offer following an unsuccessful one last year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=177 Wed, 05 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=179 This year's European Minerals Forum, to be held on 28 November 2007 in Brussels, is to focus on the need to be involved with stakeholders to address the issues facing the aggregates sector. The annual forum, entitled Engaging Stakeholders: The way ahead, is being organised by the European Minerals Foundation and the European Aggregates Association (UEPG). The list of speakers is still being finalised but Caterpillar EAME vice president Mike Baunton, former Lafarge chairman and CEO Bertrand Collomb and European Commission DG Enterprise and Industry director Patrick Hennessy have been confirmed. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=179 Wed, 05 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=180 Planning permission for quarrying at two sites in Derbyshire, UK are to be revoked as part of a deal which will allow another nearby quarry to be granted permission for extension. Under the deal Stancliffe Stone has agreed to stop extraction at Lees Cross and Endcliffe quarries as part of plans to protect Stanton Moor, which is within the Peak District National Park. In exchange for closing the two quarries, Stancliffe has been given the go ahead to extend its operations at Dale View Quarry. The National Park Authority and Standcliffe are now preparing a legal agreement to ensure the staged restoration of Dale View. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=180 Thu, 06 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=181 Moscow-based Eurocement has signed an agreement with Denmark's FL Smidth for supply of equipment for a new cement plant in the Voronezh region. The deal is part of Eurocement's plans to invest Rb165billion (€4.7billion) in Russia to increase its cement production to 21million tonnes by 2015. According to a statement from Eurocement, the new plant will be built using the latest scientific and industrial construction techniques, as well as the latest environmental and energy-efficient technologies to make the new plant the most advanced of the cement industry Russia. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=181 Thu, 06 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=183 Construction work on a new HUF50billion (€196.5million) cement plant in Kiralyegyhaza, Hungary has got underway today. The plant in southern Hungary is being developed by Nostra Cement, which is a subsidiary of construction group Strabag. The investement include expansion of the Bukkosd quarry, which will supply the plant with material via a new 2.5km railway track. The new rail link will also enable the plant to dispatch cement products to customers on the Hungarian rail network. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=183 Mon, 09 07 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=185 Reports suggest that up to 40 people may have been killed in Mexico when a truck carrying explosives overturned on the Monclova-Cuatro Cienegas highway following a collision with another vehicle. The truck was laden with 25tonnes of explosives destined for use in blasting at a mining operation. However when the truck collided with another vehicle it caught fire and exploded, leaving a crater 2m deep by 10m wide. The death toll was comparatively high due to the numbers of onlookers who had clustered around the crash site. Other dead include emergency workers. This incident highlights the dangers involved in using explosives for blasting. Many quarrying (and mining) operations in Europe are now switching over to using hydraulic breakers for primary winning due to the difficulties in meeting safety and security needs with regards to the storage and use of explosives. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=185 Tue, 11 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=186 An extensive archaeological investigation ahead of extension of Tarmac's Loudoun Quarry at Darvel, Scotland has revealed a prehistoric settlement at the site. The excavation work, which started in March this year, was undertaken by Glasgow University Archaeological Research Division (GUARD) as part of conditions for planning consent for extension of the quarry. The investigation concentrated on two areas that had been previously identified as having a high potential of producing important archaeological information. However, the discovery of the settlements at one of the locations was not expected at the site. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=186 Mon, 10 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=187 The Dow Jones Sustainability Index is naming Holcim as industry leader. This is the third year in succession that Holcim has been named as the company with the best sustainability performance in the building materials sector. The award indicates that Holcim is meeting the demands of an ever more tightly regulated industry and that the firm continues its commitment towards core sustainability issues relating to the industry. The Holcim Group has now been included in both the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the Dow Jones STOXX Sustainability Index for some five years. the Dow Jones Sustainability Index was the first global index to track and assess the leading sustainability-driven companies and was launched in 1999. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=187 Wed, 12 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=188 A new study into the use of recycled materials highlights the benefits of recycling for aggregate production. The RMC Research Education Foundation is offering an extensive report entitled ?Crushed Returned Concrete as Aggregates for New Concrete'. The study examines the effects of the use of crushed concrete aggregate on fresh and hardened concrete properties by comparing these properties to concretes containing virgin aggregates. The study is available on the Foundation's website: ww.rmc-foundation.org http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=188 Thu, 13 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=189 The UK Quarry Products Association's second quarter 2007 survey of construction material trends, showed strong growth in aggregate sales, compared with the same period of 2006, reflecting a general improvement in construction activity during this period. Sales of crushed rock were up 6% in the second quarter, compared with the same period last year, while sand and gravel sales showed a 1% rise. Sales of ready-mixed concrete grew by 2% in the second quarter, confirming the growth trend evident in the first quarter. The Association anticipates that overall aggregate and ready-mixed concrete values will remain positive for 2007, but says there is likely to be another substantial reduction in asphalt sales for the year as demand for local and national highway authorities remains very depressed. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=189 Thu, 13 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=191 Irish firm CRH is boosting its US operations with four acquisitions worth a total of US$350 million. The purchases are being made through CRH's Americas Materials Division. One of these is for Conrad Yelvington Distributors, Inc (CYDI) the largest rail distributor of aggregates in the Southeast US. CYDI is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, and handles approximately 9 million tonnes of materials through its network of 27 rail-served distribution terminals located throughout Florida and in Alabama, Mississippi and Michigan. This firm fits in well with the Americas Materials other operations in the Southeast US region. The Materials Division's West region has acquired two integrated aggregates, asphalt, readymixed concrete and paving/construction businesses, Eugene Sand Gravel and Cessford Construction. Eugene Sand Gravel fits with existing operations in Oregon, and in particular with the Egge Sand Gravel business, while Cessford represents a significant expansion in Iowa and Illinois. These businesses have combined aggregates reserves of approximately 144 million tonnes. The Materials Division's Mid-Atlantic region has acquired McMinn's Asphalt and Prospect Aggregates, a business based near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This firm has two quarries, five asphalt plants and four concrete plants and fits well with the existing Pennsy Supply operation in south-central Pennsylvania, http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=191 Fri, 14 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=192 UK-based Aggregate Industries has acquired the remaining 50% shareholding of Norway's Halsvik Aggregates that it did not already own. The buyout of Wergeland Holdings means that Aggregate Industries now has full control of the Halsvik. Financial details of the deal were not released but, according to a statement from Aggregate Industries, the Halsvik business has grown significantly since the company first bought shares 10 years ago. The combination of Aggregates Industries' other Norwegian interests and acquisition of Halsvik, will give Aggregate Industries an annual output in the country of 2.5million tonnes. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=192 Mon, 17 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=193 Ireland-based materials group CRH that it is in negotiation with Cemex to takeover a number of businesses in both the US and Europe. The assets under negotiation include those operations in Florida and Arizona that the US Department of Justice has required Cemex to divest as a result of the acquisition of Rinker. In addition CRH is in negotiations to acquire Cemex's US concrete pipe business and materials and products operations in five states;  the aggregates operations in Kentucky; Cemex's cement plants in Wampum, Pennsylvania and Fairborn, Ohio; and its gypsum wallboard distribution business in Florida. In Europe, CRH is also looking to takeover Cemex's San Feliu cement plant in Catalonia in Spain and Cemex's readymixed concrete and aggregates assets in Austria and Hungary. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=193 Mon, 17 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=194 Cemex has said that it is expecting to record a 29% rise in third quarter sales (Q3) for 2007, compared to the same period last year, to reach US$6billion (€4.3billion). The company is due to announce the official figures later this month, but this forecast shows significant improvement on the 6% rise recorded in Q2. The company has also said that it is likely to post a 22% increase in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITA) to reach US$1.35billion (€974million) and a 16% rise in operating income to US$950million (€685million) for Q3. The results include the effect of consolidating Rinker into Cemex's operations from 1 July. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=194 Tue, 18 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=195 Cemex has announced plans to build a US$400million (€286million) cement plant in Arizona. The news comes shortly after it has emerged that the company is in negotiations with CRH to sell some of its assets in Arizona. The 2million tonne capacity plant will be built at Seligman crossing and is expected to be operational by 2012. According to Cemex, the plant is needed to help meet the growing demand for cement in Arizona. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=195 Wed, 19 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=196 Nigeria-based Ashaka Cement has invested more than NGN100million (€560,000) in building new homes and removal costs in a bid to continue it quarrying and cement production at Bajoga in Gombe state. According to a statement from the company, Ashaka, which is owned by Lafarge, has financed the relocation of three communities to a place of their choice. As part of the deal, the company has built 52 two-bedroomed flats at Gabon Sari, along with a primary school, water pumps, three mosques and a dispensary for the displaced communities of Jauro Buba, Jauro Yaya and Jauro Chindo. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=196 Thu, 20 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=197 Archaeological investigations at Bardon Aggregates' Pode Hole Quarry near Peterborough, UK have uncovered further Bronze Age human remains. Following the discovery of a 3500 year old adult skeleton in July, the archaeology team has now unearthed the skeleton of a child at the site. The routine archaeological investigation is being carried out ahead of extension of the extraction area at the quarry and form part of the planning consent for the expansion. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=197 Wed, 19 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=198 Finland-based concrete producer Parma has said that it is experiencing shortages of cement and fears that it will cause it to temporarily close its concrete plants. The company has warned customers of potential delays to concrete deliveries. According to concrete manufacturer HB-Betoniteollisuus' managing director Eero Nieminen, the shortage has been caused by Finnsementti's monopoly on the Finnish cement market. He said that Finnsementti has not invested enough money in increasing capacity in Finland. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=198 Fri, 21 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=199 More inspectors, a mentoring system and a manual of standards are just a few of the initiatives that the government in Canada's British Columbia are planning to introduce to improve quarry safety. The announcement comes after the death of four quarry workers in less than six months – a toll which the government says is unacceptable. The government will dedicate more inspectors to quarry operations, implement a mentoring system for new workers and prepare a manual setting out standards for operators, according to the Minister of State for Mines Kevin Krueger. He also said that any quarry not complying with safety standards would be issued with a stop-work order. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=199 Mon, 24 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=200 Work to build a new school in the Ramat Shlomo district of northern Jerusalem, Israel has uncovered an ancient quarry. According to a report form Israel's Antiquities Authority, the quarry may have been used to supply blocks of stone up to 8m long for the construction of the Second Temple in 1BC. Artefacts found at the site include iron tools, from which archaeologists hope to gain a better understanding of quarrying techniques used to extract these large blocks of stone. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=200 Mon, 24 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=201 Russia-based Volgo-Cement is planning to construct a RUB8billion (€227million) cement plant in the north of the Volgograd region, according to a company statement. Work on the new 1million tonne capacity plant is expected to get underway in the first half of next year and will be equipped by ThyssenKrupp. News of the development follows Volgo's acquisition of 60million tonnes of raw material for cement production in the Volgograd region in an auction last year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=201 Tue, 25 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=202 Work to modernise and expand a cement plant of French-based materials producer Vicat has been completed, according to local media reports. Vicat has operated a plant at the Montalieu Vercieu site since 1922 and the expansion plan has raised capacity from 1.4million tonnes to 2million tonnes per year. The upgrade involved construction of a new 350tonne per hour vertical mill and a 1.8km long conveyor belt, which connects the plant's new pre-homogenisation store with the Enieu quarry. Part of the project also involved reducing the impact of the plant by installing bag houses rather than electrofilters to minimise dust emissions. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=202 Wed, 26 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=203 An investigation into the standard of working practices in Chinese quarries has been launched by several Swedish local authorities. The local governments in Malmö, Göteborg and Örebro have commissioned Swedwatch to check on working conditions and health and safety practices in a number of quarries in China, which currently supply stone paving products to Sweden. The launch of the investigation comes after a national radio programme in Sweden, Kaliber, highlighted the low standard of care for workers in China. The programme's review focused on several industries, including the quarry industry, which has raised concerns in Sweden about the ethics of buying materials from China just on the basis of price. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=203 Mon, 01 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=204 Rising cost of transportation has meant that Siam Cement in Thailand has reviewed its development strategy and is now planning to invest in building more CPAC cement plants. According to Siam's CPAC managing director Annop Tegajarin, the increases in the price of petrol in Thailand over the last two years has forced a change in strategy. Tegajarin said that building more plants would help cut costs by shortening the distances travelled by cement delivery lorries between the plants and Siam's customer's construction sites. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=204 Wed, 03 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=205 Holcim has released forecast figures for its business that suggest that the company is expecting continued improvement in its aggregates business by 2010. According to the company's new divisional targets that have been revealed to investors, Holcim is forecasting the proportion of EBITDA to sales for aggregates to rise from 20.7% in 2006 to 27% in 2007. The company has said that it expects to reach this target through a combination of measures, including reviewing its quarries, implementing efficiency initiatives and improving marketing. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=205 Thu, 27 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=206 Productivity at Marshalls' Scout Moor Quarry in Lancashire, UK has been boosted following delivery of a new 70tonne Volvo excavator. The EC700B machine's main role will be to rip up to 400,000 tonnes of sandstone blocks from the quarry using a ripper booth but the excavator will also be used to handle top lift material for crushed aggregate production. Marshalls' EC700B is equipped with a 6.6m mass excavation boom and a 2.9m dipper arm and has a Miller ?Bug' hydraulic coupler enable the machine to switch quickly between the heavy duty ripper tooth and Miller extreme rock bucket. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=206 Tue, 02 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=207 Canada-based Polaris Minerals has signed a long term agreement for the supply of marine transported aggregates for US west coast with Cemex. Under the deal, Cemex will be the exclusive marketer of Polaris materials in California, Oregon and Washington and Polaris will be the exclusive supplier to Cemex for this area. Polaris has already commenced sand and gravel shipments from its British Columbia Orca Quarry to the two existing Cemex terminals in San Francisco Bay, California. In addition, the two companies have entered into an alliance for the development of future construction aggregates import terminals in the same territory. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=207 Fri, 28 09 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=208 UK-based quarry operator MMC Mineral Processing is to take its battle to continue quarrying at Backdale Quarry, Derbyshire to the High Court next month. The Cort will hear an appeal by the quarry operator on 5 November against a Planning Inspectorate ruling that prevents work at the site. The limestone quarry at Longstone Edge in the Peak District was issued with a stop order in 2006 after the terms of a 1952 planning permission for the site was challenged. Under the original consent, the quarry operator had permission to extract fluorspar and barytes as primary products and limestone as a secondary material but the current operation is focused only on limestone extraction. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=208 Thu, 04 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=218 Buzzi Unicem has opened a new cement distribution terminal in the US that has been designed to have a minimal impact on the surrounding area. The 3,270tonne capacity facility in Cincinnati, Ohio has been designed to be completely silent during operation, while the concrete access road helps minimise noise and dust and the railway line and rest of the plant have been screened with vegetation. According to Buzzi Unicem, the terminal has two 1,635tonne steel silos, one of which has a dividing wall to allow the site to handle three different bulk products. The site can be used to load road trucks, rail trucks or inland barges. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=218 Mon, 08 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=220 Cemex has helped the German fire brigade to simulate an emergency rescue operation at one of its sand silos at the Sophienwerderweg site in Berlin. In the simulation two people, represented by dummies, had become trapped in the 100tonne capacity silo after falling around 4m into the stored sand during a maintenance operation. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=220 Fri, 05 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=224 Nigeria-based Damnaz Cement Company has agreed to buy two of HeidelbergCement's African subsidiaries, according to an announcement from Heidelberg. Under the deal, Damnaz will take control of the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria and Société Nigérienne de Cimenterie in Niger, with the deal expected to be completed by the end of the month. Heidelberg chairman Dr Bernd Sceifele said that the divestments are part of the company's strategic reorientation plan. "We are focusing our financial resources on markets where we can attain a leading market position and which offer a good balance between chances and risks," he said. "It is not possible for the company to achieve a leading market position in Nigeria and divestment also improves the risk profile of HeidelbergCement." http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=224 Tue, 09 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=234 If changes are not made to the Draft Soil Framework Directive, then the quarry industry could face unnecessary legislative hurdles, according to the UK's Quarry Products Association. The QPA has said that although the UK government is currently carrying out consultations on the Directive, the wording as it stands will class quarries as "potentially polluting activities" without any risk basis for the position. According to QPA, existing regulations in the UK provide protection from any potential impacts on soil and adoption of the Directive in its current form would lead to double regulation of the industry. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=234 Wed, 10 10 2007 15:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=236 Customers at Tarmac's Coventry ready mixed concrete plant will now benefit from a more reliable service following commissioning of the company's new plant at the site. The new plant has been built alongside the old 30-year old facility to offer more efficient production and higher capacity. "The new site has specially designed traffic management to improve safety and modern silo protection equipment to prevent any dust being released into the air," said Tarmac midlands aggregate production manager Nigel Blackburn. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=236 Wed, 10 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=237 Holcim is to invest in its cement production capacity in Hungary to meet growing demand in the region. According to reports in the Chinese media, the company has just signed a deal with China-based Simona International Engineering for a turn-key contract to supply a new cement production line for Hungary. No details about the location or capacity of the new plant have been released but the contract with Simona International Engineering has been valued at €121.8million. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=237 Thu, 11 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=245 Lafarge has opened a new research centre for innovation in concrete in L'Isle d'Abeau, near Lyons, France. According to Lafarge, the new facility is part of its Excellence 2008 plan. The 2500m2 building has an experimental concrete plant where new mixes can be tested in real time on an industrial scale. The centre also has large scale testing facilities that will allow mixes to be analysed under different external factors such as temperature and hygrometry. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=245 Wed, 10 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=255 Belgium-based aggregate and industrial minerals company Cameuse has had its US$250million (€175million) offer for US-based Oglebay Norton accepted. Oblebay Norton's board accepted Cameuse's offer of US$36 (€25), which represents a 5.1% premium on Oglbay's closing price last Thursday. It is understood that Cleveland-based Oglebay's business will be incorporated into Cameuse's existing North American operations. According to a statement from the company, Cameuse is one of North America's largest producers of lime and limestone products. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=255 Mon, 15 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=256 Competition issues are likely to play a significant part in the final decision of companies bidding for the acquisition of Tarmac, according to aggregates marketing consultancy BDS Marketing. A report by BDS states that Tarmac has a 20% market share of the UK aggregates, asphalt, ready mixed concrete and mortar market and competes with four other companies in the UK market. According to BDS, Tarmac's largest competitor is Hanson but following its takeover by Heidelberg it is only likely to be interested in acquiring assets that need to be disposed of following takeover by another company. BDS also believes that Cemex and Aggregate Industries would face competition issues but not to the same extent as Hanson. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=256 Tue, 16 10 2007 01:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=257 Continued rising demand for crushing and screening equipment has led Metso Minerals to announce plans to expand its manufacturing facilities in India. The company has said that it plans to invest €12.5million to expand its operations at Bawal in Haryana to help it double supply of mobile crushing and vibrating units by the end of 2009. According to Metso construction business line president Jouni Salo, the expansion of the plant will be completed by the end of 2008. The investment includes building an assembly line dedicated for mobile crushing and vibrating equipment, doubling to the current floor space, as well as new production equipment http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=257 Wed, 17 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=258 The average extracted cost of aggregates has risen faster in eastern Europe than anywhere else in the region during 2007, according to Metso Minerals senior vice president EMEA Luis Santos. In an interview with ABE, Santos said that aggregate prices in Russia are currently the highest in Europe, with an average cost at the quarry of €9 to €12/tonne. He also said that prices in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria are rising fast and are expected to approach Russian levels in the next 12 months. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=258 Thu, 18 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=259 Emphasis on people-related issues is helping the new Quarrysafe health and safety management system to win support in the UK aggregates sector. Leading Industrial minerals supplier WBB Minerals UK helped the University of Exeter's Camborne School of Mines (CSM) to develop the system, through funding from MIRO, and is now being promoted by the British Aggregates Association (BAA). The system places emphasis upon people-related elements such as visible management commitment and workforce involvement as well as covering legal and procedural requirements. CSM project researcher Jon Bennett said, "Quarrying has moved forward immensely in the last few years in the management of health and safety. The challenge is to build on this momentum and to ensure that every individual in the sector is included in the effort, with the ultimate aim of eliminating significant injuries and occupational diseases. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=259 Thu, 18 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=260 Trials of a new waste derived fuel at one Cemex's UK cement kilns have been given the go ahead by the Environment Agency. Under the scheme, Cemex will replace 30% of the coal used at its Rugby Works kilns in Warwickshire with Climafuel, which is derived from household and commercial waste. According to Cemex, the trial follows more than a year of consultations with a wide range of organisations, community groups and Rugby residents. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=260 Fri, 19 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=261 Switzerland-based Holcim has delayed its offer to acquire a further 20% share of India's Ambuja Cements, according to offer manager DSP Merrill Lynch. Holcim, which already owns a 36% stake in Ambuja, announced in August that it wanted to acquire up to another 20% share in the company. Under the deal that was due to open on 18 October, Holcim hoped to buy a further 306.6 million shares at a price of INR154 (€2.70). http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=261 Fri, 19 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=262 Cemex was awarded the John Crabbe Trophy by the UK's Quarry Products Association during its Health and Safety Best Practice Awards for overall excellence in health and safety. Ignacio Ortiz president for Cemex UK collected the award at the ceremony that was held at the Institution of Civil Engineers headquarters in London on Friday 19 October. Blasting Services also beat off stiff competition to win the Frank Davies Trophy – awarded to the most outstanding health and safety performance by a smaller company - for the second year running. A special award was also presented to Ennstone for showing the greatest improvement in its health and safety record in recent years. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=262 Mon, 22 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=263 Lafarge's US$255million (€159million) cement plant in Bangladesh may have to suspend work following the Indian Supreme Court's decision to refuse a quarrying permit for the Meghalaya quarry. The Supreme Court has ordered extraction at the site to stop because it claims work was started before the site's permit was granted. The 100ha quarry lies within forest areas of India and material is transported from the site via a 17km conveyor to the cement plant on the Indo-Bangladesh border. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=263 Mon, 22 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=264 Environmentalists have voiced concern following the announcement that Hima Cement is to open a new 450ha limestone quarry in a national park in Dura, Uganda. Hima has acquired a 21 year lease from the Ugandan government for land, which falls inside the Queen Elizabeth National Park. According to announcement from Hima, the company is only waiting for consent from the Uganda Wildlife Authority to start work at the site. Without permission to quarry at the site, Hima's current reserves will only allow the company to continue operating its cement plant in the Kasese district for another five years. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=264 Tue, 23 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=265 US-based Bilcon's proposal to open a new 2million tonnes a year basalt quarry at Whites Point Nova Scotia, Canada could be halted on environmental grounds. An environmental review of the project has said that the burden from quarry and terminal could outweigh the benefits. Under the proposal, Bilcon wants to extract basalt from the 152ha site over a 50 year period. Bilcon plans to crush and process the rock on site before transporting up to 40,000tonnes of aggregate by sea to the US for sale in the New Jersey market. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=265 Wed, 24 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=266 Lafarge has just taken delivery of a second 248tonne Terex O&K RH 120-E mining excavator to improve efficiency of its Mountsorrel Quarry in Leicestershire, UK. The quarry, which is one of the largest granite extraction sites in Europe, took delivery of its first RH 120-E less than two years ago to load its fleet of eight 100tonne dump trucks. The second machine, christened Hercules, will allow Lafarge to reach its target production of 5million tonnes per year through working a single shift. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=266 Thu, 25 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=268 Global sales at Mexico-based Cemex rose 31% to US$6.1billion (€4.2billion) during the third quarter of this year, compared to the same period in 2006. EBITDA was also up 23% to US$1.4billion (€974million) during the same period. According to a statement from Cemex, the strong growth has been attributed to the company's acquisition of Rinker as well as increased cement and aggregates sales volumes. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=268 Fri, 26 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=269 An investigation is underway to find out how 16 non CE marked Hyundai excavators came to be offered for sale with the EU. This follows a warning issued by Hyundai to construction equipment buyers that 16 unofficial excavators have been imported to the Irish market. These machines were made for sale outside of the EU and their specification does not meet the requirements for use within Europe. According to a statement from Hyundai, the problem concerns two 48tonne R500LC-7, four 32tonne R320LC-7 and 10 21tonne R210LC-7 excavators being offered for sale by Londonderry-based Millar Tractors. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=269 Fri, 26 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=270 The future of Tarmac's Borras Quarry in Wrexham UK has been secured with work on a new extraction site at the Holt Estate now underway. Gaining consent for the new quarry clears the way for restoration work at the exhausted Caia Farm quarry to begin. Over the past seven years Tarmac has transported over 2.5million tonnes of sand and gravel from Caia Farm to the Borras Quarry site by conveyor belt. But with reserves at Caia Farm reaching exhaustion, Tarmac needed to secure permission for another extraction site to continue serving the construction market in North Wales and North West England. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=270 Mon, 29 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=271 Tarmac has announced plans to buy out the 50% share of United Marine Holdings (UMH) that it does not already own. Marine aggregates operator UMH was a joint venture, owned 50:50 by Tarmac and Hanson. According to Tarmac, it has an option to buyout Hanson's share of the business but the price for the stake has not been decided. However, Tarmac's rights to buy out Hanson have been denied by Hanson's new owner Heidelberg Cement. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=271 Fri, 05 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=272 Benoît-H Koch is to take over as chairman of Aggregate Industries following the announcement that Peter Tom CBE is standing down from the position. The change comes as Aggregate Industries sets up two boards to manage its business in the UK, Northern Europe and the US with one based in the UK and the other in the US. Tom held the post of chief executive at Aggregate Industries until 1 January 2006 and led the company through its acquisition by Holcim. Following the takeover, Tom moved to the position of chairman and Bill Bolsover took over as chief executive. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=272 Wed, 31 10 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=273 The Hungarian news Agency MTI has reported that the bodies of three children have been found in an illegal sand quarry near the village of Sumepraga in Western Hungary. According to the firefighters, called to the scene by a fourth child, the bodies were found under a collapsed wall using a sniffer dog. The children, aged around 12, were playing in the sand at the site before the collapse and, according to fire chief Janos Zold, the collapse happened without warning. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=273 Thu, 01 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=274 After nearly 50 years of trading as joint venture partners in UK-based Readymix South West, Aggregate Industries has bought out Cemex's share in the business. According to Aggregate Industries, it has acquired the part of the company that it did not already own to strengthen its ready mixed concrete operations in the UK. The Readymix South West was established by the companies that later became Cemex and Aggregate Industries in 1959. The business currently comprises 18 ready mixed concrete plants in Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=274 Thu, 01 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=275 A UK quarry that has been disused for more than 20 years could soon be revitalised as a new eco-town with 5000 homes. Under plans submitted by Kilbride Properties, Shipton Quarry near Shipton-on-Cherwell in Oxfordshire, UK could become one of 10 showcase eco-towns that the UK governments want to see built. The 168ha limestone quarry was operated by Blue Circle, which is now part of Lafarge, and was also home to a cement works. The site, which ceased operation in the mid-1980s, was bought by the Bride Parks Group in 2001. Since then a number of options for reuse have been considered, including landfilling the site with refuse. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=275 Fri, 02 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=276 Impact of rainfall on production at Lafarge's Lichtenburg cement plant in South Africa has been reduced through construction of domes to protect stockpiles. Built at a cost of ZAR4million (€420,000), the two steel domes completely encapsulate the limestone stockpiles at the site. The structures were built by Mexico-based Geometrica and measure 115m in diameter and 36m in height. Work on the project started in April last year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=276 Fri, 02 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=277 Scotland-based earthworks contractor AB2000 is using two Extec C 12 mobile crushers to process rock for construction of what will be Europe's largest windfarm. The Whitelee Windfarm at in East Kilbride, Scotland will generate up to 322MW of electricity when it is completed in 2008. But the site for the 140 turbines, which will be 100m tall, is covered with a 12m deep layer of peat and crushed rock is needed to stabilise the area for construction. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=277 Mon, 05 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=279 Restoration of Cemex's Clotet quarry near Alicante in Spain has led to an unusual addition to the company's product range mandarins. More than 400tonnes of the fruit are expected to be harvested from the former quarry and cement works over the next few weeks. Restoration of 110ha site started in 1985 but was targeted for agricultural use after testing in 2000 showed it would be well suited to fruit farming. The former quarry now has 22000 mandarin trees as well as peach, nectarine and plum trees, which produced 1000tonnes of fruit this year. Not all the trees have reached full maturity and Cemex has said that in future the total harvest will be 2000tonnes of fruit. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=279 Mon, 05 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=280 Through a dedicated website, the Stop Ding Quarry campaign group is hoping to increase support against the reopening of the Lancashire Quarry. DP Williams has applied to reopen the site, which still holds historic planning rights granted in 1949, and wants to extract up to 28million tonnes of flag stone from the site. The company first tried to gain access to the quarry in 1995 but following a change in legislation, Rochdale Council declared the quarry dormant. This did not remove the right to quarry at the site, but DP Williams would have to reapply for consent to work the site under current planning regulations. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=280 Mon, 05 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=282 Holcim's latest financial result show that the company generated a 20.7% rise in operating profit on a 15.8% increase in sales in the first nine months of 2007, compared to last year. The company has recorded profits of CHF4billion (€2.4billion) and sales of CHF20.3billion (€12.2billion) and has also reported that cash flow from operating activities has improved 38.8% to CHF3.3billion (€1.98billion). According to a statement from the company, Holcim attributes the good figures to its strong presence in growth markets, particularly in Asia. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=282 Wed, 07 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=283 Holcim's Mexican subsidiary Holcim Apasco has unveiled plans to build a new $400million (€272million) cement plant in northern Mexico. The new 1.6million tonne per year capacity plant will be built close to the US border in the Mexican state of Sonora. In a statement issued by the company, Holcim Apasco has said, "This installation will allow us to strengthen our competitive position in the north of the country and optimize our attention to regional clients." No date for the start or completion of construction has been given. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=283 Thu, 08 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=284 A 5% increase in sales to €4.8billion and a 15% rise in operating income to €1billion for the third quarter of 2007 has boosted Lafarge's results for the first nine months of the year to record levels. The company has reported that sales to 30 September 2007 were up 4% to €13.2billion, while operating income rose 18% to €2.4billion, compared to the same period last year. "The contribution of emerging markets to our earnings has increased remarkably, with results taking off in Eastern Europe and Asia in particular, as well as posting higher results in North America," said Lafarge chairman and chief executive officer Bruno Lafont. "Our strategic plan is delivering the expected results and we will have achieved 60% of our 2006 to 2008 cost reduction target at the end of this year." http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=284 Thu, 08 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=285 Rubber wear products manufacturer Linatex has announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire fellow US-based screening specialist Durex Products. According to a statement from Linatex, the deal is effective from 31 October but no financial details have been released. Linatex has said that Durex Products is a good fit with its own products and the acquisition will help the company to offer customers a comprehensive range of products, services, and solutions for materials processing in hard rock mining, sand and aggregates. Linatex also said that the companies have the same strong focus on providing products that offer superior mineral processing solutions combined with maximum wear resistance. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=285 Fri, 09 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=286 Heidelberg's sales for the first nine months of 2007 were up 22% to €7.25billion, compared to the same period last year. Operating income was also up 29.1% to reach €1.34billion for the same period. These strong figures were boosted in the third quarter with an increase in sales to €3billion and operating income also grew to €716million. According to Heidelberg, the growth came from consolidation of Hanson into the business and the contributions made by the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, as well as Norway, Africa, Asia and Turkey http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=286 Tue, 06 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=287 Declining aggregates sales in Spain, Greece and Italy for Italcementi means that while the company recorded an increase in turnover during the first nine months of the year, the company recorded a loss, compared to the same period last year. The company reported that while sales rose 5% to €4.6billion, operating profit fell -5% to €786million for the first three quarters of 2007. However, although the company has adjusted its full year forecast to show a decline compared to the results for 2006, Italcementi claims that last year was exceptionally good. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=287 Fri, 09 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=288 Crushing and screening specialist Astec has announced that it has appointed Steven Claude as its new vice president of international sales. Claude takes over the position from Mike Uchytil ? one of the founders of Astec ? who retired earlier this year. Claude joins Astec from domestic appliance manufacturer Maytag, where he held the position of vice president of international regions. In his new role, Claude will report directly to Astec president Ben Brock. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=288 Tue, 13 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=289 Installation of a Liebherr Mobilmix 2.25 ready mixed concrete batching plant at Cemex UK's site in Poole completes the company's upgrade at five plants. Work to install the modular plants at Cemex's sites in Glasgow, Newport, Liverpool and Altrincham has already been completed. Liebherr's Mobilmix plants are designed for use either as a mobile unit or as a permanent static assembly. According to Liebherr, the entire plant with inline and cement silos on its own steel foundations can be installed quickly with minimum ground preparation and can be ready to batch within a few days. The plant has a maximum capacity of 100m3 per hour. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=289 Wed, 14 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=290 The latest report from the UK's Quarry Products Association suggests that the country's aggregates market is in good shape. According to the latest figures, volume sales of crushed rock grew 8% during the third quarter of 2007, compared to the same period last year, following strong gains in the second quarter. Despite these gains, sales of sand and gravel were down 1% for the quarter compared to last year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=290 Wed, 14 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=291 Scotland-based quarry operator Ennstone has announced a number of key acquisitions that strengthen its position in both the US and its native Scotland. Ennstone has said that it has entered a series of agreements which give it an option to purchase a US operator with consented sand and gravel reserves of over 15 million tonnes in its strategically important state of Virginia. This option will be open for completion when the existing consent for the extraction and processing of these reserves is permitted and is anticipated early next year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=291 Mon, 12 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=292 Italy-based cement manufacturer Buzzi Unicem has reported good growth for the first nine months of the year, despite the weaker markets in Italy and the US. The company has reported that net sales rose 10.1% to €2.6billion compared to the same period last year, while EBITA increased 5.5% to €719million. Buzzi Unicem has said that cement sales for the period were up 4.3% to 25.9million tonnes and ready mixed concrete sales grew 4.5% to 12.7million m3, compared to 2006. According to a statement from the company, growth in Eastern Europe helped to boost the figures for the first nine months of 2007. The company said that this growth helped to offset the downturn in the Italian and US markets. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=292 Thu, 15 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=293 Joint venture cement company Lafarge-Titan has announced plans to invest US$180million (€123million) to expand cement production in Egypt, according to local media reports. Group commercial director Medhat Stefanos said that the company wanted to increase production at its Beni Suef cement plant by 50% to 4.7million tonnes per year. According to Stefanos, half of the investment will be financed by banks and the rest from profits from the company's operations in Egypt. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=293 Thu, 15 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=294 Holcims plans to increase its stake in India's Ambuja Cements by a further 20% have taken a step forward with reopening of the company's share offer. The offer, which represents a 5% premium on the current share price, opened yesterday and will close on 3 December. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=294 Fri, 16 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=295 Cemex has announced that its US subsidiary is currently in negotiations with private ready mixed concrete company Ready Mix USA to expand a joint venture set up in 2005. Under the deal, some of Cemex's sites in south eastern US valued at US$150million (€102million) will be transferred and then be sold to the joint venture business for US$227million (€155million). Ready Mix USA will also contribute US$150million (€102million) in cash to the new business. Following the transaction, the joint venture will continue to be owned 50.01% by Ready Mix USA and 49.99% by Cemex. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=295 Fri, 16 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=296 Fines totally almost £13,000 (€18,000) have been imposed on a UK quarrying company after one of its employees contracted silicosis. Darlington-based Dunhouse Quarry Company was fined £3750 (€5242) and ordered to pay £8000 (€11,184) costs following a routine Health and Safety Executive inspection showed that standards at the quarry fell breached the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health regulations. The inspection found that one employee had contracted silicosis, which is fatal, and a number of other operatives had been exposed to Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS). http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=296 Mon, 19 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=297 Metso Minerals and Fisher-Klosterman subsidiary Buell have signed an agreement to sell Buell air classifiers in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. According to Metso, addition of the equipment to its product range will improve sand manufacturing capabilities. US-based Buell manufactures a range of filler classification applications for cement, alongside sand and industrial minerals applications. Metso said in a statement on the agreement that the diminishing resources of natural sand mean that the construction industry is looking to use of more manufactured sand for concrete and asphalt production. According to Metso, the dry air classification process provides high yield of quality manufactured sand with low operational cost and minimised environmental impact, also making it possible to market the filler as a value added product. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=297 Mon, 19 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=298 Residents in the French village of Berville-on-Seine now have use a new ecological discovery trail following completion of Cemex's nearby quarry. Cemex has worked with the Norman Ornithogical Group (GONm) for the last five years to ensure the project was realised. Cemex started working the quarry in Seine-Maritime in 1992 and has phased the restoration, with the first stage completed in 2002. According to Cemex, the scheme is an "ecological role model" for restoration. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=298 Tue, 20 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=299 Plans to extract up to 2million tonnes per year of basalt from a new coastal super quarry in Canada have been rejected by the government of Nova Scotia. Environment minister Mark Parent said that the plan to quarry the site at Digby Neck has been turned down on ecological grounds. He said the project failed to adequately address issues such as water run-off and the risks to species like the endangered right whales in the Bay of Fundy. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=299 Wed, 21 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=301 The fossilised claw of what palaeontologists believe is a giant arthropod has been found in a quarry near Prum in Western Germany. The 460mm long claw from pterygotid eurypterid (sea scorpion) Jaekelopterus rhenaniae was found in the Early Devonian Willwerath Lagerstätte deposits in Germany. According to a research paper on the discovery, the sea scorpion would have been 2.5m in length. This is an important discovery as this is more than half a metre longer than previous estimates for the species. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=301 Thu, 22 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=306 Planning permission has been granted for a new residential development at a disused chalk quarry in Kent, UK. Under the scheme, three villages linked by parks and lakes will be developed at Eastern Quarry by Land Securities following agreement of the plans with Dartford Borough Council and Kent County Council. The quarry to be redeveloped is close to the Bluewater quarry that has already been successfully redeveloped as a regional shopping centre. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=306 Fri, 23 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=307 Following extension of Cemex's Stenden quarry in Germany this summer, employees and guests at the opening ceremony for the site have helped to raise funds for a local kindergarten. The quartz gravel extraction site was granted permission for extension earlier this year thanks partly to Cemex's involvement in the community and environmental plans for the area. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=307 Mon, 26 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=308 Süd-Chemie has just taken delivery of three new Terex TA30-G7 articulated dump trucks for its newest bentonite extraction site in Ganderkesse, Germany. The trucks are being used to strip more than 2million m3 of overburden at the 2.8ha site to allow 22,000tonnes of bentonite at the site to be extracted. According to Terex, the 28tonne payload trucks help Süd-Chemie achieve high levels of productivity and low cost per tonne. The bodies on Süd-Chemie's new TA30s have heating and a liftgate. The machines are also fitted with a central lubricating system, wide-angle mirror and a reversing camera. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=308 Tue, 27 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=313 Following an order to stop work at Lafarge's Meghalaya limestone quarry last month, permission for extraction to restart has now been given. The court has said that it has reversed it decision to maintain relations with Bangladesh and not because of a u turn on environmental issues. Under a decision from India's Supreme Court, Lafarge was forced to cease limestone quarrying at the site while the courts investigated whether the work at the site had started before consent was given. The 100ha quarry lies within forest areas of India and material is transported from the site via a 17km conveyor to the cement plant on the Indo-Bangladesh border. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=313 Mon, 26 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=314 Saint-Gobain has denied the stock exchange rumours that the French government wants to see it and Lafarge join forces to create a larger French owned materials conglomerate. Saint-Gobain has said that it has not and will not approach Lafarge to discuss a possible merger. The possibility of a tie-up between the two companies was reignited last week by a report in French newspaper Le Figaro. According to the report, Saint-Gobain had approached Lafarge. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=314 Tue, 27 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=316 Strength from the Depths is the first in what will be an annual report on the sustainability of the British marine aggregates sector. The report, published by the British Marine Aggregates Producers Association (BMAPA), follows on from the organisation's sustainable development strategy which was released in October 2006. The report includes a range of operational data for the marine sector from 2006 on a range of activities from health and safety to resource management. According to the BMAPA, the report sets a benchmark against which future operations can be compared. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=316 Wed, 28 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=317 Growth in the Romanian market is behind the decision by Lafarge Romania to concentrate on the home market. The company has reported that is expects to generate a €400million turnover from the Romanian market this year, a rise of 45% on last year and the growth is spread across all three of its markets of aggregates, cement and plasterboard. Lafarge Ciment chairman and general manager Philippe Questiaux has said that the company has cut exports out of Romania to 300,000tonne because "exports are no longer a priority for us". http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=317 Thu, 29 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=318 At the recent 64th Euroconstruct annual conference in Vienna, delegates were told that the peak of the construction cycle has been passed in Western Europe - but it noted an increased upturn in Eastern Europe. The economic revival in Europe led to a boom in construction in 2006 which slightly weakened in 2007. The 3.8% growth in real construction output achieved by the 19 Euroconstruct countries in 2006 fell to a more modest 2% in 2007. Growth in the construction sector is set to slow further, to 1.4% in 2008, and will only bounce back slightly in 2009 and 2010 by 1.6% per year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=318 Wed, 28 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=332 In recognition of the growth in the construction market in Russia and Eastern Europe, the US-based Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has announced plans for a new show in the region. The AEM has said that it will hold the inaugural Conexpo Russia in Moscow on 15 to 18 September 2008. The AEM will work with Moscow-based exhibition organiser Dorkomexpo to put on the show that will focus on the construction, forestry and utility sectors. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=332 Thu, 29 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=333 Speculation that a timetable for the auctioning of Tarmac could be announced on Friday has been mounting in the financial press this week. Tarmac parent company Anglo American is due to announce its interim results on Friday and Anglo chief executive Cynthia Carroll is expected to include news about Tarmac's sell off. According to reports in the financial media, Anglo may be weighing up its options because of concerns about the state of the debt markets deterring private equity investors. It is also reported that CRH and Lafarge have recorded expressions of interest with Anglo http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=333 Thu, 29 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=334 Lafarge's business in China has been boosted following signing of a strategic cooperation agreement with the Government of Yunnan Province, China. The agreement focuses on cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates and plasterboard. Under the deal, Lafarge will develop at least an additional 10 million tonnes of new cement capacity by 2010 by Lafarge Shui On, plus brand new plants in plasterboard and ready-mix concrete, as well as aggregate quarries. The company will also assist the government in accelerating modernisation of the cement industry, promoting energy-saving policies, use of waste a fuel and new products. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=334 Fri, 30 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=335 Poortown Quarry on the Isle of Man, UK, which provides vital supplies of granite aggregates for the island's road, has just been given a new lease of life. The island's government has invested €10million in new crushing and screening equipment from Metso Minerals to improve efficiency at the site. The site's existing Metso Lokotrack LT105 jaw crusher has joined by two LT200HP mobile cone crushers and four double deck ST352 mobile screens. According to Poortown quarry manager Kevin Brookes, the new mobile equipment adds more flexibility to the operation of the quarry. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=335 Mon, 03 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=336 Delays in reviewing the existing mining act in Kenya have created a legal loophole which has allowed unregulated quarrying activity. According to government officials, these ‘illegal' quarries are not operating within safety or environmental guidelines and putting workers and local communities at risk. Environment officer Elizabeth Gachau told local media that the construction boom in Kenya has caused a rapid rise in demand for construction materials, making quarrying a lucrative business. She said that most of the new quarries should be closed down as they would fail to meetenvironmental audits. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=336 Fri, 30 11 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=337 Following announcement of negotiations with Cemex in September, CRH has now completed its acquisition of US$250million (€170million) of Cemex's assets in the US. Under the deal, CRH has taken ownership of Cemex's readymixed concrete and concrete block making operations in Florida and its aggregates and readymixed concrete businesses in Arizona. Sale of these assets was a condition of Cemex's takeover of Rinker earlier this year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=337 Mon, 03 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=338 Wearing a safety harness is thought to have saved a man working at Lochhead Quarry in Forfar, UK from injury. The man slipped off a platform in a silo and became trapped up to his waist. According to the emergency services, the harness prevented him from falling further into the silo, which could have caused the man crushing injuries, and enabled a rapid rescue operation. The Health and Safety executive is expected to investigate the accident. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=338 Tue, 04 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=339 Lafarge has completed final designs and costing feasibility studies for its planned new cement plant at Snodland in Kent, UK. Completion of the designs for the plant, which was granted planning permission in 2001, suggests that construction at the site may get underway next year. However, it is not expected for the new facility to be operational before production ceases at the company's existing site at nearby Northfleet, which is scheduled for spring 2008. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=339 Tue, 04 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=340 President of the Quarry Association for Trinidad and Tobago has denied that its members have been involved in cartel activities and price fixing. Speaking at the association's annual award ceremony, Ramdeo Persad said that the association was "stunned" at the Prime Minister Patrick Manning's accusation that there was a cartel of profiteers on the supply side of the construction industry that was responsible for the scarcity and high prices of locally produced aggregate such as stone, sand and gravel. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=340 Wed, 05 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=341 Sandvik has just completed delivery of the last three out of 20 new drilling rigs ordered by Gold Field's Tarkwa gold mine in Ghana. The new DP1500 rigs (formerly Pantera 1500) form the largest fleet of such rigs operated by a single customer in the world. The new rigs are also among the first to be delivered in Sandvik's new corporate livery. Tarkwa's surface mining operation produces around 60,000oz (1.7tonnes) of gold each month with a low yield of 1.3g of gold per tonne. The low grade, high volume production works almost around the clock with each machine clocking up around 540hour and 20,000m of blast holes drilling each month. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=341 Thu, 06 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=342 Cemex has officially opened its new cement plant in Buñol, near Valencia in Spain. According to a statement from the company, the €50million investment has created one of the world's largest white cement furnaces. The state of the art facility has a power efficient furnace, which offers a 17% improvement per tonne of clinker and also reduces carbon dioxide emissions. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=342 Wed, 05 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=343 Permission has been granted to Cemex UK to increase the volume of tyres used as fuel at one of its cement works. Under the scheme, Cemex will trial raising the volume of tyres burnt for heating its cement kiln at its Rugby plant from 12 to 25% as a part replacement for coal. The UK's Environment Agency gave the go ahead for the trial after records showed that existing use of tyres produced a marked (30%) reduction in emissions of oxides of nitrogen. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=343 Fri, 07 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=345 New worldwide rules are being suggested by the United Nations to cover mobile explosives manufacturing trucks. While the numbers of these vehicles on the roads are comparatively low, the trucks are used worldwide to supply ANFO (ammonium nitrate fuel oil) type explosives for use in the extraction industries. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=345 Wed, 05 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=346 Holcim has successfully raised its stake in India-based Ambuja Cements by 13% since August following an open offer to shareholders. The Swiss-owned company now holds a 46% stake in Ambuja having invested US$780million (€xxxmillion) in the last four months. Holcim was required to make the open offer after exceeding the acquisition limit of 5% within one fiscal year by raising its stake in the business to 32% earlier in the year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=346 Tue, 04 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=348 Swiss-based Holcim's Brazilian subsidiary has announced that it will invest US$242million (€165million) to increase cement production. According to the company, the investment will be made between now and 2011 to meet rising cement demand in the country due to higher than expected civil construction activity. The majority of the investment will be used to expand operations at Holcim's Pedro Leopoldo and Barroso cement plants in Brazil's state of Minas Gerais. Both plants are currently operating at full capacity and Holcim has said that expansion will remove bottle necks in its network. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=348 Fri, 07 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=349 Proposals to redevelop the Masters Pit quarry in Dorset, UK as a wind farm to provide power for 10,000 homes has been unveiled. Under the scheme, Infinergy will erect six 18MW turbines on the site near the town of Wimbourne. Designers hope the wind farm would provide enough energy for about half of the households in the Purbeck local authority area, and save up to 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide compared to burning fossil fuels. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=349 Mon, 10 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=350 Lafarge has announced that it has reached an agreement to take full ownership of Egypt-based cement producer Orascom. Under the €8.8billion deal, Lafarge will acquire 100% of the Orascom business with an assumed debt of €1.4billion and Nassef Sawiris, who was a majority shareholder in Orascom, will take on an 11.4% shareholding in Lafarge. According to Lafarge, the deal has been financed through €6billion of debt and issuance of 22.5million new Lafarge shares at €125 per share (€2.8billion) to Nassef Sawiris. In a statement Lafarge has said that the acquisition will bring more than €150million of synergies each year and strongly enhance cash flows and growth. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=350 Mon, 10 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=351 Buzzi Unicem has announced that two of its Italian cement plants have achieved new environmental approval. The company's plants in Robilante and Vernasca in Italy have been granted new Integrated Environmental Permits ? the first under Italy's ratification of the EU Directive 96/61/EC for the Integrated Pollution Prevention Control Law. According to Buzzi Unicem, the purpose of the new EC regulatory framework is to roll into one single authoritative standard all the technical-managerial measures aimed at preventing and controlling the various environmental influences, assessed with a proactive and integrated approach to eco-compatibility (Integrated Environmental Permit or IEP). http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=351 Tue, 11 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=352 Lafarge's subsidiary Lafarge Ciments has announced that it has started work on constructing a new cement plant. The new €50million factory at Sete in the south of France is expected to be operation by spring 2009 and will replace Lafarge Ciments existing facility at Frontignan. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=352 Wed, 12 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=353 Portuguese cement manufacturer Cimpore has announced that it has acquires a 53.63% shareholding in India's Shree Digvijay Cement Company (SDCC). According to a statement from Cimpor, the company paid INR42.50 per share – a total investment of INR6740million (€117million) for its stake in the business, which it has bought from Grasim Industries. Following the announcement of the acquisition, Cimpor announced a share tender offering through which it hope to gain an additional 20% of the shares in SDCC. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=353 Tue, 11 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=354 Portugal-based Cimpor has said that it plans to increase its cement production capacity in Morocco to meet the rising demand in the region. According to the company, the market in Morocco has grown rapidly and offers significant further growth potential. Through its Moroccan subsidiary, Asment du Centre, Cimpor will build a new integrated cement plant in Aim Jemaa. The plant is expected to have an annual production capacity of 750,000tonnes and represents an investment of €100million. Work on construction is expected to start in the first half of next year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=354 Fri, 14 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=355 Production at Day Aggregates aggregates and recycling centres across London and the South East of the UK has been boosted with delivery of a new fleet of wheeled loaders. The five new F series Volvo wheeled loaders have been delivered to the company to replace its old fleet of loaders which have clocked up more than 13000hours of service. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=355 Thu, 13 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=356 Three quarry workers have been injured at a site in San José del Valle in the province of Cádiz, Spain, according to local media reports. A sudden explosion at the quarry, which was reportedly heard over a wide area, injured the three men, two of them are in a serious condition. No details about the actual name and location of the quarry have been released but Civil Guard explosives and weapons experts are working at the site to try and determine the cause of the explosion. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=356 Tue, 11 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=357 Cemex Island Aggregates is working with the Isle of Man Department for Education to promote understanding of sustainability in schools. Through the Cemex Glassey Award Scheme 2008 children on the island are being asked to develop projects which improve sustainability or to arrange an activity that promotes understanding of the topic. According to Cemex, the aim of the scheme is to promote and develop environmental awareness and ensure this becomes an intrinsic part of the daily life and ethos of all the participating schools. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=357 Wed, 12 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=358 Lafarge shareholder Groupe Bruxelles Lambert has said that it is ready to increase its stake in the business. According to media reports, Belgium-based holding company GBL has said that it is looking to raise its interest in Lafarge from 17.4% to between 20 and 30%. The news comes just days after Lafarge announced its takeover of Egypt-based Orascom, which will include the issuance of 22.5million new Lafarge shares that will reduce GBL's stake to 16%. However, the takeover is expected to significantly add to Lafarge's growth prospects and the company's share price on the Paris stock exchange has risen 15% following news of the deal. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=358 Wed, 12 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=359 Several investment banks are belived to be looking for a possible merger partner for Italy-based cement producer Italcementi, according to reports in the financial press. Investment bank Credit Suisse is reported to be looking at a possible merger of Italcementi with Swiss rival Holcim. It is also understood that Mediobanca is looking at a number of options for the company and has previously looked at a possible tie-up with another Italian cement manufacturer Buzzi Unicem. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=359 Thu, 13 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=360 Recent acquisitions and the slowdown in the US housing market are being blamed for the need to cut staff at Cemex. The company is reported to be planning to cut its 68,900-strong global workforce by around 10% in a bid to make the business more efficient. The news comes are rapid expansion through a number of acquisitions in recent year, most notably the takeover of Australia-based Rinker, which significantly increased Cemex's presence in the US. Cemex has said that it expect cement sales in the US market to be down by 17% in 2007 and is forecasting further declines next year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=360 Fri, 14 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=361 Atlas Copco's US business has said that it is to challenge a citation issued by Mine Safety Health Administration following the death of a worker operating one of the company's drill rigs. Deane Driiscoll was killed at United Taconite's Thunderbird mine in Minnesota, US in April this year when the Atlas Copco rig he was operating tipped over. Following an investigation into the accident, the MSHA issued three citations in November – one to the mine owner and one to Atlas Copco. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=361 Mon, 17 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=362 A rock slide at a quarry in central Vietnam is believed to have killed at least 18 of the site's workforce. According to reports form the local police, the workers were buried when thousands of cubic metres of rock slid off the side of the quarry in Nghe An province, which is 290km south of the Vietnam capital, Hanoi. The quarry had been opened specially to supply rock for the construction of the Ban Ve Hydroelectric Plant. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=362 Mon, 17 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=630 Bell Equipment has announced plans to strengthen its service network in the UK with news of two new depots. The depots will be sited in South Wales and the South East and the company is currently looking for suitable locations for the new facilities. Plans for the new sites follow on from the company's successful depot opening in Falkirk, Scotland last year and Bell has said that the new facilities will be fully operational in the next 12 to 18 months. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=630 Fri, 09 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=631 Lafarge is reported to have sold its 50% stake in an Egyptian cement business to its joint venture partner Titan for €330million. Lafarge set up the JV with Greece-based Titan in 1999 and operated two cement plants with a production capacity of 3.1million tonnes per year. According to Titan, the business recorded sales of €127million and a EBITDA of €62million in 2007. Titan said that the acquisition will help to strengthen its presence in "an important emerging market". http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=631 Fri, 09 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=632 Heidelberg Cement has announced plans to restructure India-based Mysore Cements to bring it into line with the rest of the business and improve performance. Heidelberg acquired the business from SK Birla two years ago but has so far continued to operate under the same structure. Heidelberg has appointed a team of advisors to outline new strategies and oversee the changes. Mysore Cement managing director Ashish Guha confirmed the development and said, "We want to improve shareholders' value." http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=632 Tue, 06 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=633 Cemex has announced that it is reviewing its portfolio of assets in Europe with a view to selling off some elements to reduce debt levels. The assets being considered for sale include operations in Austria, Hungary and select building products in the UK. The company has appointed Citigoup to act as financial advisor for the UK review and Morgan Stanley to oversee any sales in Austria and Hungary. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=633 Fri, 09 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=634 Police investigating the death of a quarry worker at Turkeyland Quarry at Ballasalla on the Isle of Man, UK has been named as 20 year old Benjamin Osborne. According to initial reports into the accident, Osborne was working in the waste disposal part of the quarry when he was killed by an overturning dump truck. Investigations into the incident by the Health and Safety Executive are continuing. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=634 Mon, 12 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=635 Italy-based Buzzi Unicem is hoping to improve public perception of the cement industry by hosting a week long series of open days at three of its 13 plants in Italy. Between 10 and 18 May the plants at Robilante, Vernasca and Augusta will be open to visitors in events designed to give a "live" show of how cement is produced. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=635 Mon, 12 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=636 Strong growth in Europe has helped to boost Heidelberg Cement's first quarter results with €3billion turnover recorded compared to €1.78billion the same period last year. According to a statement from the company, double digit gains were also recorded in operating income even after taking out the affect of the acquisition of Hanson and the sale of Vicat and Maxit last year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=636 Mon, 12 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=637 Lafarge UK's Cauldon Works in Staffordshire has become the latest cement plant to be granted consent to trial waste derived fuels from the Environment Agency. The news follows on from Cemex gaining permission to use the fuel at its Barrington site in the UK on a permanent basis. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=637 Tue, 13 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=639 The US-based Portland Cement Association (PCA) has warned that the economic downturn in the US will have significant impact on the cement sector over the next two years. The PCA is forecasting cement consumption in the US to fall by 11% this year followed by another 5.5% drop in 2009. The PCA is expecting total cement consumption this year to be 101million tonnes – significantly lower than the 128million tonnes used at the markets' peak in 2005. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=639 Wed, 14 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=640 Tourism organisations and archaeologists have started a campaign against plans to open a new quarry near the ancient city of Claros in Izmir, Turkey. The stone quarry would be located close to the 3000 year-old Claros Temple of Apollo and the groups are concerned that the quarrying could impact on the site. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=640 Wed, 14 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=641 Poor explosives storage facilities have blamed for an explosion at an Indian quarry that killed eight and injured 17 workers on Monday. The explosion at the stone quarry in Mopha, 50km from the city of Nagpur, was heard over a 20km radius. Initial reports into the incident suggest that the explosion was caused when 25 detonators and six boxes -150kg - of gelatine explosives were stored close to a kitchen area. A team of explosives experts is undertaking an investigation into the cause but the local police have said that mishandling of the detonators triggered the explosion. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=641 Wed, 14 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=642 Lafarge has been announced as the successful bidder in the race to acquire India-based L&T Concrete, beating off rival bids from Heidelberg and private equity group 3i. According to a statement from Lafarge, the €226million takeover is in line with its strategy to develop is aggregates and concrete business in emerging markets. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=642 Thu, 15 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=643 In a trading statement for the first four months of 2008, Ennstone has reported that its UK business is robust and the Polish operation is giving excellent results which are offsetting the challenging economic conditions facing the US business. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=643 Thu, 15 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=644 Following the earthquake which struck China's Sichuan Province, killing an estimated 15,000, on Monday, both Lafarge and JCB have pledged to help the survivors. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=644 Thu, 15 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1436 The board of directors of Ciments Français and Italcementi have said that plans to merge the two businesses will be finalised on Friday 26 June. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1436 Mon, 22 06 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1437 Improved opportunities rising from the financial crisis have been cited by Holcim's Rolf Soiron in his decision to remain as the company's chairman of the board of directors until 2013. Soiron had previously said that he planned to leave Holcim in spring 2010 to focus on his other business interests but has now said that he will stay until around 2013. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1437 Tue, 23 06 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1438 UK courts have fined Cemex £33,469 (€39,737) for releasing coal dust from its Rugby cement plant in March 2007. The company pleaded guilty to the charge of breaking permit condition which happened when an alarm system failed and a coal storage silo was overfilled. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1438 Mon, 22 06 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1439 UK-based quarry operator E JW Glendinning is to take delivery of its second articulated dump truck in its bid to move away from the higher cost of running a rigid fleet. The company's Linhay Hill Quarry in Ashburton, Devon will soon have two Volvo A40E ADTs to haul 500,000tonnes of limestone produced at the site each year from the quarry face to the processing plant. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1439 Thu, 25 06 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1440 Cemex UK and Lafarge, who want to mine more than 27 million tonnes of sand and gravel from sites near the villages of Alrewas, Kings Bromley, Yoxall, Fradley and Orgreave, all near Lichfield in County Staffordshire, central England, have answered opponents by saying this would not increase traffic... http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1440 Mon, 15 06 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1441 Major crashed stone producer Pavlovskgranit based in the Voronezh region of Central Russia plans to launch a dealer chain. It says it intends to draw new customers and raise sales, particularly, in southern regions... http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1441 Mon, 15 06 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=363 Northern Ireland-based sand and aggregate processing equipment manufacturer has announced plans to expand its production facilities to meet growing export demand. Under the plan, supported by Invest Northern Ireland, CDE will invest around £5.4million (€7.5million) in new premises. According to a statement from CDE, the new facilities will not only expand production but also improve quality and reduce costs. The company has also said that the increased capability at its Cookstown site will help it develop new and existing export markets in Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=363 Tue, 18 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=364 Holcim subsidiary Aggregate Industries has been awarded a contract to be the sole supplier of ready mixed concrete for the construction of the Olympic Park for London's 2012 Olympic Games. According to the UK's Olympic Delivery Authority, Aggregate Industries beat off bids from Cemex, Hanson, Lafarge, Tarmac and Robert Brett Sons to secure the deal. The ODA said that it selected Aggregate Industries on the basis of the green credentials of its bid, which included setting up a concrete plant on the site to reduce truck movments. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=364 Tue, 18 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=365 Cemex has announced that it expects EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2007 to be close to US$1.1billion (€767million), which represents an 18% increase on the same period last year. Operating income is also expected to rise 6% over 2006 figures to US$650million (€453million) based on a 30% rise in sales to US$5.8billion (€4billion). The company has also said that it expects EBITDA for the full year to be US$4.6 billion (€3.2billion), an increase of approximately 11% over 2006. Revenue is expected to be in excess of US$21.6 billion (€15billion), while operating income is expected to be close to US$3.1 billion (€2.16billion), a growth of approximately 18% and 5% respectively. These results include the effect of consolidating the Rinker group from July onwards. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=365 Mon, 17 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=366 Less than two weeks after Lafarge's new alternative fuel facility at the Sugar Creek Cement Plant in Missouri, US, fire has broken out in one of the fuel stockpiles. According to fire fighters called to tackle the blaze on Friday 14 December, more than 50tonnes of shredded paper, plastics, cardboard and wood due to be used as fuel in the cement kiln was lost in the blaze. No one was hurt during the incident and the fire was contained within the stockpile with no damage to the cement plant itself. The cause has yet to be established. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=366 Mon, 17 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=367 Global demand for construction aggregates is forecast to grow at an annual rate of 4% until 2011 to reach a total of 2billion tonnes, according to a new report from India. The study by Bharat Book suggests that some of the strongest growth will be seen in the Indian market, but gains will also come from China, Iran, Mexico, Poland and Russia. According to the report's author Sunil Nair, the rise in demand will be due to industrialisation and acceleration in infrastructure construction in these regions. He also said that although increases in demand in the US, Japan and Western Europe will not be as strong, and the growth will be driven by the repair and maintenance market. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=367 Wed, 19 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=368 Metso Minerals has announced that it has signed a deal to improve parts availability and lead times in Europe. Under the five year agreement, SFK Logistic Services will develop a new distributor centre in Tongeren, Belgium in early 2008. According to Metso, the new centre will mainly serve customers in Central Europe and the aim is improve customer satisfaction. SFK will manage all warehouse, collecting and packing operation, while Metso will retain control of order and inventory management as well as providing technical support. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=368 Thu, 20 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=369 A quarry worker was killed yesterday at an extraction site in western Quebec, Canada after he became tangled in the workings of a crusher. The 49-year old man, who has not been named, was working alone on the gravel crusher at Dagenai Quarry in l'Ange-Gardien when the accident occurred. According to local police reports, no one witnessed the accident but it is believed that the man went under the machine to work on the belt when his clothes became caught in it. The Quebec work place health and safety board has launched an investigation into the incident. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=369 Fri, 21 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=370 Following Heidelberg Cement's acquisition of Hanson in August, plans for restructuing of the UK business have been revealed. The operation, which will be known as Hanson UK, will be headed up by Patrick O'Shea as chief executive officer with four other managing directors responsible for the company's core product lines. O'Shea joined Hanson in 1990 and has held a number of senior financial and operational roles within the company and had held the role of managing director of Hanson Aggregates UK since June 2004. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=370 Fri, 21 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=371 Cement plant manufacturer FLSmidth has announced that it has signed a US$200million (€139xmillion) deal with Lafarge North America. Under the contract, the Danish firm will help Lafarge to modernise its Joppa Cement Plant in Illinois, US and supply two cement grinding systems. According to FLSmidth, the new Joppa plant with have a capacity of 7,200tonnes per day and use the latest technology to produce low emissions and lower production costs, while boosting safety and quality. The pyro-processing system for the Joppa plant consists of the latest generation Multi-Movable Cross-Bar cooler, a rotary kiln, and an ILC 5-stage preheater with low NOx and CO calciner. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=371 Mon, 24 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=372 An accident at the Mannur Quarry near Perumbavoor in India has claimed the lives of five workers and seriously injured two others. The accident at the granite quarry occurred at 4pm local time yesterday when part of the quarry wall collapsed onto the workers. Rescue operations at the quarry were hampered by further rock falls and the quarry owner had to carry out two blasts to gain safe access to the accident site. Work to recover two of the bodies is still underway. An investigation into the cause of the accident has been launched. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=372 Mon, 24 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=373 ACC and Holcim-controlled Ambuja Cements are to form a joint venture company, Geocycle, to focus on waste management and recycling. According to a statement from the companies, the business is expected to add RS100crore to the company's bottom line each year by 2011 following an investment of RS70crore each year for the next three years. According to ACC waste management business head RK Suri, waste management in India represents a big business opportunity with around 9million tonnes of hazardous waste and 100million tonnes of non-hazardous waste being generated in India each year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=373 Tue, 25 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=374 McAlpine's NorthWales slate quarry business in the UK is to be sold to Rigcycle for £31million (€42million) it has been announced. Rigcycle is a family controlled business, which also owns the Belfast-based company Lagan Construction. The sale has been linked to fraud investigations at the quarry earlier this year but is also believed to be part of the £572million (€780million) takeover deal made for McAlpine by Carillion earlier this month. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=374 Thu, 27 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=375 Stone supplied to the UK from India for the decorative paving stone market could be being excavated by children as young as five, according to a newspaper report today. A correspondent for The Telegraph has said that children are widely known to be working in Rajasthan stone quarries and that importers are turning a blind eye to the practice. According to the report, Marshalls director Chris Harrop told the news paper that only about a third of the 200,000tonnes of decorative stone supplied to the industry from India is produced ethically. The report also suggests that around 100,000 children are employed in India's quarrying sector. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=375 Wed, 26 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=376 Two employees remain in hospital following a fire at Caterpillar's Peoria, US equipment manufacturing plant. The fire is believes to have broken out in Cat's KK building, which houses a heat treat furnace used to harden steel used in gears and shafts, after the furnace malfunctioned. Two security staff who were injured in the fire are thought to have tried to contain the flames before the fire services arrived. The fire was quickly contained using chemicals as using water on the furnace was likely to cause an explosion. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=376 Fri, 28 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=377 Italcementi's Sicilian subsidiary Calcestruzzi has suspended operation and is under investigation by prosecutors following reports of financial irregularities. According to a press report in Business Week, the parent company believes that the Calcestruzzi has been infiltrated by the Mafia. Calcestruzzi has stopped work at its seven plants on Sicily and has appointed three independent experts to oversee introduction of new procedures at the company. One of the experts is a former anti-Mafia prosecutor and the company has said that it has taken this action to prove the business is not involved in collusion or organized crime. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=377 Mon, 31 12 2007 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=378 Aggregates Business Europe wishes all its readers a very happy and properous New Year http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=378 Tue, 01 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=379 India's Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission has found 44 cement companies guilty of operating a cartel. Fines imposed on the companies were expected to be the highest ever recorded in India but will be significantly lower because new legislation has yet to be ratified. Under the new Competition Commission of India, which will be established once the 2007 Competition Act has been passed, the 41 companies would be facing fines equal to 10% of their turnover. The other three companies, including Associated Cement Company and Ambuja Cements, could have had fines equal to three times net profit levied on them. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=379 Wed, 02 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=380 New European-wide asphalt standard became unified across the EU today following adoption of the new EN13108 standards. CE marking for construction products is designed to harmonise standards across EU Member States and open the way for greater cross border trade. Aggregates and bitumen binders have already undergone the CE marking process in recent years and the new asphalt standards became official on 1 January 2008. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=380 Tue, 01 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=381 A trading statement issued by Ireland-based CRH today suggests that pre-tax profit for 2007 is likely to reach €1.9billion, giving double digit growth on the €1.6billion figure achieved in 2006. According to the company, 2007 will be the 15th consecutive year of profit and earnings growth and one of its highest for acquisition investment with a full year spend of €2.2billion. The company has issued these figures as a trading statement ahead of its preliminary results for 2007 which are due to be published on 4 March 2008. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=381 Thu, 03 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=382 A quarry worker at Ta' Flusu Quarry in Malta was killed after his truck fell into the quarry pit today. Jesmond Valla was unloading fine aggregate at the quarry, which produces aggregates for the local concrete industry, when the accident occurred. According to the initial police investigation, the truck was partially parked on an aggregates stockpile which gave way causing the truck to turn over. The cabin on the truck was not fitted with doors and Valla was killed instantly. An indepth investigation into the accident is now underway. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=382 Fri, 04 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=383 Global demand for aggregates is forecast to grow by 4.7% annually through to 2011, according to a new report - World Construction Aggregates by Freedonia. Growth will be driven by demand in India and China and take the size of the market to 26.8billion tonnes and value of US$201billion (€136billion) by 2011. Freedonia has also forecast that smaller markets such as Indonesia, Thailand and other developing countries in Asia will also record strong gains through industrial activity and infrastructure construction. The report adds that growing environmental and land-use concerns will drive above average sales for recycled and secondary aggregates over the next three years. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=383 Mon, 07 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=384 Work at Ru Moc Quarry in Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam has been suspended after officials closed the site following a fatal accident last month. Seven workers were killed and another seriously injured when the quarry wall collapsed. Five other quarry operatives who were also working at the site at the time of the accident escaped without injury. The investigation into the accident is still underway but two managers at the quarry have been detained by the local police for questioning. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=384 Mon, 07 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=385 Anglo American is reported to have postponed plans to auction its Tarmac subsidiary until the credit markets return to a more stable state. Plans to sell off Anglo's Tarmac subsidiary were confirmed in August last year by new chief executive Cynthia Carroll. The sell-off was part of a new strategy at Anglo to dispose of non-core assets, which has already seen the annexing of the Mondi paper business. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=385 Mon, 07 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=386 Aggregates for the London construction market can now be delivered in a more sustainably following inauguration of a new £1million (€1.3million) Lafarge rail distribution centre. The centre in West Thurrock, Essex connects aggregates and cement to the road, rail and river network and is also close to the Thames Gateway and London 2012 Olympic site. According to Lafarge, each train can carry 1500tonnes of aggregates directly into London's construction market, with the potential to eliminate tens of thousands of lorry movements. Lafarge has said that rail delivery produces 65 times less CO2 emissions compared to road transport and can also help reduce congestion, pollution and noise. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=386 Tue, 08 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=387 The Malaysian Government introduced a new automatic pricing mechanism for cement last week in a bid to "improve transparency between building materials manufacturers and end users". Under the new system, a ceiling price for cement products will be set each quarter by the government with consideration of the input costs. Government analysts suggest that cement demand in 2008 will be 65 to 70% of total cement industry capacity with a stable cement price of RM215 (€45) per tonne. The average price of cement was RM190 (€39.5) in 2007 but prices in some regions exceeded RM231 (€48) where construction activity was strongest. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=387 Tue, 08 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=388 Construction of a new cement plant in Russia has taken a step closer with award of contracts for manufacturing equipment. FLSmidth won the €64million contract to build the new plant for OOO Kurskaya Stroitelnaya Companyia near Kursk, 700km south of Moscow. The plant, to be built on a Greenfield site, will be Kurskaya's first venture into the cement business. The new plant will have a 3,500tonne perday capacity and is expected to be operational in mid 2010. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=388 Wed, 02 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=389 Danish engineering group FLSmidth has reported that it has won a €40million contract from CRH subsidiary Grupa Ozarow to upgrade a cement plant in Poland. Through the deal, FLSmidth will install new raw and coal mills and upgrade one of the kilns at the Grupa Ozarow plant located in Ozarow, 160km south of Warsaw. Machinery at Ozarow was originally supplied to the, then government owned, factory in 1978 and was sold to CRH in 1995.  http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=389 Wed, 09 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=390 Holcim New Zealand is reported to have gained consent to add mussel shells to cement produced at its Cape Foulwind Quarry near Westport, New Zealand. According to the quarry manager Chris Dempsey, it is believed to be the first time mussel shells have been used in the cement making process. Under the scheme, the quarry will take delivery of around 400tonnes of shells each week from a nearby mussel processing factory, which currently has large stockpiles. Cape Foulwind Quarry has facilities to store up to 20,000tonnes of shells for use as a supplement to limestone extracted from the quarry. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=390 Wed, 09 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=391 Romania-based building products firm Simcor has said that it is involved in takeover talks that could see the business sold to a foreign investor for €80million. According to Simcor's main shareholders Stache Lutz and Mihai Voiculescu, discussions to sell off seven businesses within the group are now well advanced. US-based AIG investment fund, through AIG Capital Management, looks set to gain control of the company but Germany's Xella may also bid for the company. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=391 Thu, 10 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=392 Hilal Cement, Italcementi's Kuwaiti subsidiary, has announced that it is in the processes of finalising two takeover deals in the region. According to a statement from Italcementi, the acquisitions of the concrete businesses in Kuwait are expected to be completed by the end of the month. Italy-based Italcementi has said that the deals are part of its strategy to strengthen its presence in the region. The company has also said that it is looking at other new opportunities in the Mediterranean as well as in countries where it already operates, such as Albania and Turkey. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=392 Thu, 10 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=393 Switzerland-based Holcim has been granted approval to raise its shareholding in Chinese cement producer Huaxin. The China Securities Regulatory Commission yesterday gave the green light for Huaxin to issue up to 160million shares. Holcim, which currently holds a 26.1% stake in Huaxin, has agreed to remain a minority shareholder in the business and is expected to increase its interest in the business to between 30 and 40%. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=393 Thu, 10 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=394 Poland's Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has launched an investigation of 11 construction materials companies because it believes they have been operating as a cartel. According to the UOKiK, Xella Polska and 10 of its distributors are suspected of price fixing. The agency has said that it has evidence that the companies have contracts with each other that contain unlawful clauses forbidding selling materials below a certain price. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=394 Fri, 11 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=395 A landslide at a quarry in Baijian Town in the municipality of Tianjin, northern China has trapped 11 workers and injured one other, according to the Chinese news agency Xinhua. The accident occurred at the stone quarry yesterday morning and work is underway to locate the buried workers. Heavy lifting gear has been brought in to assist with removal of the large rocks, however work is proceeding with caution because it is thought that the accident occurred while explosives were being placed in the rock face. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=395 Mon, 14 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=396 Bellwood Quarry in Atlanta, US could be used to supply water to the city and relieve drought conditions. According to the local authorities the disused quarry holds 6billion gallons of water – enough to supply Atlanta for six weeks. Current water policies in north Georgia only focus on existing reservoirs, conservation and the Chattahoochee River. However, there is a call to include abandoned quarries, such as Bellwood, in new water plans. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=396 Mon, 14 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=397 Proposals for the Soils Directive have been thrown out following a vote by the EU Environment Council of Ministers last week in Brussels. Under the draft directive, quarrying operations would have been classified as ‘potentially soil polluting activities' and called for expensive regulation that would have duplicated existing legislation in many EU-countries. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=397 Mon, 14 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=398 Strengthening markets in Eastern Europe and Asia helped to boost Heidelberg Cement's full year results for 2007 despite losses from economic slowdowns and weather related losses. According to the company's end of year results, sales of aggregates more than doubled to 179million tonnes last year, which Heidelberg has said is not just attributed to the acquisition of Hanson. Sales of concrete also rose 30% to just under 33million cubic metres, while cement and clinker volumes in 2007 reached 88million tonnes, a rise of 10%. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=398 Tue, 15 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=399 Holcim is reported to have invested €2.5million in an eco-friendly concrete company in Singapore. Under the deal, Holcim has taken a 50% shareholding in ecoWise subsidiary ecoWise Materials, which is to be renamed GeoCycle Materials. The business processes and recycles copper slag – a waste product from the ship repair industry - for reuse in ready mixed concrete. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=399 Tue, 15 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=400 Lafarge Malayan Cement has reported that it has acquired Malaysia-based quarry operator Granite Indah for RM34million (€7million). Through the deal, Lafarge will also take over Granite's two subsidiaries Granite Indah Premix and Laksana Murni. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=400 Tue, 15 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=401 Promoting the company's continued commitment to safety is behind Buzzi Unicem's new campaign "Objective Safety" that was launched this week. The aim is to reduce both the seriousness and frequency of accidents and improve its record, which the company claims is already among the best in the sector. According to Unicem, safety and environmental cultures cannot be separated from corporate culture and under the new campaign the two will be combined. The company has said that it is adopting integrated management and organisational measures that not only meet regulatory standards but also stimulate and spread the awareness that behaviours. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=401 Wed, 16 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=402 Environmental policies put in place at Italcementi's Oulad Abbou quarry in Morocco have helped the operation to earn the international recognition. The quarry run by Bentomar, a subsidiary of Italcementi's Ciments du Maroc, has become the first in the country to gain accreditation under ISO14001. According to Italcementi, the recognition is the result of years of work by Ciments du Maroc and Betomar to implement strategies aimed at protecting and preserving natural resources in line with the sustainable development policies adopted by the group. "The efforts of all Betomar and Ciments du Maroc divisions have contributed to achieving ISO 14001 certification and realising the goals set by the group, while strengthening tools to prevent pollution and improve the sustainability of industrial sites," said Italcementi in an official statement. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=402 Wed, 16 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=403 According to local media reports, a worker at Cemex's Rugby Cement plant was killed on Tuesday. Peter Reynolds, who had worked at the site for eight years, fell 10m and, despite efforts by his colleagues to save him, he died at the scene. Police are investigating the accident. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=403 Thu, 17 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=404 As part of sweeping changing in British Columbia to prevent a repeat of last year's death toll in the region's quarries, the provincial government has launched a new safety handbook. The government vowed to make the changes following the death of four workers last year – two of who had been in their jobs for less than three days. The 30-page booklet has been designed to fit in a pocket and give clear guidance to workers. The guide does not replace BC's Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines but it is hoped that it will make workers think more carefully about their safety. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=404 Thu, 17 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=405 Terex has announced that Malcolm Judd has been appointed at UK mining and quarry manager to focus on the equipment needs of the aggregates market. Judd, who has worked in the construction equipment business throughout his career, joined Terex at the start of the year from Tarmac where he was national plant manager. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=405 Thu, 17 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=406 Greece-based Titan Cement has announced that it has formed an agreement with Adocim Cimento Beton to by a 50% stake in the business. Under the deal, valued at €90.5million, Titan will form a join venture with Adocim. Adocim has a 1.5million tonne per year cement production plant in Tokat near the Black Sea and a grinding plant at Tekirdag, Marmara. Completion of the deal is expected shortly following due diligence and approval by the regulatory authorities. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=406 Fri, 18 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=407 Italcementi has revealed plans to strengthen its position in the Albanian market during a meeting with the Albanian Prime Minister, Sali Berisha. The company has said that it is to build a new €25million cement grinding plant anew Durazzo. The 450,000tonnes per year plant will help meet domestic demand for building materials and create around 50 new jobs. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=407 Fri, 18 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=408 Suspicions of cement price fixing are reported to have led to 20 executives from Egyptian cement firms have being referred to a criminal court. The case is the first to be brought in Egypt under competition legislation brought in three years ago. The government has filed the accusations of anti-competitive behaviour against executives from Suez Cement, Misr Beni Suef, Misr Qena and Torah Cement after a 14 month investigation. According to Egypt's public prosecutor, the group conspired to fix the price of cement between May 2005 and the end of 2006. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=408 Mon, 21 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=409 With a 99% majority, Lafarge's shareholders have approved a capital increase of 22.5million shares to be allocated to the founding shareholders of Orascom Cement, as part of the terms of Lafarge's takeover agreed last month. Shareholders gave the go ahead for the deal at a special shareholder's meeting held in Paris last week. The shares will have a subscription price of €125 each – a 16% premium on the share price before the takeover was announced on 10 December. According to Lafarge, the capital increase will provide €2.8billion of financing for the acquisition and the remaining €6billion will be met through debt. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=409 Tue, 22 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=410 Cemex has announced that its European business will be managed under a new regional structure to cover Northern Europe; Southern Europe, Middle East and North Africa; and Eastern Europe. The company has also announced that Joaquin Estrada will move from his role as managing director of Cemex Egypt to head up the new divisions, taking over from Ignacio Madridejos. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=410 Wed, 23 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=411 Scotland-based building materials group Ennstone has announced that it has acquired TSL Contractors for £1million (€1.34million). The ready mixed concrete and surfacing company has three manufacturing plants near Oban and Fort Willioam in Scotland. According to Ennstone, the takeover is part of the company's vertical expansion and will provide an additional market for its quarries in the region. Chairman Vaughn McLeod is reported to have said that the bolt-on acquisition will "further develop out integrated business model and help to continue improving our operating performance" http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=411 Wed, 23 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=412 Heidelberg Cement has expressed surprise at the its rating with Fitch has been changed from stable to negative following pricing of a new €1billion benchmark bond. The changed status follows on from negative ratings allocated to the company my both Moody's and Standard and Poor's in May last year. In response to the new rating, Heidelberg has reiterated its growth in 2007 and restated its expectations for continued gains in 2008 with sales of €10.7billion and profit of €1.8billion forecasted.   http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=412 Wed, 23 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=413 The credit outlook for the European building materials market in 2008 will be stable, according to the latest market report from Fitch Ratings. However, Fitch has said that the outlook for the global business is mixed. Fitch believes that merger and acquisitions within the European market will continue in 2008 but at a lower rate due to the state of the credit markets. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=413 Thu, 24 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=414 Orascom is now wholly owned by Lafarge following completion of the €8.8billion acquisition deal that was announced on 10 December last year. The capital increase of Lafarge, agreed by shareholders last week, will be completed by the end of the first quarter. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=414 Thu, 24 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=415 Canada-based Polaris Minerals has announced that production at its Orca Quarry in British Columbia, Canada will reach nearly 1.8million tonnes in the first year of operation. The quarry, which opened in March last year, supplied over 1million tonnes of material to customers in Vancouver, California and Hawaii in 2007. Orders totalling around 600,000tonnes in the first quarter of 2008 will boost the annual production to almost 1.8million tonnes. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=415 Thu, 24 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=416 France-based building materials producer Vicat has announced that it has bought a 60% stake in Kazakmommerts Invests, which is developing a new cement plant in Kazakhstan. No financial details of the deal have been released but Vicat confirmed that Kazakmommerts Invests will retain the remaining shares in the business. Construction of the cement plant at Mynaral has been let under a turnkey contract to China Triumph Engineering and work on site is underway. The 1.1million tonnes capacity plant is expected to start production in 2010. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=416 Fri, 25 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=417 Growth in the cement market helped to offset US influenced declines in concrete and aggregate sales to give Vicat a positive result for 2007. According to a statement from the company, Vicat recorded a 4.3% increase in sales on a like for like basis and is on target to achieve its Performance 2010 objectives. Vicat's full year sales reached €2.1billion in 2007 with the 9.7% and 14.4% increase in cement sales and other products, respectively, despite the 3.6% fall in aggregates and concrete sales. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=417 Mon, 28 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=418 Plans to reopen a Scottish quarry using historical planning permission have hit a stumbling block after the local council ruled that the site needs an environmental impact assessment (EIA) before work can start. The Tarmac-owned Murrayshall Quarry in Stirling, UK was last operated under a lease agreement by Hanson in the 1990s but has been dormant since. Tarmac is believed to have applied to reopen the quarry but because permission was granted before EIAs became standard, the council has ruled that one must be undertaken. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=418 Tue, 29 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=419 CRH has announced that it has expanded its interests in the Chinese cement market with the acquisition of shares in the Shanghai-listed Jilin Yatai Group. Under the agreement, CRH will gain a 26% shareholding in Yatai Cement for €200million, which will provide the company with investment to double production capacity. Yatai Cement's current operations comprises four cement plants and two grinding stations in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces in north eastern China, with a current cement capacity of 9million tonnes per year. The investment plan, which CRH will help fund, will increase production capacity to 18million tonnes and is expected to be completed in 2009. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=419 Wed, 30 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=420 Despite higher sales recorded in 2007 in the face of difficulties in the US market, Cemex is expecting the downturn to affect its figures for 2008. The company recorded net sales increase of 30% in the fourth quarter of 2007 to take the full year growth to US$21.7billion (€14.6billion), up 19% on 2006. EBITDA for last year was also up 11% to US$4.6billion (€3.1billion), compared to the previous 12 months. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=420 Wed, 30 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=421 Following acquisition by Sandvik in April last year, Extec and Fintec's UK and Irish sales and after sales support services are to be combined. The names of the two brands are to be retained under the new strategy and not absorbed into the Sandvik brand. According to the companies, the combined sales operation will give customers easier access to a wider range of equipment and services than was possible under the previously separate structure. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=421 Thu, 31 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=422 Following announcement of Cemex's new regional structure in Europe earlier this month, Gonzalo Galindo has been appointed as president of Cemex's UK operations. Galindo has taken over the role from Ignacio Ortiz who now has responsibility for Southern Europe covering Spain, Egypt, UAE, Italy and Israel. Galindo, who joined Cemex in 1988, previously held the role of vice president of strategic planning for Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia and was based in Madrid. He was previously based in the UK following Cemex's acquisition of RMC in 2005. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=422 Thu, 31 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=423 Maltese authorities have fined a quarry owner €46,587 and given him a six month suspended prison sentence for illegally extending quarry operations on the island. This fine is the highest ever handed down in Malta for a breach of the Development Planning Act. According to the Malta Planning Environment Authority, Teddy Grima was found to be operating outside of the consented extraction area at the quarry in San Lawrenz, Gozo in July 2007. The site was issued with a stop order and Grima was asked to return the site to its original condition but the court claims that he continued to operate in the extended area while applying for the licence. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=423 Thu, 31 01 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=424 According to the British Cement Association, introduction of new a new EU emissions trading plan could harm the competitiveness of the European cement industry. Under the Emissions Trading Scheme, the EU wants to see a zero free allocation by 2020 but the BCA claims that as an energy intensive industry, the cement sector will be exposed to risk of ‘carbon leakage' which will impact on costs. BCA chief executive Mike Gilbert praised Europe's desire to lead on global climate change but said that he is concerned that the balance of effort has yet again been placed on manufacturing industry with little recognition of the potential impact on international competitiveness. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=424 Fri, 01 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=425 Building work on a new 1.5million tonnes per year cement plant at Alagir in Osetiya, Russia has just started. The US$270million (€182million) plant is being built by construction company UGMC and is expected to start production in 2010. According to media reports, UGMC's internal cement demand is currently 400,000tonnes per year and this is expected to more than double in the near future. Material produced at the new plant will be used to meet UGMC's own cement need and supply other construction projects in the Osetiya region. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=425 Mon, 04 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=426 Italcementi has reported that full year sales for 2007 rose 4.2% to €6.1billion compared the same period in 2006. According to the company, the gains were driven by growth in emerging markets which more than offset the slowdown in the more mature markets. The company's full results will be published early next month but the trading statement shows that the company has matched analysts' expectations, which had forecast sales to reach €6.09billion for the period. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=426 Tue, 05 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=427 Astec has strengthened its presence in the African and Middle East markets with the appointment of a new sales director for the region. Raji ElMawla, who will be based in Beruit, Lebanon, joins Astec from Whirlpool where he held the post of sales director for the Middle East, Europe, South America and Asia. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=427 Tue, 05 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=428 A former Fuller's Earth quarry in Bedfordshire, UK has been restored to lakes and woodlands but public access to the conservation area has been denied. The restoration of the Degussa-owned Clophill Quarry meets almost every requirement of the planning consent, according to Bedfordshire County Council, except turning over of the site to the local community. The Portuguese company claims that the approved restoration scheme does not require public access to be granted. However, the council believes public access was a key part of the consent and initiated enforcement notices last year. The inquiry is due to take place early next month. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=428 Tue, 05 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=429 Tarmac and Lafarge have both raised their holding in UK-based Harlow Asphalt from 33% to 50% following buy-out of shares held by Foster Yeoman. The Harlow plant in Hertfordshire was set up as a joint venture by Tarmac, Lafarge and Foster Yeoman with each company holding an equal share. But following Foster Yeoman's acquisition by Aggregate Industries, the company has chosen to divest certain assets. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=429 Wed, 06 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=430 Consolidation of China's cement industry is progressing following the announcement of new acquisition plans by China National Building Material Company. CNBM has revealed plans to takeover 18 other cement producers in eastern China as well as expand its production capacity. CNBM has said that it expects to complete the acquisition of Zhejiang Sanyuan Group, Anhui Feida Cement, Zhejiang Tianji Cement, Zhejiang Lima Cement, Zhejiang Huying Cement Co and Zhejiang Zhaoshan Xinxing Group Anji Cemenet through its Hunan South Cement subsidiary. The acquisitions are valued at CNY4.33billion (€400million). http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=430 Wed, 06 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=431 Cemex UK has announced that it achieved a record 90.5% cement clinker productivity at its three plants during 2007. According to a statement from the company, the increase in productivity enabled the company to increase overall cement production by 13% during the period. Cemex claims that the improvement was due to a combination of investment and training. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=431 Thu, 07 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=432 According to a report in a French newspaper today, one of Lafarge's major shareholders is considering increasing its interest in the business. Belgian-owned investment group GBL has already increased its shareholding to 18% but is looking at capitalising on lower share prices to raise its interest to 25%. Lafarge's recent acquisition of Orascom and issuing of new shares as part of the deal had reduced GBL's stake in Lafarge to 15.9%. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=432 Fri, 08 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=433 Crushed rock sales in the UK last year grew 5% largely due to an unusual number of fill contracts during the period, according to a market survey from the Quarry Products Association. Gains in crushed rock combined with a 1% increase in gravel volumes, helped to raise overall aggregate volumes by 3% over 2006 levels. Sales of ready mixed concrete also rose by 2%, confirming the continued rise in construction activity but asphalt sales remained flat for the year despite recovery during the second half of 2007. According to the QPA, the UK asphalt market is at a 20 year low of 25.7million tonnes – a level last seen in 1986. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=433 Fri, 08 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=434 Acquisition of a new 36tonne Volvo EC360C LC excavator to the fleet at Wood Lane Quarry has triggered a change in operation, which will benefit more than just the loading operations. Quarry owner Tudor Griffiths' has added a service package for the rests of its Volvo machines to ensure maximum efficiency at the sand and gravel quarry near Ellesmere Port, UK. In addition to the new excavator, the quarry also has two other Volvo excavators as well as, a L180E loading shovel and several A35D articulated dump trucks, which are all covered under the new agreement. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=434 Mon, 11 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=435 According to local media reports, Cimpor is planning to invest around €600million in increasing its cement production capacity between now and 2012. The report, which cites an official company source said the company is looking to raise production to around 36million tonnes, from the current level of 28.5million tonnes, over the next four years. The investments are expected to be made in China, India, Peru, Turkey and Morocco. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=435 Mon, 11 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=436 Italy-based Buzzi Unicem has announced that it has acquired a 35% shareholding in two Algerian companies to gain an interest in the Hadjar Soud and Sour El Ghozlane cement plants. According to a statement from the company, the capital share acquisition is combined with a four year management contract. Under the deal, Buzzi Unicem plans to upgrade and modernise the plants and introduce an employee training and development programme. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=436 Mon, 11 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=437 The European Commission has announced that it has extended the anti-competition review period for the sale of Heidelberg Cement's Maxit Group. France-based St Gobain announced that it had agreed a €2.1billion takeover for the company in August last year but the deal has yet to be completed. The EC is to make a decision on the takeover on 4 March, when it will either approve the deal or order a four month in-depth review. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=437 Tue, 12 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=438 Tarmac's UK Aggregates Products Division has announced that it has signed a new deal that will help to improve delivery of materials to its customers. The company is to equip its 1350 vehicles fleet with the Masternaut satellite and mobile tracking system to provide real-time delivery tracking over the next three months. According to Tarmac, the system will allow the company to improve productivity and efficiency, as well as customer service. It is expected that the system will be fitted to more vehicles in the aggregates fleet by the end of the year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=438 Wed, 13 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=439 Investment of US$120million (€82million) is planned by Cementos Lima in Peru over the next two years, according to state news agency Andina. Cemetos is currently Peru's market leader in cement with a 36% share of the business, but the company expects demand in the region to grow and is expanding capacity. The development plans for the plant at Atocongo will increase clinker production from 3million tonnes per year to around 4million tonnes. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=439 Thu, 14 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=440 Lafarge's 4% sales growth in 2007 gave the company a €17billion turnover generating an operating income of €3.2billion, up 17% on 2006 levels, according to the company's year end results. "We have achieved targets set for growth in earnings per share and return on capital last year that were not expected to be delivered until 2008," said Lafarge chairman and CEO Bruno Lafont. "Our cost reduction target for 2008 will also be substantially exceeded." http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=440 Thu, 14 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=441 Holcim has increased its interest in Chinese cement manufacturer Huaxin through a privately placed capital increase, making it the largest single shareholder. Under the deal, 75.2million shares in Huaxin, with a value of CNY26.95 (€2.57) per share, have been issued to Holcim raising the company's stake from 26.1 to 39.9%. According to Holcim, the new shares represent an investment of around US$282million (€192million) and is being financed through internal resources and existing credit facilities. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=441 Mon, 18 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=442 According to local press reports, Cimpor is in discussions with a joint venture partner to build a new cement plant in Jordan. The report in Diario Economico cites the chairman of Portugal's investment agency Basilio Horta as its source and suggests that a contractor for the work has already been appointed. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=442 Mon, 18 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=443 Heidelberg Cement has renewed it's commitment to improving biodiversity in an official statement. The company has signed the Leadership Declaration in advance of the 9th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Part of the process includes documenting its commitment to implementing the convention and playing a pioneering role in the process. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=443 Tue, 19 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=444 Following Heidelberg's announcement last month of plans to initiate a capital increase, the company has reported that is has issued 5 million new shares. The shares, with a market subscription price of €102.5, will be issued to Dresden-based VEM Vermögensverwaltung, which is part of the Merckle Group. Heidelberg expect to raise €512.5million in cash when the deal is completed on 19 February and the funds will be used to refiance current debts. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=444 Fri, 15 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=445 Production at a sand and gravel quarry in Throsk near Stirling in Scotland is being boosted despite poor ground conditions through use of the latest Terex ADTs. Quarry operator Pattersons is using two of Denny Plant Hire's six TA30s equipped with independent front suspension to haul sand and gravel at the site. The Cowiehall Quarry produces material for manufacturing of construction blocks and keeping production on schedule is essential. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=445 Tue, 19 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=446 Turkish cement manufacturer Baticem Bati is reported to have made a takeover bid for Ciments Francais' Turkish business. Ciments Francais, a subsidiary of Italy's Italcementi, has confirmed that it is in talks with investors over its operations in Turkey, which includes a 77% stake in Afyon Cimento. Afyon Cimento has four cement plants and 17 concrete plants around Istanbul with sales of US$43million (€29million) last year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=446 Tue, 19 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=447 Cimpor subsidiary Societr Les Ciments Jbel Ousr (CJO) has announced that is it planning to build a new clinker production line in Tunisia. The new plant will double CJO's clinker production to 2.4million tonnes per year. According to local media reports, Cimpor's decision to invest in Tunisia is driven by the recent behaviour of cement demand in Tunisia, its growth potential and the increasing utilisation of the group's local production capacity. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=447 Wed, 20 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=448 Aggregate Industries has announced that the appointment of Nabil Bouris as CEO of its US operations and Colin Jenkins as COO of the UK Aggregates Products Division completes the company's reorganisation. Jenkins was previously managing director of Bardon Aggregates and takes over the UK-based role from Hugh Armitage, who is retiring from the industry. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=448 Thu, 21 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=449 Anglo American has announced that the sale of its Tarmac subsidiary is to be postponed until the credit markets recover. Speculation about the delay started earlier this year following a leak from Anglo's financial advisors but the company confirmed the decision during the release of its annual results. In a statement, Anglo said, "Tarmac, which enjoys a leading position in the UK construction materials industry and is well positioned in certain key markets in continental Europe and the Middle East, had a very strong operational performance in 2007, with a number of its business improvement initiatives starting to make a significant impact. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=449 Thu, 21 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=450 Cemex has announced the completion of its €5million investment programme at its cement plant in Morata de Jalo'n near Zaragoza, Spain. Through the upgrade, the factory now has two new cement silos with a storage capacity of over 11,000tonnes, which Cemex has said will improve the efficiency of the site. According to Cemex, the new silos will also improve the environmental operation of the site by hermetically sealing the production process and preventing any cement dust escape. The silos measure 15.5m in diameter and 38m in height, and each has a capacity to transfer 250 to 350tonnes of cement per hour. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=450 Fri, 22 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=451 The UK's Quarry Products Association has announced that it has appointed Martin Hardwick as its new product director to take the lead on issues relating to ready mixed concrete. Hardwick, who will join the QPA on 1 May, will head up the QPA's sister organisation – the British Ready Mixed Concrete Association. Hardwick currently managed the UK's Registration Scheme for Specialist Contractors and has extensive technical and operational knowledge of the industry. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=451 Tue, 26 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=452 Construction work on a new €170million cement plant near Tirana, Albania has started this week. The 1.5million tonnes per year plant is being built by Antea Cement, which is a subsidiary of Greece-based Titan Cement. According to local media reports, the plant is the largest Greenfield construction project in Albania in over a decade and Prime Minister Sali Berisha has said that the work is a "clear sign of growing investor confidence in the country". http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=452 Mon, 25 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=453 Part of the seizure order placed on Sicily-based cement manufacturer Calcestruzzi have been lifted, passing control of shares back to parent company Italcementi. The seizure order was made in January after accusations of mafia involvement in the business and arrest of Calcestruzzi CEO Mario Colombini. The court has not given permission for Italcementi to regain management of the business. Italcementi has said that it is fully cooperating with the magistrate investigating Calcestruzzi but denies any links with criminal activity. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=453 Tue, 26 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=454 Strong organic growth has boosted Holcim's sales and operating figures for 2007 to give the company record results for the full year. According to a statement from the company, net sales rose 12.9% to CHF27.1billion (€16.8billion), while EBITA was up 13.9% CHF6.9billion (€4.3billion). Net income was reported to be up 67.2% to CHF4.5billion (€2.8billion), partly due to the sale of the business in South Africa for CHF1.3billion (€800million). http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=454 Wed, 27 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=455 Titan has reported that its net profit for 2007 dropped by 8% due to weaker demand in the US and Greek markets. The Greece-based cement producer announced that its net profit fell to €240million and EBITDA declined 11% to €426million, despite a 5% increase in sales to €1.5billion. "The decline in financial results is mainly due to the sharp drop in demand for our products in the US," said Titan in a statement. "As the housing boom of the last few years abruptly turned to bust, demand for building materials declined sharply." http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=455 Wed, 27 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=456 The sharp fall-off in the housing and construction market in Ireland in 2007 has impacted on Cemex's Irish business, according a trading statement issued by the company. The decline in activity, combined with the sell-off of parts of its ready mixed concrete business, has resulted in a 65% drop in operating profits compared to the same period in 2006. EBITDA is also expected to be 35% below 2006 levels. Nonetheless, the company has said that it invested €24million in the region last year which will help to deliver future growth in the core business areas. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=456 Thu, 28 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=457 Italcementi has strengthened its position in both the US and Kuwaiti ready mixed concrete markets with the announcement of two acquisitions valued at around €33million. Through US-based Essroc, which is controlled by Italcementi subsidiary Ciments Francais, the company has bought out North Virginia-based Crider Shockey. The company produces around 250,000 cubic metres of concrete each year and had an EBITDA of €4.3million in the last full financial year. The investment follows on from the acquisition of Arrow, which operates in West Virginia and Canada, last year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=457 Thu, 28 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=458 Efficiency of hauling operations at Scotland's Glensanda super quarry near Oban is to be improved following signing of a new deal. Quarry operator Aggregate Industries and Alfred McAlpine Plant Services have signed a long term agreement to deliver and operate 12 machines plus support equipment for hauling and loading. The 7million tonnes per year quarry is Europe's largest granite quarry but has no access roads with all equipment and materials brought in and out by sea. Through the six year deal McAlpine will provide the quarry with two Caterpillar 992 loading shovels, eight Cat 777 dump trucks, a Cat D9 dozer and a Komatsu PC1250 excavator. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=458 Fri, 29 02 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=460 Lafarge has announced that it has expanded its executive committee with the appointment of Jean Desazars de Montgailhard. Desazars, who joined Lafarge in 1989, currently holds the position of executive vice-president for strategy, development and public affairs and reports directly to CEO Bruno Lafont http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=460 Mon, 03 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=467 Ireland-based building materials group CRH has reported strong gains in sales and revenue despite the influence of the weak US dollar. The company has reported that sales rose 12% to €20.99billion for the full year to deliver an EBITDA of €2.86billion, up 16% compared to 2006. According to a statement from the company, the positive results for 2007 represent CRH's 15th consecutive year of sales and earnings growth. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=467 Tue, 04 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=474 Portugal-based cement producer Cimpor has announced that it has acquired several Spanish ready mixed concrete companies. Through Cimpor's Spainish subsidiaries Hormigones Hercules and Occidental de Hormigones, the company has invested €15.5million in three ready mixed concrete plants (two in Seville and one in Huelva) and the total share capital of Arenor Hormigones, which includes another three plants in Seville. According to Cimpor, this investment will add capacity for annual production of another 400,000 cubic metres of concrete in the region. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=474 Wed, 05 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=476 Lafarge has confirmed its plans to strengthen its position in the Chinese cement market following announced that it has signed a turnkey contract with Chinese equipment supplier CBMI. Through the €600million agreement CBMI will undertake the construction of six cement plants before the end of 2010. The new production lines will help Lafarge to deliver the 45million tonne capacity improvement in China, which the company had planned between 2006 and 2010. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=476 Wed, 05 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=477 Italy-based Cementir Holding has announced that it has strengthened its presence in the Danish aggregates market with the acquisition of Kudsk Dahl. According to Cementir managing director Francesco Caltagirone Jnr, the company's subsidiary Unicorn has bought out 100% of the shareholding in Kudsk Dahl for €21million. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=477 Tue, 04 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=478 Around 20 to 30% of excavators offered for sale at a recent auction in Germany did not meet European standards, according to the German Engineering Federation (VDMA). The organisation has warned that the machines on sale at last month's Dormagen sale may be representative of problems at other auctions around Europe. VDMA technology expert Réne Kampmeier and Malcolm Kent for the British Construction Equipment Association visited the auction in February to check the equipment. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=478 Thu, 06 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=482 The UK's Quarry Products Association has launched its 2008 Health and Safety Best Practice Awards and is now open to entries. This year's award ceremony is scheduled to take place on 17 October and is expected to top the 2007 event which attracted over 200 entries. The association has said that entries to the awards are open to both members and non-members through a new online system through www.safequarry.com with a submission deadline of 28 March. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=482 Thu, 06 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=488 Cemex has announced that it has identified and is in the process of capturing US$400million (€260million) in cost synergies through the integration of Rinker. At the time of acquisition, Cemex had expected to achieve US$130million (€85million) in cost savings after the first three years but is now forecasting that synergies will deliver more than US$200million (€130million) in 2008 alone. Other savings will come from the lower than expected cost of funding Rinker, which at acquisition was expected to be 6% but is now likely to be closer to 4% this year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=488 Thu, 06 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=489 Belgium-based GBL has this week increased its shareholding in Lafarge to just over 20%. But GBL's owners Albert Frere and Paul Desmarais have denied that they are seeking to gain control of Lafarge. France's stock market regulator AMF said that GBL has increased its interest in Lafarge from just over 18% to 20.04%. In a separate filing made by GBL to AMF, GBL declared that it was not acting on behalf of a third party and, if the market opportunities are right, may make further investments in Lafarge over the next 12 months. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=489 Fri, 07 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=490 France-based Ciments Francais has reported that its operating profit fell 2.1% to €853million last year compared to the same period in 2006, despite a 6.9% rise in revenues to €4.68billion. According to Ciments Francais chairman Yves René Nanot, the lower profits were due to "strong deterioration in business activity in the US and the increase in some operating costs, particularly energy and logistics". During the 2007 financial year the Italcementi subsidiary recorded sales volumes rose for cement and clinker at 51.7million tonnes (+2.4%) and ready-mixed concrete at 14.1million cubic metres (+10.7%). Aggregates decreased slightly at 50.7million tonnes (-1.0%) primarily due to the temporary closing of a site in Spain. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=490 Fri, 07 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=491 UK-based aggregates business Ennstone's shareprice surged by 15% yesterday and sparked market speculation that the company had received an acquisition offer. In a telephone interview with Blomberg, Ennstone chairman Vaughan McLeod denied that that a takeover bid had been made. The company is due to announce its full 2007 financial results on Tuesday next week. At its peak, Ennstone's stock rose by £0.045 (€0.058) above its opening price to reach £0.3375 (€0.4416) but closed at £0.3075 (€0.4023), a gain of 5.1%. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=491 Fri, 07 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=492 France's building materials producer Vicat has recorded a 6.1% rise in profits for the full year of 2007. According to a statement form the company the growth was the results of strong performances in Europe, Africa and the Middle East which helped to offset the decline in earnings in the US market. These results are the first since Heidelberg Cement sold its 35% share in the business in April last year. The company recorded a net profit of €299million - up from €282million in 2006 - based on sales of €2.14billion, which were up 2.6% on the previous year. Vicat has proposed a 15.4% rise in its dividend to €1.50 per share. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=492 Mon, 10 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=493 Building materials group Ennstone has reported strong annual results for 2007, which the company said is in line with expectations. Operating profit for the full year was £28million (€36million), up 32.3% from 2006, based on revenues of £236million (€308million), up 23.3% on the same period last year. The company said that the performance was due to "excellent" growth in Poland and US aggregates development being on track despite the downturn in the construction market in the region. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=493 Tue, 11 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=494 The British Aggregates Association has announced that is lobbying for a change to the EU Waste Directive. The organisation is campaigning for quarry restoration to be recognised as a recovery activity throughout the region to create a level playing field for the industry. The BAA believes that an opportunity is currently being lost for the sustainable use of suitable inert wastes to be used in the restoration of mineral workings. In a statement, the BAA said, "We believe that the Waste Framework Directive recognises such restoration activities to be recovery rather than disposal and that this should be recognised by government. Although emerging guidance may aid certain restoration activities being viewed as recovery we believe there should be a clear and positive statement supporting the use of inert wastes in all quarry restoration activities". http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=494 Tue, 11 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=495 Demand for building materials worldwide is expected to reach €254billion by 2010, according to a new report from Global Industry Analysts. The report suggests that the growth will come from emerging markets and offset declines in the US and European markets. In 2007 Asia represented the largest material user, taking account of 35.24% share of the market by value. The most recent figures for the European aggregates market suggest that it was valued at €8billion in 2006. But GIA identified that Latin America is poised to emerge as the fastest growing materials market for aggregates with an annual rate of 3.5% for the next three years. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=495 Wed, 12 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=496 Market analysts are expecting Italy-based cement producer Italcementi to announce plans to delay the release of its full year results for 2007. The company is believed to be looking at whether it needs to make provisions within the results to take account of the authority takeover of Calcestruzzi. Italcementi's Sicilian subsidiary was seized by the authority late last year following accusations of false accounting and possible mafia involvement and the investigation is still underway. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=496 Thu, 13 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=497 Ireland-based materials group CRH has reached an agreement to takeover the US concrete producer Pavestone Group for US$540million (€348million). The sale price includes assumed debt and a deferred consideration for future increases in profitability and the deal is subject to approval by the regulatory authority. Dallas, Texas-based Pavestone has 18 concrete paver plants and 14 decorative stone bagging operations at 16 locations across the US. In 2007, the company had EBITDA of US$65million on sales of US$368million. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=497 Thu, 13 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=498 Volvo has modified a EC360CL excavator specifically to suit the barge unloading operations at Cemex UK's Attenborough Quarry near Nottingham (see ABE, April/May 2007). The machine replaces a 10 year old excavator and its main role will be unloading sand and gravel from barges and discharging into the main feed hopper to the plant. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=498 Fri, 14 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=499 Cemex has published guidance figures for its first quarter performance but the lower than expected figures has led to a 7.2% fall in share price. According to a statement from the company, EBITDA for the first three months of 2008 is likely to be up 6% to US$920million (€589million) but operating income is 25% lower than the same period last year at US$420million (€269million). Sales for the period us forecast to be up 24% on 2006 at US$5.3billion (€3.4billion). http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=499 Fri, 14 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=500 Denmark-based FLSmidth has announced that is has won contracts to supply two new cement plants – one in Russia and another in the Ukraine – for Buzzi Unicem companies. The agreement has been valued at €40million. Under the deal, FLSmidth will supply equipment for Buzzi Unicem alongside its existing plant in the Rivne region in the Ukraine and the other for Buzzi's Germany-based subsidiary Dyckerhoff in Akbulak, Urkraine. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=500 Mon, 17 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=502 Turnover at Heidelberg Cement rose 35% during 2007 to €10.8billion, compared to €8billion for the same period the year before. Heidelberg also reported that operating income for 2007 was up 27% to €1.8billion and group profit more than doubled to €2billion. The company attributed the growth to the acquisition of Hanson and strong organic growth in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, as well as Norway, Africa and Turkey. Heidelberg also said that the sale of its shareholding in Vicat and US-based Florida Rock Industries also contributed. The sale of Maxit group has not been included in the figure as the deal has only just been finalised. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=502 Tue, 18 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=503 Italcementi has announced that it will now release its full year results for 2007 on 26 March due to the ongoing investigation of Calcestruzzi. However, the company has said that the investigation of Calcestruzzi will not have a material impact on the results for last year. According to a statement from the company, a new board of directors has now been appointed at Calcestuzzi comprising "distinguished experts and independent professionals". Italcementi said that the board has been selected to give the company transparency and restore confidence. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=503 Tue, 18 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=504 Sandvik has announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire the business of German system technology provider Aubema Beteiligungs and its subsidiaries Aubema Crushing Technology and Beijing Aubema Technology Co. Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed but it is subject to approval by the German regulatory authorities. Aubema is a specialist in system technology of crushing and rock sizing, particularly for softer rock, coal, coke, ores, salt and fertiliser. The company focuses on design and production of custom-tailored equipment, including hammer mills, impact mills, roll crushers, cone crushers and vibrating mills. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=504 Tue, 18 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=505 Portugal-based Cimpor has further expanded its business in Spain with the acquisition of Urgón y Trituración for €4.37million through its subsidiary Occidental de Áridos. Urgón y Trituración operates a quarry in the Cordoba region of Spain with an annual output of 350,000tonnes per year. The company has also bought out Urgón, which operates two ready mixed concrete plants in Cordoba with an annual output of 55,000cubic metres for €1.86million. Cimpor made this acquisition through its Occidental de Hormigones subsidiary. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=505 Wed, 19 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=506 Sasjhori in Georgia is reported to be the location for a new 2million tonnes per year Heidelberg Cement plant. According to a media agency in the Ukraine, the site has been selected for the cement plant to open up markets in both Georgia and neighbouring Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Heidelberg first started operating in Georgia in 2006 with acquisition of a 51% stake in Kartuli Cementi and commissioning work on a 400,000tonnes per year plant at Kartuli's Rustavi site is currently underway. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=506 Wed, 19 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=507 Ready mixed concrete producers in South Korea have staged an indefinite strike, halting production on construction sites while they demand fairer materials pricing. The Korean Ready Mixed Concrete Industry Cooperative, which represents 60% of Korea's producers had warned that strike action would result if an agreement could not be reached. The ready mixed producers are demanding a 12.5% increase in prices to offset the rising cost of cement and aggregates, which have increased by 30% and 26%, respectively, over the last 12 months. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=507 Thu, 20 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=508 Heidelberg has said that it is considering selling its clay tile business as part of its strategy to focus on the aggregates and cement market. According to chairman of the managing board Dr Bernd Scheifele, more than half of the division's €600million revenues come from the US where the company is "unhappy" with the unit's market position. He said that selling the business would contribute towards Heidelberg's goal of reducing debt from €12.4billion to €11billion by the end of the year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=508 Wed, 19 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=509 CRH has announced that it has agreed to buy a 50% shareholding in India-based cement company My Home Industries Limited for €290million. The deal, which is CRH's first step into India's booming cement market, is expected to be completed in the second quarter of this year. Under the agreement, CRH and MHIL will jointly manage the company with equal representation on the board. MHIL's operations consist of three cement production units at Mellacheruvu village in central Andhra Pradesh with a separate grinding plant under construction near Vishakapatnam on the coast of Andhra Pradesh. Current annual cement production capacity is 3.2million tonnes, which will increase to 4.2million tonnes on completion of the new grinding facility in early 2009. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=509 Thu, 20 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=510 Cemex France has presented its first annual safety award to Cemex Bétons Rhone-Ain, which has achieved more than two years without accidents. The division operates 11 ready mixed concrete plants in the Rhone region, which produce 460,000 cubic metres of concrete per year. The trophy was presented to Béton general manager Pierre Laplante during a special ceremony last week by regional manager Armand Delclos and health and safety director Daniel Puigdemont. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=510 Tue, 25 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=511 Demonstrations were held outside a disused quarry in the Machairas Forest in Cyprus over the weekend. Protestors are campaigning against plans to reopen and expand the diabase quarry which was last worked in 2003. Quarry operator Farmakas has applied to restart extraction at the site to meet demand for road stone on the island and also to supply the decorative stone market. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=511 Tue, 25 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=512 Mine and quarry workers in Finland have a higher risk of contracting cancer than other professions. According to the report, which looked at the health records of 15 million people, including 3 million cancer patients, mine and quarry workers have a higher than average risk of cancer. The report suggested that this raised risk for these specific professions may be due to exposure to silica dust. In Finland, around 70,000 workers are exposed to such conditions and this group has also been noted to have a higher incidence of pulmonary diseases. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=512 Tue, 25 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=513 Holcim is expected to invest US$1.1billion (€70.5million) in increasing production in Brazil, according to Carlos Eduardo Garrocho, the company's commercial and external relations director in Brazil. Garrocho reveiled the companies plans during an interview with Brazilian financial magazine Valor Economico. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=513 Wed, 26 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=514 Cement equipment manufacturer KHD Humboldt Wedag has announced that it has signed a US$80million (€52million) deal to supply two new cement production lines to India-based Dalmia Cement. Through the contract KHD Humboldt will supply two 4500tonnes per day pyro-processing and grinding systems for Dalmia. According to Dalmia, the investment is part of the company's strategy for continued growth and will help it to meet demand in the growing Indian cement market. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=514 Wed, 26 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=515 Portugal-based Cimpor is reported to have said that it is to start work on constructing a new €80.5million cement plant in Peru this year. The news was reported in the Jornal de Negocios, which cited the company's internal news letter as the source. The new plant will be built for Cimpor's Peruvian subsidiary Cementos Otorongo, in which Cimpor acquired an 80% shareholding for €12.8million late last year. At the time of acquisition, the companies said that a new plant to supply 10% of Peru's annual cement needs was planned. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=515 Fri, 28 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=516 Italy-based Italcementi has reported that profits for the full year in 2007 were down on 2006 levels, despite a slight increase in sales. The company announced that group sales in 2007 rose 2.5% to €6billion but net profit fell 6% to €612.5million, compared to the previous year. According to an announcement from Italcementi, 2006 was a record year for the company and the turnover increase recorded for 2007 is the result of its long term strategy. The company said it has been working to achieve strong growth in the emerging countries to contain the slowdown recorded in some mature countries and counter to a large extent the unfavourable trend in sales prices with respect to operating expenses, notably raw materials, fuel and logistics. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=516 Thu, 27 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=536 Italy-based Italcementi has said that it is not studying the possibility of buying out the minority shareholders of France-based Ciments Francais. Italcementi currently holds a 79% shareholding in Ciments. The suggestion that Italcementi may be planning a full acquisition came after a French bank Exane BNP Paribas released a research report stating that cash flow constraints at Ciments Francais may encourage Italcementi to invest further in the business. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=536 Fri, 11 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=537 Lafarge is reported to be planning a new cement plant in Poland to increase capacity by between 1.5 and 2million tonnes per year. According to a report in the Warsaw Business Journal, the company is expected to invest up to €350million on the new facility in the proposed Pomorska Special Economic Zone. A spokesman for the company quoted in the report confirmed that the company was analysing the Polish market but no decision has yet been made. The company said that it will make a final decision once the special economic zone has been established and the EU has clarified the position on carbon dioxide emissions are 2012. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=537 Thu, 10 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=538 Lafarge has announced that it has appointed Pscal Casanova as group director of research and development. He takes over the role from Denis Maître who has taken on the role of managing director of Lafarge's aggregates and concrete business in France. Casanova, who is a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, joined Lafarge in 1999 as technical director and was closely involved in the development of Lafarge's Ductal concrete. In 2002 he headed up research and development for Lafarge's roofing business and moves from the role he took on in 2005, as managing director of Lafarge Roofing Components, to his new position. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=538 Wed, 09 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=539 Major Lafarge shareholder Groupe Bruxelles Lambert is expected to be give three seats on the board at Lafarge following the company's increased investment in the business. GBL raised its stake in Lafarge last month to 18.6% and has suggested that it may raise its interest further although it has said that it is not seeking to gain a controlling share. GBL now holds 20.9% of voting rights. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=539 Wed, 09 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=540 Holcim Venezuela has received official notification from the government that as a foreign cement producer it will be subject to the nationalisation plans announced by president Hugo Chavez. The government has said that it wants to acquire a 60% holding as soon as possible and has called for negotiations about the remaining shareholding. Holcim has been operating in Venezuela since 1978, when the group acquired a minority holding in Cementos Caribe. Following the merger with another private cement company, Holcim successively increased its stake in Holcim Venezuela ? a major national producer of building materials ? to 99.9%. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=540 Wed, 09 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=544 Metso Minerals has announced that it has signed a deal with Anglo American to supply €12million of crushing and grinding equipment for a new project in Chile. Delivery of equipment for the new c http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=544 Fri, 28 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=545 The current construction boom in the United Arab Emirates is expected to continue driving rising cement demand in the region. Current predictions suggest that consumption in the region will reach over 26million tonnes per year by 2011. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=545 Mon, 31 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=546 According to a French newspaper report, Lafarge is to propose that Gerald Frere, Jerome Guiraud and Michel Rollier should be added to the company's board of directors. Frere is managing director of Group Bruxelles Lambert, which owns a 20.1% stake in Lafarge, while Guiraud is a board member of Orascom Construction Industries and Rollier is managing partner with Michelin. Lafarge has said that none of the men hold shares in its business. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=546 Mon, 31 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=547 Cemex is refocusing on its core business and has announced the sale of the majority of its 9.5% stake in Mexican telecommunications company Axtel. The company has sold 90% of its shares in Axtel for US$257million (€163million). http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=547 Tue, 01 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=548 Italy-based cement producer Buzzi Unicem has reported strong growth in its full year results for 2007 thanks to good performances in Central and Eastern Europe. The company has recorded a 9.1% jump in net sales to €3.49billion and 12.3% rise in EBITDA to €1.04billion, compared to 2006 levels. According to the company, cement volumes were up 2.2% from 2006 levels to 34.1million tonnes. The increase has been attributed to the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Mexico, Ukraine and Germany, while volumes were down in the US and to a lesser extent in Italy. Sales are virtually unchanged in Russia, where the plant has reached full capacity, and in Poland whose market growth was sustained by exports from other countries. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=548 Tue, 01 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=549 Italy's Italcementi has announced that it has reached an agreement with Russia-based Sibirskiy Cement over the sale of its Turkish activities. Under the €600million deal, Sibirskiy will acquire assets held by Italcementi's subsidiary Ciments Francais in Turkey. The sale will be finded by €400million in cash and €200million in Sibirskiy Cement. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=549 Wed, 02 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=550 Cemex UK has kicked off its 2008 national investment programme with the opening of a modern new ready mixed concrete plant at one of its busiest London sites. The £2.2million (€2.78million) plant at Stepney, East London has a 180cubic metre per hour production capacity, which Cemex claims makes it the highest output plant in the country. The Stepney site has been producing concrete since 1960 and during that time is believed to have produced over 4million cubic metres of concrete. Cemex has said that while the new plant follows the same layout as the old unit, the new facility is state of the art and features twin mixer units for maximum efficiency. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=550 Thu, 03 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=551 According to local media, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has ordered the nationalisation of the cement industry in the country with the aim of tackling the national housing shortage. Companies affected by the announcement include Cemex but Chavez claims that businesses will be paid "fair compensation" for the takeover. He also claimed that following the takeover, the plants would be modernised to improve efficiency. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=551 Fri, 04 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=552 Reports in the South China Morning Post suggest that Lafarge is looking to increase its market share in China through both investments and acquisitions. The newspaper claims that chief executive Cyrille Ragoucy said that the company wants to double its production in China by 2010 to 50million tonnes. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=552 Fri, 04 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=553 Efficiency of Bishop Middleham Quarry in Northumberland, UK has been boosted with the delivery of a new 36tonnes EC360CL excavator. The new excavator is the prime mover for loading blasted dolomitic limestone into two new Volvo A35E haulers at the quarry owned by Thomsons of Prudhoe. The new fleet is expected to move around 500,000tonnes of rock from the quarry each year.Efficiency of Bishop Middleham Quarry in Northumberland, UK has been boosted with the delivery of a new 36tonnes EC360CL excavator. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=553 Mon, 07 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=554 Metso has announced plans to invest €30million to establish a multi-functional industrial facility in India to develop ?Metso Park'. The company has said that the site will initially be used to meet the rapid rise in demand for products and services from Metso Minerals in India but will also have the capability to serve other Metso businesses. Metso Park will be located near the city of Alwar in the state of Rajasthan in north west India and will include office premises, several workshops, warehousing and a logistics centre. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=554 Fri, 04 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=555 Holcim New Zealand is helping to fund a new initiative to protect blue penguins on New Zealnad's west coast. The quarry operator has signed an agreement with the West Coast Blue Penguin Trust will formalise previous sponsorship provided by Holcim to the Trust by funding nesting boxes, predator control and support for important research into their migration and breeding patterns.The Trust was established in 2006 following anecdotal evidence of a decline in blue penguin numbers. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=555 Wed, 02 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=556 Market analysts has suggested that Cemex may have to sell of around US$2.7billion (€1.7billion) of assets to repay debts and avoid its investment status being downgraded in the face of the US housing crisis. The company has just sold the majority of its stake in Mexican communications company Axtel to repay part of its debt load that is currently just over €12billion. Analysts suggest that over the next two years the company will shed other non-strategic investments as well as some cement plants. The company has said that it plans to reduce assets by €1.7billion but the analysts at Credit Suisse and several Mexican banks say the sell off needs to be larger in order to manage its debts and remain profitable. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=556 Fri, 04 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=557 Canada-based Polaris Minerals has just released its full year figures for 2007 which show the company lost US$18.4million (€11.7million) based on revenues of US$15.5million (€9.85million). This compares with a loss of US3.3million (€2.1million) and zero revenues in 2006, when the Vancouver-based Orca Quarry was still in the process of being set up (see quarry profile, ABE March/April 2008). Polaris president and CEO Marco Romero said, "Last year was a year of transformation for Polaris, during which we commenced production at the Orca Quarry, which I am pleased to report is operating extremely well. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=557 Thu, 03 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=558 The latest health and safety figures from the UK's Quarry Products Association show further improvements were made in reducing reportable accidents in 2007. Since 2004, the QPA's members have reduced the accident rate down from 288 to 152 in 2007. Nonetheless, the QPA has said that its target is zero accidents but the figures for last year show that the industry is moving in the right direction. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=558 Sat, 05 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=559 Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US have suggested that the great pyramids of Giza may have been partially formed using cast in-situ concrete rather than wholly quarried stone as previously thought. Theories about the use of concrete were first put forward in the 1930s and now MIT researchers are building scale models to identify which blocks could have been cast rather than quarried. They will then use techniques such as microscopic imagery and chemical analysis to look find techniques to use on samples from the Great Pyramid itself. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=559 Tue, 08 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=560 Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has said that the county's plans to nationalise the cement industry may only apply to enterprises that were previously state owned. In a statement Chaves said, "We will only nationalize what was privatized, the large cement companies that were practically given away, the plants that were property of the state." Chavez has already nationalised both the telephone and electricity industries in Venezuela and has previously threatened the cement industry with the same. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=560 Tue, 08 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=561 The Union Government in India has announced that cement exports are to be banned. The move follows from concerns that supplies could run short and to help contain further price rises. However, industry experts have said that the export ban is not appropriate to solve the supply and price issue. Ine industry specialist said that most cement exports in India occur from Gujurat where there is ample capacity to meet both export demand as well as that of the local market, but distribution costs mean that the it is not viable to divert export material to the domestic market. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=561 Mon, 14 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=568 Market analysts have suggested that Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez's foreign owned cement and steel privatisation plans could cost in excess of US$2.7billion (€1.7billion). Under the plan, Chavez wants to acquire at least 60% of the shareholding in Cemex, Lafarge and Holcim's cement plants in the country as well as Ternium Sidor, the country's largest steel maker. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=568 Tue, 15 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=569 The booming construction market in Turkey is reported to have caused the annual demand for ready mixed concrete to have risen almost three-fold over the last year from 25 to 73million cubic metres. The rapid growth has led to a number of new players joining the supply market and stiff competition on price, which is causing many contractors to question the quality of the ready mixed concrete delivered to site. Several contractors have said that some prices quoted for work in the face of rising production costs mean that the quote is not sufficient even to cover the materials. Several have suggested that the concrete supplied at such low price may fall below the C-20 standards or the sales are being made illegally without taxation. The contractors are concerned that this is leading to unfair competition and may also impact on the finished construction and are calling for more supervision of the sector. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=569 Tue, 15 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=570 Evidence found in a quarry in Alabama, US has given scientist new clues about the rate and phasing of cooling during the ice age 33million years ago. According to the report in Discovery News, the new data shows that the climate cooled in three rapid – geological terms – rapid steps and not in a continuous process. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=570 Wed, 16 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=586 Holcim has announced that it will be proposing changes to its board of directors at its upcoming shareholders' meeting on 7 May. The company has said that the changes are in line with its policy to stagger the terms of office for its directors so that one third of the members are replaced each year. The company is proposing that Christine Binswanger and Robert Spoerry replace Willy Kissling and Gilbert Probst, who have been on the board since 1997 and 1999, respectively. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=586 Wed, 16 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=591 CRH has announced that it has reached an agreement with Tyco International to buyout steel fixing specialist Ancon Building Products for £88million (€109million). UK-based Ancon, which also operates in continental Europe, the Middle East and Australia, designs and manufactures stainless steel fixing systems for the construction industry. The company recorded an EBITDA of £12.9million (€15.9million) in 2007 based on sales of £54.5million (€67.5million). http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=591 Wed, 16 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=592 Cement production in Egypt will be boosted from 2010 with a new €55million cement production facility located near Beni Seuf, 120km south of Cairo. The plant is to be built for Wadi El Nile Cement Company and equipped by FLSmidth and will have a production capacity of around 5000tonne per day. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=592 Thu, 17 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=593 The European Commission's Environment Directorate-General has announced that it has appointed Dr Michael Rademacher to lead a new working group to support biodiversity in the aggregates sector. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=593 Fri, 18 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=594 Cemex UK's Barrington cement plant in Cambridge has been granted permission the environmental authorities in the UK to part replace fossil fuels with a waste derived alternative. Under the agreement, the plant will use Climafuel, derived from processed household residual waste and commercial waste, to replace 20% of the fossil fuels, such as coal and petcoke, that are currently used at the site. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=594 Mon, 21 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=595 Northern Ireland-based Fintec has announced today that it has added a Queen's Award for export achievement to its growing list of accolades. The company, which is part of the Sandvik group, won the 2006 International Trade Award and the Northern Ireland Exporter of the Year award in 2006 and 2007. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=595 Mon, 21 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=596 Cemex is reported to be in the final stages of planning construction of a new €220million cement plant with a view to starting work on the project this year. The new plant is expected to be located next to its existing site at Broceni in western Latvia. No details about the capacity of the plant or the expected completion date have yet been released. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=596 Tue, 22 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=597 India-based Satyam Computer Services has announced that it has reached a deal with Caterpillar to acquire Cat's market research business. Under the €37million deal, Satyam will take over the operation, intellectual property and assets of Cat's Market Research and Customer Analytics division. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=597 Tue, 22 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=598 Ireland's CRH and Germany's Knauf Gips are believed to be the only building materials company on the shortlist to bid for the German-based Xella, the building materials unit of Franz Haniel Cie. The company is expected to be shortlisted for the multi-billion Euro deal alongside private equity firms, including PAI Partners and Goldman Sachs. Xella achieved profits of €125million in 2006 through sales of €1.3billion and Markey analysts expect the sale price of the business unit to exceed €3billion. The group is active in markets ranging from raw materials such limestone to dry lining systems like gypsum fibreboards, as well as building materials such as aerated concrete. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=598 Tue, 22 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=599 Full integration of Rinker and improved supply/demand dynamics have been credited for the good start to 2008 for Cemex. In the company's first quarter results for this year, Cemex has reported a 26% rise in sales to US$5.4billion (€3.4billlion) and a 10% gain in EBITA to US$951million (€597million), compared to the same period last year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=599 Tue, 22 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=600 Construction of a new bypass in Cumbria, UK has just been completed and use of local stone for walling along the route has helped to blend the road into its surroundings. More than 234,000tonnes of crushed infill stone and 8,400tonnes of weathered walling stone was supplied to the scheme by Burlington's aggregates division. The rock has been used to create boundary walls along the new 3.8km A590 bypass that was built by Laing O'Rourke for the UK's Highways Agency. The new route provides better access from the popular tourist area of the Lake District and the M6 motorway. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=600 Wed, 23 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=601 Lafarge's €4.2million upgrade of its Cape Peak Quarry in Western Cape, South Africa has just been completed and the company says that it has boosted production by 70%. According to Lafarge regional manager Anton Combrink, the investment will help the company meet the growing aggregate demand from the Western Cape construction market which has been rising for five years. The new crushing and screening plant at the Cape Peak site has increased production rates from 450tonnes per hour to 750tonnes per hour. Combrink said that the new plant also optimised the quarry's product split to meet demand for high quality manufactured sand. The new equipment also lowers the quarry's power consumption by 20% per tonne processed. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=601 Wed, 23 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=603 Reports in a Malaysian newspaper sparked off rumours that Holcim was bidding to acquire Tasek. Nonetheless, Holcim has said that is not currently in talks with the Malaysia-based cement company and had no plans to make a bid. Holcim currently has capacity to produce 1.2million tonnes of cement in Malaysia, where as Tasek has facilities for 2.3million tonnes of annual production. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=603 Thu, 24 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=604 An investigation has been launched following an accident last week at a Hanson Aggregates site in the UK. The accident occurred when a contractor working at the site became trapped under a falling machine bucket at the Kennett site, near Newmarket on 18 April. The man was released by fire crews and taken to Adenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge where he is said to be in a stable condition. The investigation is being led by the UK's Health and Safety Executive but no details about the probable cause or circumstances at the time of the accident have yet been released. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=604 Fri, 25 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=605 Efficiency of rehandling duties at Stonegrave Aggregates' Aycliffe Quarry near Darlington, UK has been boosted through delivery of a new Volvo L150F wheeled loader. According to Stonegrave operations manager Bruce Whitely, the machine was chosen to match the performance of the site's existing Volvo A30D hauler fleet. The new Volvo machine replaces a five year old unit and Whitely said that the better operator comfort was one of the main reasons for switching to the new machine. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=605 Fri, 25 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=606 In a step to improve the green credentials of its concrete, US-based Star Quality Concrete has installed solar panel to supplement power its San Jose plant in California. Star is a family-owned business but is known for its sustainable approach and specialises in reprocessing demolition concrete for reuse in new concrete mixes. The 410kW Akeena solar power system has 1890 panels, which have been installed on the roof of the San Jose concrete plant. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=606 Fri, 25 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=607 Holcim is reported to be buying a further 11% stake in Ambuja Cements India Limited (ACIL) from parent company Ambuja Cements for INR5.89billion. Ambuja set up ACIL in 2000 to offer stakes in the business to overseas investors and following Holcim's increased stake, will exit the company. The buyout is in line with an agreement between Holcim and Ambuja drawn up in 2005, which guaranteed the sale of Ambuja's 33% stake in ACIL to Holcim by 2008. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=607 Mon, 28 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=608 Komatsu has announced that it has appointed Akira Sugiki as chairman, managing director and group CEO of Komatsu Europe International. He takes over the role from Tsutomu Sakurai who headed up the business for two years but has now left Komatsu. Sugiki joined Komatsu in 1979 and worked in the Japanese sales and marketing division for 20 years before moving to Belgium to take on the role of general manager of the European rental/used equipment department. For the last two years Sugiki has been based in Japan and working as general manager of business planning. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=608 Mon, 28 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=609 Sandvik is planning construction of three new factories in China to keep pace with demand, according to a new report in China Business Weekly. The report claims that Sandvik China is set to build three new factories in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, to enhance its production capacity. The new factories will serve the needs of Sandvik Mining and Construction, Walter and Sandvik Hard Materials. Construction on the new facilities will start in October this year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=609 Tue, 29 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=610 Following denials of a takeover plan for Cements Francais, Italcementi has revealed a plan to gradually buy the business. Speaking at Italcementi's annual shareholders meeting, chief executive Carlo Pesenti is reported to have said that the company needs to "continue to slowly buy shares (in Ciments Francais) on the market". He is also added, "Surely, sooner or later, we'll get to the buyout with a subsequent delisting of the company." http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=610 Tue, 29 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=611 Demand from developing countries and a focus on infrastructure development is expected to fuel a 5.3% annual increase in global cement demand over the next five years. Increased use of cement by developing nations is also forecast to be supplemented by a rise in demand from the US, Japan and Germany. Freedonia, which carried out the research presented in the World Cement report, expects the rising demand to take annual consumption to 3.6billion tonnes by 2012. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=611 Wed, 30 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=612 Heidelberg Cement has announced that Helmut Erhrad, a former member of the company's managing board passed away on 25 April after a serious illness. Erhard retired from his post on Heidelberg's managing board in December 2007 after nine years but continued working with the company as a member of the supervisory board. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=612 Wed, 30 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=613 The Federal Government covering the Northern Emirates has warned quarry operators in the region that they will be fined if they "endanger the public with excessive dust". The news is the latest step in plans to regulate the industry in a bid to improve the environmental and health and safety aspects of quarrying. According to the Federal Government Agency, the dust from crushing operations is impacting on the lives on local residents and also blankets wadis and hillsides, damaging fragile eco-systems. Environmental experts believe mining threatens endangered species and disrupts the flow of mountain wadis. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=613 Tue, 29 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=614 Italcementi subsidiary Ciments Fraincais has announced that has acquired two Kuwait-based ready mixed concrete producers. According to a statement from Ciments Francais, the buyouts are in line with its strategy for vertical integration and drive for expansion in growth markets. The company has bought out Gulf Ready Mix and Al Mahaliya for an overall investment of US$30million (€19.3million). The deal boosts the company's ready mix capabilities in Kuwait by over 500,000 cubic metres per year and positions Ciments Francais as the largest ready mixed producer in the Emirates region. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=614 Wed, 30 04 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=615 Sandvik has announced that it has reached an agreement with Husqvarna over the sale of one of its construction division businesses which develops and sells equipment for drilling and grinding of concrete using diamond tools. No financial details of the sale have been released but the transfer is immediate. According to Sandvik, the business has a focus and market in an area in which Sandvik otherwise does not have a business presence and can therefore not be considered core operation. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=615 Thu, 01 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=617 Health, safety and welfare in Irish quarries have been boosted today with the introduction of new regulations. The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Quarries) Regulations 2008 comes into effect on 1 May and covers a broad range of quarry activities including records of inspection and maintenance, safety equipment, traffic routes, fire and explosion hazards, prevention of unauthorised entry and shotfiring rules. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=617 Thu, 01 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=618 Lafarge and Heidelberg Cement are believed to be the main contenders to acquire India's L&T Concrete and an announcement about the successful bidder is expected soon. India-based cement producer AV Birla group, which operates Grasim and Ultratech, and private equity firm 3i have also been linked to the takeover. L&T's sale was initially valued at US$300million (€193million) but the interest in the acquisition is expected to push the price up to US$350million (€226million). http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=618 Fri, 02 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=619 Safety standards at Metso Minerals' UK subsidiary have been recognised with the award of Safe Contractor Accreditation. The company carries out design, installation, operator training, service, planned maintenance, and spare parts service for Metso in the UK. According to Metso UK health and safety manager Garry Bond, health and safety is treated as paramount to the business' success. He said, "To achieve Safe Contractor Scheme accreditation, we operate a system of continuous safety management review and improvement. In-depth audits, assessments and inspections of our activities and documentation are an integral part of our internal procedures. The support and commitment from our service managers, field engineers and customers was fundamental in achieving the accreditation." http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=619 Mon, 05 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=620 Organic growth during the first quarter of this year have boosted Holcim's financial results but strong currency and high energy costs have impacted on the overall figures. Changes in the company's structure also make it difficult to compare the results for Q1 2008 with the same period last year. These changes include the deconsolidation of businesses in South Africa and Egypt, which has reduced the company's aggregates, cement and ready mixed concrete production capacity. In addition, the financial results were impacted by the weakening of most foreign currencies by approximately 7%. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=620 Tue, 06 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=621 New research, funded by the EUREKA programme, has helped to develop a new technique for recycling polymers from plastics into concrete products. The SANDPLAST project is being undertaken by the Latvian Technological Centre and the Institute of Polymer Mechanics at the University of Latvia, who are working with Spainish cement company Hormigones Uniland. The researchers have succeeded in turning thermoplastic polymer waste into a binding substance that could be mixed with other materials, like sand, to generate cement-free polymer concrete goods. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=621 Wed, 07 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=622 Metso has launched a research collaboration with US-based university Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) through the institute's Industrial Liaison Programme. Metso vice president for environment, quality and technology Marko Harkovirta said that the strategic aim is to tap into global innovation. He said that currently, Metso's R&D activities were still very concentrated in the Nordic countries, particularly Finland and a wider outlook would benefit the company. The ILP gives companies an opportunity to directly access MIT researchers and enables company representatives to participate in workshops and conferences, as well as customised training programmes. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=622 Thu, 08 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=628 Lafarge has announced strong growth in its first quarter earnings for 2008, compared to the same period last year. According to a statement from the company, net income, excluding capital gains in 2007, is up 49% to €150million and results in some emerging markets show a 70% rise compared to last year. During the first quarter of this year, Lafarge has recorded an 8% rise in sales to reach €4billion and a 48% increase in operating income to €512million, compared to the same period in 2007. Operating margin is also up at 12.8%, compared to 9.3% last year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=628 Wed, 07 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=629 CRH has reported that while its European Material division has recorded a positive start to 2007, the overall growth is "behind the very strong performance experienced in the early months of 2007". Nonetheless, the company has pointed out that the seasonally less significant first quarter only contributes a small proportion to full year profitability. In Europe, CRH has recorded "significant advances" in Poland and the Ukraine that have offset losses in the Irish and Spanish markets. The company said that although infrastructure investment in Ireland and Spain is continuing, the gains from this have been outweighed by sharp reductions in residential construction activity. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=629 Thu, 08 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=645 Discovery of a fossilised parrot at a quarry by an Irish funded research project is not only thought to be the oldest unearthed but is also changing scientists' views on habitats for the prehistoric birds. The 55million year old bones of the bird – Mopsitta tanta - were discovered by Dr Davod Waterhouse at the quarry on the Isle of Mors. The find means that the birds lived on the edges of what is now the North Sea, much further away from the tropics than previously thought possible. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=645 Fri, 16 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=646 The British Aggregates Association's (BAA) campaign to seek €350million in damages for 35 unnamed companies following a 2003 investigation into cement cartel activity received a boost last week. The BAA has employed Cartel Damages Claims to investigate the claim and file the lawsuit through the German courts and last week Heidelberg, Lafarge, Holcim, Cemex and three other producers lost their bid to have the lawsuit thrown out. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=646 Mon, 19 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=647 Italcementi's investor rating has been downgraded from stable to negative by Moody's Investor Services. In a statement, Moody's said that the company's status had been changed due to Italcementi's weak results in the Italian market, increased debt and deconsolidation of Calcestruzzi business in Sicily. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=647 Mon, 19 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=648 As the toll for the dead and missing rises to over 70,000, Case Construction Equipment has become the latest manufacturer to donate equipment to the search and rescue mission. The company's Shanghai operation has donated a Case 695 four-wheel drive backhoe loader and hydraulic hammer to assist the emergency services teams with the relief efforts. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=648 Mon, 19 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=649 Two new Terex TR100 rigid dump trucks are being used to help restore Lafarge's Dunbar quarry in Scotland. The quarry uses the "bridge transporter" method to strip overburden to reveal the limestone reserve and restore the land behind the active extraction area. Using this method means that the quarry is never more than 1.4km long and 300m wide. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=649 Tue, 20 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=650 AEA Technology has won a £850,000 (€1million) contract from the UK government to manage a driver development programme to promote greener and safer driving by truck drivers in the aggregates industry. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=650 Wed, 21 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=651 Outstanding environmental management at McGrath's Quarry Group's site in Cong, County Mayo, Ireland has helped the company to win a top national award. At a ceremony held in Newbridge, County Kildare, the company was presented with the Irish Concrete Federation's (ICF) National Five Star Quarry of the Year Award. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=651 Thu, 22 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=652 CRH has announced that it has appointed Myles Lee as its new group chief executive designate and will take over the role when Liam O'Mahony retires at the end of the year. Lee, a civil engineer and an accountant, joined CRH in 1982. He was appointed as general finance manager in 1988 and became finance director in 2003, when he also joined CRH's board of directors. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=652 Thu, 22 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=653 The UK's Quarry Products Association (QPA) has launched a new campaign to help raise awareness of the risks of unauthorised entry to quarries. Under its Play Safe?Stay Safe campaign the QPA is urging quarry operators to ensure site security is sufficient to stop people from entering quarries to play during the holiday period. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=653 Fri, 23 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=654 In a meeting with China's ambassador in Rome Sun Yuxi, Italcementi CEO Carlo Pesenti announced plans to offer material support to the victims of last week's earthquake in China. Italcementi's Chinese subsidiary Fuping Cement is located in Shaanxi provide, which borders the earthquake-struck Sichuan province. Pesenti said that Italcementi will provide support to the region through Fuping, which the company acquired in July last year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=654 Fri, 23 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=655 Cypriot cement producer Vassiliko has announced plans to build a new €135million cement plant on the island. The company has awarded an €83million contract to Chinese contractor CBMI for the construction work on the new plant. The plant is expected to be commissioned in 2010 and will boost Vassiliko's cement capacity from 1.85 to 2.5million tonnes per year, making it the largest cement producer in Cyprus. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=655 Mon, 26 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=658 Holcim subsidiary, Aggregate Industries, has been awarded a contract to provide building materials for London's Olympic Park. Under the contract, the company will provide sand, gravel, crushed stone and recycled concrete for construction of the site for the 2012 Olympic Games. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=658 Wed, 28 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=659 Metso Minerals has opened a new research centre in Tampere, Finland, which will further strengthen the company's global knowledge base in crushing and screening technology. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=659 Fri, 30 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=660 The Vicat Group, in joint venture with Kazkommerts Invest, is investing in a €147million cement-plant project in Almaty, Kazakhstan. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=660 Thu, 29 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=661 Lafarge and Iraqi joint venture partner Asiacell are reported to be planning construction of a new €320million cement plant in Iraq. According to media reports, the new plant is planned for the northern part of the country to help meet shortages in the region. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=661 Wed, 04 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=662 Wales-based Hogan Aggregates has just taken delivery of a new 32tonne capacity Terex TR35 rigid dump truck (RDT) to replace its existing TR35 at Gwndy Quarry in Anglesey. The new unit is part of a planned upgrade at the granite quarry and will be used as the primary hauler to take material from the quarry face to the crusher. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=662 Fri, 06 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=663 Aggregate Industries has secured an award for its work at Bardon Hill Quarry, UK in recognition of its commitment to improving biodiversity. The quarry has been presented with a Biodiversity Benchmark accolade by The Wildlife Trust for its efforts to working closely with local biodiversity partners, such as Natural England to monitor and enhance the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on Bardon Hill; BTCV, who help to care for the area; and the Leicester Rutland Wildlife Trust, who wrote the company's biodiversity management plan. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=663 Tue, 27 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=664 Cimpor has announced that is recorded a net income of €60.6million in the first quarter of this year, down 14.3% on the same period last year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=664 Wed, 28 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=665 Holcim has announced that investor rating group Moody's has assigned the business with a Baa1 outlook stable long term credit rating. According to Moody's lead analyst Matthias Hellstern, Holcim's Baa1 rating reflects the company's industry-leading geographical diversification with strong revenue contribution from all continents and a relatively low dependence on its domestic and neighbouring markets in Europe, which only account for 37% of Holcim's turnover, as well as its strong market position in many of these markets. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=665 Fri, 30 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=666 The first three months of 2008 saw a slowdown in the group performance of Italcementi on mature markets, due to the slackening in demand in North America, Italy and Spain, in contrast with growth in the emerging countries (especially Egypt, Morocco and India). http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=666 Mon, 02 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=667 All of Lafarge's 3000 sites across 76 countries are currently taking part in ‘Safety Month'. At each site one or more days will be devoted to safety awareness programmes and training, for the group's employees, as well as their families, subcontractors and local communities. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=667 Thu, 05 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=668 Italcement has announced that it has appointed Giovanni Battista Ferrario as its new chief operating officer from effect on Monday 9 June. Ferrario will take over the post from Rodolfo Danielli who was instrumental in the company's expansion since 1999 but has now left Italacementi. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=668 Wed, 04 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=669 Holcim has underlined its commitment to sustainability with the publication of its latest sustainability report. The company has said that report shows that the company is on track to achieve the self-imposed energy reduction targets and other performance benchmarks. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=669 Mon, 02 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=670 Ireland-based CRH has announced that it has completed the first phase of its investment into India's My Home Industries Limited (MHIL). Completion of the deal follows on from release of details of the planned acquisition in March this year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=670 Fri, 23 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=671 Ex-Concrete is the result of collaboration between Cemex Spain and Madrid's European Institute of Design and is aimed at highlighting unconventional uses of white mortar. The exhibition displays art work by a group of first year industrial design students who were challenged to use the material to display its ‘unknown quantities'. The exhibition is open until 3 June. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=671 Thu, 22 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=672 Komatsu Europe International has announced that it is to raise prices on all of its construction equipment products by between 5 and 10%. According to a statement from the company, the new prices will come into effect later this year and are essential to offset the rising prices of oil, steel and other raw materials. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=672 Tue, 03 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=673 Over 30tonnes of aggregates have been hoisted out of Ennstone Thistle's Boyne Bay quarry in the UK in order to carry out repairs to an in accessible cliff top coastal path. The construction site is not close to any roads so main contractor Highland Construction Services arranged for the helicopter to deliver the material to site using half tonne bags. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=673 Tue, 27 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=674 Sandvik Mining and Construction has announced that it planning to relocate its construction segment headquarters to Singapore from early 2009. According to a statement from the company, the plan reflects the growing importance of the Asian market to its business. The move will include president Thomas Schulz and five of the construction segment senior managers. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=674 Wed, 21 05 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=675 Andhra Pradesh-based Sagar Cements is expected to be the next Indian cement company to be targeted for acquisition by one of the multi-national quarry operators. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=675 Mon, 09 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=676 Speaking at a press conference last week Volvo Construction Equipment president and CEO Anthony Helsham said that the absence of rigid truck and bulldozers from the firm's current line-up presents a challenge in some markets and with certain customers. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=676 Tue, 10 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=677 Heidelberg Cement has announced that it has signed an agreement with Italy's Italcementi for the joint use of the TX Active brand of self-cleaning cement and photocatalytic binders developed by Italcementi. According to a statement from Heidelberg, the agreement will boost the ability to offer pollution combating cements to the construction market. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=677 Wed, 11 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=678 Ciments Francais has announced that it is to jointly develop a new cement project in Syria with the Saudi Arabia-based Muhaidib Group. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=678 Thu, 12 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=679 ASEC Cement has announced that it has recruit two top Cemex and Italcementi staff to help strengthen its position in the Middle East Cement market. Foremer Italcement chief financial officer Giorgio Bodo has been appointed as ASEC managing director, while Cemex Puerto Rico strategic planning director Tarek El Gammel has been recruited to take on the same task for ASEC. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=679 Wed, 11 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=680 Caterpillar is showing its confidence in future machine sales by investing US$1 billion (€650million) in manufacturing operations in Illinois, US. The sum will be invested from 2008-2010 and will benefit the firm's existing factories in East Peoria, Joliet, Aurora, Decatur and Mossville. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=680 Mon, 16 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=681 An amateur palaeontologist working in Achanarras Quarry in Caithness, Scotland has discovered the fossilised remains of an armour-plated fish – the first of its kind to be found in Scotland. The remains of the actinolepis found in the former slate quarry have been dated at 380million years old and its find has been described by Scottish Natural Heritage as "exciting". http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=681 Wed, 18 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=682 Plans to redevelop Langcliffe Quarry in Yorkshire, UK as an environmental centre have been to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority in a bid to gain permission for the construction. Under the scheme, Rural Solutions plans to build a national park office, educational facilities, dormitories and a £13million (€16.5million) environmental centre. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=682 Thu, 19 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=683 Following his appointment as chief operating officer of Italcementi last week, Giovanni Ferrario has also been appointed as president and COO of Ciments Francais. Ferrario was appointed to the post by the board of directors chaired by Yves Rene Nanot yesterday following the resignation of Rodolfo Danielli. Danielli previously held the posts at both companies and resigned from the position at Italcementi last week. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=683 Tue, 17 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=684 Cemex has announced that it expects EBITDA for the second quarter of this year to be up 23% to US$1.4billion (€902million) compared to the same period in 2007. The company is also forecasting a rise in operating income of 19% to US$960million (€619million) and sales up 31% to US$6.4billion (€4.1billion). According to a statement from the company, these gains in the face of challenging conditions in the US will be achieved through the consolidation of Rinker. Removing the effect of Rinker on Cemex's business gives the company a 4% rise in sales but a 2% decrease in EBITDA compared to Q2 in 2007. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=684 Tue, 17 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=685 Metso Minerals has announced that it has appointed João Ney Prado Colagrossi Filho as the new president of its construction business line. Colagrossi, who joined the company in 1979, is currently responsible for the South American market and will take up his new role and become a member of the executive team on 1 May. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=685 Mon, 31 03 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=686 Following a successful trial of chipped tyres to power Cemex UK's Rugby Cement plant, the company has now put plans to permanently use the fuel out to public consultation. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=686 Wed, 18 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=687 Lafarge has announced that it has acquired a 35% shareholding in the Meftah cement plant in Algeria, which Lafarge has said has a good position in the growing Algiers market. Under the €43.5million deal, Lafarge will also undertake a 10 year management contract to modernise the plant and increase capacity from 800,000tonnes to 1.1million tonnes per year by 2010. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=687 Mon, 23 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=688 Greece-based Titan Cement has announced that Charalambos Mazarakis will take on the role of chief financial officer from 12 September this year. He will take on the post from Howard Prince-Wright who left Titan in March 2008. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=688 Fri, 20 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=689 According to a new report fro Cemex UK, the company has made significant advancements in health and safety, use of alternative fuels and increases in sustainable transport over the last 12 months. These claims come on the back of publication of Cemex UK's first annual sustainable development report. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=689 Tue, 24 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=690 Construction work on a new cement plant in Angola is expected to get underway in the next 12 months following award of the contract to supply equipment to FLSmidth. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=690 Thu, 19 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=691 Following speculations earlier this month that Sagar Cements was to be the next Indian cement company targeted by western consolidation, Vicat has announced a joint venture with the company. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=691 Wed, 25 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=692 CRH has announced that it has appointed Mark Towe to take over the role of chief executive of the Americas region following the resignation of Tom Hill. Towe, who joined CRH as chief operating officer of Americas Materials in 1997, will take on his new role on 31 July 2008. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=692 Thu, 26 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=693 Cemex, working with SOS Children's Villages, has officially opened the doors to a new orphanage in Meulaboh, Indonesia for children who lost their parentins in the 2004 tsunami. The new centre which was funded by contributions from Cemex's 67,000-strong global workforce, will provide homes for 150 children orphaned by the disaster. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=693 Fri, 27 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=694 A £5million (€6million) archaeological investigation ahead of a quarry expansion in the UK has unearthed the remains of a Neolithic house ? one of only three known in the UK. The investigation at Cemex UK's Kingsmead Quarry in Horton, Berkshire is being carried out ahead of a £3.3million (€3.96million) investment at the site in new aggregates processing facilities and installation of a ready mixed concrete plant. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=694 Mon, 30 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=695 Aggregate Industries has welcomed the UK's Sustainable Construction Strategy which has just been published by the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Nonetheless, the company has underlined plan to achieve higher targets than those set out under the new strategy. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=695 Fri, 27 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=696 Holcim has announced that is to develop a new competence centre to "set standards for the future" at Holderbank in Canton Aargau, Switzerland. The new building at Schachen commercial park will provide jobs for 250 specialists to help advance Holcim's research and development and training capabilities. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=696 Mon, 30 06 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=697 In a bid to underline its commitment to sustainable building design and construction, Italcementi has announced that it is one of the main sponsors of the 23rd World Congress of Architecture. The triennial event is being held in Italy for the first time between 29 June and 3 July in Turin and is expected to attract thousands of building professional and specialists from around the world. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=697 Tue, 01 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=698 According to a statement from Ireland-based CRH, investment in new business areas over the last six months has helped to consolidate and strengthen its operation in developing markets. The company has invested around €700million in the first half of this year in bolt-on acquisitions to expand the company's business and provide vertical integration. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=698 Wed, 02 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=699 CRH expects its first half profit before tax for 2008 to be €600million, down from €670million for the same period in 2007, according to an interim trading statement from the company. CRH's full H1 results are expected at the end of August but the company has warned that profits will be lower than last year and has blamed weakening of the US dollar and declining markets. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=699 Wed, 02 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=700 Italcementi and Ciments Francais have announced that Giovanni Maggiora has been appointed to take over the role of chief financial officer following the departure of Giorgio Bodo. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=700 Wed, 02 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=701 Cemex France has announced that Pierre Laplante has been appointed to take over the role of president from Jean-Marc Helm, who held the post for over 10 years. Michel André will take on Laplante's current role of vice president of concrete operations based in Paris. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=701 Thu, 03 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=702 Nurturing nature at one of its worked out quarries has helped Hanson Aggregates to win a top UK restoration award. The company's work at the Otley Quarry in West Yorkshire impressed the judging panel for the Quarry Product Association's annual restoration awards and was presented with the Cooper-Heyman Cup for its efforts. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=702 Fri, 04 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=703 Delivery of a new JCB Groundhog to a German chalk quarry is helping to improve transport of personnel and part around the large site. Paper manufacturing specialist Omya specified the unit to help speed up work on site and help cut fuel costs. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=703 Mon, 07 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=704 Work on Italcementi's €250million investment programme in Bulgaria got underway last moth with a turf cutting ceremony at the company's Devnya cement plant. The event on 28 June was attended by Italcementi Group's CEO Carlo Pesenti, COO Giovanni Ferrario, and Devnya Cement's general manager Alex Car, along with Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev and Italian Ambassador to Bulgaria H.E. Stefano Benazzo. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=704 Mon, 07 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=706 UK-based Hanson has appointed Jon Morrish to take on the role of managing the company's cementitious division following the departure of Mike Eberlin. Morrish had recently taken on the post of managing director of Hanson's ready mixed concrete business following the restructuring of the business through Heidelberg Cement's acquisition of Hanson. Morrish was previously commercial director of Hnason Building Products. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=706 Mon, 07 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=716 A trading statement issued by UK-based Ennstone this week suggests that further declines in some markets will significantly impact on its full year results. The company has said that the first six month of 2008 are likely to be in line with management expectations but has said that "turnover and profitability for the year ending 31 December 2008 will be materially below current market expectations". http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=716 Tue, 08 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=717 The UK needs to cut the amount of sand and gravel to be quarried in the South East by a third, according to the South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA). The assembly is also calling on the government to make greater use of marine sand and gravel resources to reduce the pressure on land in the region. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=717 Wed, 09 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=721 The World Business Council for Sustainable Development's (WBCSD) cement sustainability initiative is calling on the G8 members and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to accelerate the creation of a policy framework that will allow the development of effective sectoral approaches. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=721 Thu, 10 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=722 Construction work on crushing and screening specialist Kleemann's new headquarters and production facilities has got underway this week in Germany. After two years of planning, work on the 125,000m2 site east of Göppingen has started on the new office and factory which the company claims will be a hi-tech facility when it opens in 2009. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=722 Fri, 11 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=723 Holcim has announced that executive committee member Hansueli Heé is to stand down from the end of October and will retire from the industry. According to Holcim, under Heé's guidance Holcim strengthened its position in Europe's cement, aggregates and ready-mix concrete sectors. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=723 Mon, 14 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=724 Sicily-based Italcementi subsidiary Calcestruzzi has closed the lid on its troubles in 2007 with shareholder approval of its financial report for the year. Publication of the report was delayed until competition issues involving the business were resolved and has been externally audited by KPMG which reported that "to date no evidence has been found of transactions that were "anomalous" or not connected with valid business considerations." http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=724 Tue, 15 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=725 Lafarge has announced that it will be sponsoring expansion of the Paris-based Louvre Museum's art collection. Under the deal Lafarge will help fund development of the museum's Islamic Art department. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=725 Wed, 16 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=739 JCB has announced that is introducing a redundancy programme to reduce overheads following downward revision of its production forecasts for 2008. The company has predicted that the uncertainties in the financial markets will impact on its production by around 20%. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=739 Thu, 17 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=740 Demand from developing countries and a focus on infrastructure development is expected to fuel a 5.3% annual increase in global cement demand over the next five years. This is expected to be supplemented by a rise in demand from the US, Japan and Germany. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=740 Thu, 17 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=742 The downturn in the UK housing market is being blamed for more than 300 job losses at Tarmac Building Products as the company restructures to cope with falling demand. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=742 Wed, 16 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=743 Lafarge has announced that it is to work with the City of Paris to transform the banks of the River Seine into a traffic-free beach for the summer months. Under the scheme ? now in its sixth year ? Lafarge will transport 2000tonnes of sand to the Voie Georges Pompidou and the Bassin de la Villette to create Paris-Plages 2008. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=743 Fri, 18 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=744 The legality of the UK's Aggregates Levy has be thrown into doubt after a legal review being driven by the British Aggregates Association (BAA). Advocate General Mengozzi recommended that the Court of First Instance's judgement upholding the legality of the tax under the EU subsidy law should be quashed. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=744 Mon, 21 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=746 Hyundai Heavy Industries has just celebrated production of its 150,000th excavator and opened a new UK branch office but the company is planning to further improve its offer to the quarrying sector. Speaking at the new office opening, HHI executive vice president for sales and product support Eui–youl Lee said that is planning to introduce backhoe loaders and is also developing articulated dump truck models, additional mini excavators and a range of compact track loaders. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=746 Mon, 21 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=747 Skull fragments found by a fossil hunter in a German quarry are now thought to belong to Java Man – an early human that was previously thought to only be native to Asia. According to University of Tuebingen professor Alfred Czarnetzki, the skull is about 700,000 years old and so similar to that of Java Man "that is could be his twin". http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=747 Tue, 22 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=748 Tarmac's UK operation has appointed former coating plant supervisor Bernie Higgins its first biodiversity officer. Higgins ‘retired' from his former role at Shropshire's Bayston Hill Quarry last week after 40 years with Tarmac and took on his new position this week. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=748 Wed, 23 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=749 Integration of Rinker into Cemex's operation has helped the company to record a 29% rise in second quarter sales, compared to the same period last year. The company generated sales of US$6.3billion (€4billion) this year compared to US$4.9billion (€3.11billion) last year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=749 Thu, 24 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=750 Scotland's Hillhouse Quarry has taken delivery of a new 50tonne Bell B50D articulated dump truck as part of the quarry's phasing out of its rigid truck fleet. The truck is not only Hillhouse's first 50tonne machine, it is also the first of the range topping Bells in Scotland. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=750 Mon, 28 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=751 Holcim Romania has announced that it has successfully commissioned its new €120million cement kiln line at its Campulung plant. The new line, the largest in Romania, has a capacity of 2million tonnes per year and represents a third of Holcim's local cement production volume. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=751 Fri, 25 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=752 The ongoing legal battle over planning permission at Backdale Quarry in Derbshire, UK is set to continue after Peak District National Park Authority was been granted permission to appeal. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=752 Tue, 29 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=753 With more than €36million invested in environmental improvement over the last two year, Cemex Spain claims to have substantially improved the sustainability of its business. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=753 Wed, 30 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=768 Construction and building materials business Strabag has been announced as the successful buyer for Cemex's Austrian and Hungarian businesses with a price tag of €310million. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=768 Thu, 31 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=769 Ukranian regulatory authorities are reported to have given CRH the go ahead to buy a 50% stake in BudUkrmaterial, a new business which will produce and sell crushed stone products. CRH will make the investment through its local subsidiary OJSC Podilsky Cement. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=769 Wed, 30 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=770 Lafarge's strong position in emerging cement markets has helped to bolster its first half results despite difficult conditions in some mature markets. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=770 Thu, 31 07 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=771 Italcementi subsidiary Ciments Francais is the latest quarry operator to show signs that the markets in Europe are not performing as expected at the start of the year. The company has posted a 3.3% rise in sales to €2.28billion but an 11% fall in EBITDA to €521million for the first six months of 2008, compared to the same period last year. Net profit for the period was also down 14.2% to €237million. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=771 Fri, 01 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=772 Latest figures from the UK's Quarry Products Association (QPA) show that aggregates and ready-mixed concrete sales were down in the second quarter of 2008, compared to the same period last year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=772 Mon, 04 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=773 Ireland-based crushing and screening manufacturer Fintec has celebrated its success in gaining a second Queen's Award for Enterprise with its 300-strong workforce and their families. The company closed the Dungannon factory for the day to gather workers together for formal presentation of the award and give their families a tour of the production facilities. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=773 Tue, 05 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=779 France-based Vicat has reported that its sales in the first six months of the year were down 2.5% to €1.055billion, compared to the same period last year. During the first half of the year, EBITDA was also down 10.7% to €202million. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=779 Wed, 06 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=780 Italcementi has reported that sales and profits fell in the first half of 20087 compared to the same period last year and has cited the downturn in construction and rising costs for the fall. The company has said that the figures have also been affected by an unexpected deterioration in the markets at the end of the second quarter, which has impacted on the company's full year forecast. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=780 Mon, 04 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=781 Cemex Spain has donated coloured concrete ? around 50% of the construction costs ? for a public sculpture to celebrate the film La Mancha in Pedro Almodóvar. The monument, designed by architect Sergio Garci'a-Gasco Lominchar, is located in Calzada de Calatrava y llevadaand will be inaugurated later this month. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=781 Fri, 08 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=782 Demand for hi-tech concrete in the UK is rising, according to new research by the British Ready Mixed Concrete Association. The study by the BRMCA suggests that self compacting concrete is gaining an increased market share with around 10% year on year growth. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=782 Thu, 07 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=783 Cemex UK hopes that permission to build a new energy from waste plant in Warwickshire would allow it to divert up to 75%of the county's waste from landfill. Under the plans, the company wants to build a plant at Southam or adjacent to its Rigby cement works to turn domestic waste into Climafuel which can be used to power its cement plants. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=783 Wed, 06 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=784 Construction work on Terex Pegson and Powersvreen's new factory in Hosur, India 75km from Bangalore received a traditional blessing this week, clearing the way for work on site to proceed. The new factory for Terex's crushing and screening division will be the first in what is planned to be a ?campus' for Terex facilities spread over a 45acre site. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=784 Thu, 07 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=785 Productivity at NUH's quarry in Hereke, Turkey has been boosted with the delivery of a new Hitachi EX1900 excavator and is part of the company's drive to double production by 2011. The limestone quarry currently produces around 4.3million tonnes which is used in NUH's Portland cement production. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=785 Mon, 11 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=786 Astec Industries is to expand its asphalt plant manufacturing business with the acquisition of fellow US-based company Dillman. The company has said that it has bought out the business as a whole but no financial details have been released. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=786 Fri, 08 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=787 Cemex has announced that it is looking at the possibility of selling off its precast concrete pipe business in Australia to further reduce its debt. The news follows on from the sell off of assets in Hungary and Austria to lower debt levels. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=787 Thu, 07 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=788 Heidelberg Cement has announced that it recorded a 67% increase in turnover to €7billion in the first six months of this year, compared to the same period as last year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=788 Tue, 05 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=789 Gains in Europe helped to offset losses in the US market and enable Buzzi Unicem's subsidiary Dyckerhoff to record a 19% rise in sales for the first half of 2008, compared to the same period last year. EBITDA recorded during the period was also up 38% on last year to €278million. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=789 Mon, 11 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=790 Ahead of publication of its interim results at the end of the month, UK-based Ennstone has released an updated trading statement showing a rise in value of UK assets but a need for more funds in the US. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=790 Mon, 11 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=791 Rising power costs have been blamed for Titan Cement's 14% drop in first half profits compared to the same period last year. The company has reported that while sales were up 1% to €765million but EBITDA was down 14% to €191million for the first six months of the year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=791 Tue, 12 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=792 Some of Lafarge Cement's hydrated lime has been used for an unusual application ? to restore a landmark on the UK landscape. The company has donated the material to restore the Broad Hinton White Hose in Wiltshire to its former glory. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=792 Wed, 13 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=793 Lafarge Cement's UK operation has just taken delivery of 48 new hi-tech wagons to expand rail distribution network. The wagons, which will be based at the company's Hope Works in Derbyshire, are part of the company's £15million (€18million) rail expansion programme. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=793 Mon, 18 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=794 Eastern European growth has offset a downturn in Buzzi Unicem's US and Italian operations and enabled the company to record an improvement in the first half of 2008 compared to last year. The Italy-based company's sales were up 3.8% to €1.74billion, while EBITDA was up 6.4% to €456million for the first six months of this year, compared to the same period in 2007. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=794 Thu, 14 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=795 Tarmac has announced that it has acquired the 50% share of marine aggregates business United Marine Holdings that it did not already own. Under the deal, Tarmac has bought out the remaining 50% shareholding from Hanson to take full control of the business. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=795 Thu, 14 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=796 Ireland-based building materials business CRH has announced that it has appointed Glenn Culpepper to take on the role of finance director designate. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=796 Fri, 15 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=797 In line with comments set out in its interim trading statement in early July, CRH, the international building materials group, today announced profit before tax for the six months to June 30 had decreased by 10% to €606 million while profit before tax declined by 7%. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=797 Tue, 26 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=798 Rising energy costs and a slowdown in the important US market is likely to affect the performance of Holcim in 2008. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=798 Tue, 26 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=799 Overall, for the six months ending June 30 2008 the Ennstone Group traded in line with management expectations. Turnover in the first half was €167.3 million (approx)(2007: €140.6 million) and operating profit (before reorganisation, redundancy and impairment costs) was €15 million (2007: €13 million) million). http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=799 Thu, 28 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=800 The Portuguese cement maker Cimpor announced an 18.6% drop in 2008 first-half net profits to €107.1 million, affected by higher energy costs and interest rates. Revenues increased 8.3% to just over €1 billion while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped 6% to €279 million. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=800 Fri, 29 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=801 Belgian-based holding company Groupe Bruxelles Lambert has announced that it has raised its stake in Lafarge and now owns 20.4% of the company. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=801 Tue, 09 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=802 Work is underway at Lafarge's Dunbar Works in Scotland that will ensure the site has access to more than 40 years worth of reserves. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=802 Mon, 08 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=803 Greece-based Titan Cement has announced that its talks to sell its porcelain business to Yalco-SD Konstantinou have failed to reach an agreement. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=803 Fri, 05 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=804 Italcementi has announced that it has again secured a place in the 2008/9 Dow Jones Sustainability Index and improved its ranking. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=804 Thu, 04 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=805 Ireland-based CRH has announced the Henry Morris will take on the role of Europe materials managing director from Albert Manifold when he moves to the position of COO in January 2009. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=805 Wed, 03 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=806 Damage caused to Heidelberg Cements' Georgian cement plant in Tblisi during the recent Georgian-Ossetian conflict is expected to top €200,000. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=806 Tue, 02 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=807 Bardon Aggregates' Express Aspahlt has announced that has reached a landmark health and safety target of a ‘zero lost time injury frequency rate'. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=807 Wed, 10 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=808 Plans for a new green-field cement plant in Libya have taken a step further to reality following formation of a joint venture between Italcementi and the Libyan Economic and Social Development Fund. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=808 Fri, 22 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=809 Holcim has been listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the sixth consecutive year and has also been named as "Leader of the Industry". http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=809 Thu, 11 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=810 From next year the interests of the UK's quarry, cement and concrete industries will be represented by a single body. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=810 Fri, 12 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=811 A train carrying limestone for Heidelberg Cement's Romanian subsidiary Carpatcement is reported to have crashed near Bicaz, killing two people. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=811 Fri, 12 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=812 Further declines in the UK and US aggregates market has led Ennstone to look into selling off all or part of its US business, according to a trading statement from the company. Ennstone has said that it has noted a further decline in the aggregates market on top of the downturn recorded in its first half results earlier this year. According to the company's update, "Trading in recent weeks has shown a further marked deterioration in the Group's performance, particularly in its English business, Ennstone Johnston, as margins have come under pressure, and in its Scottish business which has been adversely affected by severe weather.  http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=812 Mon, 15 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=813 Cemex has released figures that suggest its EBITDA in the third quarter of 2008 will be down 3% on the same period last year on a like-for-like basis. The company has forecast its EBITDA to be US$1.25billion (€880million) on the back of flat sales of US$5.9billion (€4.1billion) for the period. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=813 Thu, 11 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=814 The true environmental impact of using plastic to package cement could be lower than previously thought, according to a new report by environmental consultants BASF. The report, commissioned by Lafarge Aggregates, involved a comprehensive review of all factors influencing the lifespan of packed cement – from manufacture to disposal – to demonstrate that polyethylene-packed cement material is a more sustainable and cost-effective alternative to traditionally paper packed products. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=814 Tue, 16 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=815 Ireland-based CRH has said that it may not spend as much on acquisitions in 2008 than it did in 2007, breaking the company's upward acquisition trend. According to CRH finance director Myles Lee, the company invested €2.2million in 2007 but tougher trading conditions mean that the total will be scaled back this year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=815 Fri, 29 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=816 The slump in the construction market has started to hit specialist quarries and UK-based Welsh Slate has announced that it is planning redundancies at two of its quarries. The company is planning to cut 50 jobs from its operations at Blaenau Ffestiniog and Bethesda quarries in North Wales. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=816 Thu, 28 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=817 Deployment of a floating concrete plant by Hanson is helping London based projects avoid delays from traffic congestion. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=817 Tue, 26 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=818 It has been reported that Metso Minerals' parent company is looking at restructuring its business following a challenge by one of its major investors Christer Gardell. According to business media reports, Metso is looking at separating its paper and mineral processing divisions  and is also looking to establish a third division to focus on energy and environmental technology. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=818 Fri, 22 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=819 Cemex has said that it has not ruled our seeking international arbitration to resolve the dispute with the Venezuelan government, which has seized the company's business as part of a nationalisation plan. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=819 Wed, 20 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=820 Following announcement of government plans to nationalise the Venezuelan cement business in April this year, Holcim has signed an agreement to hand over the majority of its business in the country. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=820 Tue, 19 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=821 Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has appeared on national television to confirm that nationalisation of the country's cement business will happen with immediate effect. The move will affect Cemex, Holcim and Lafarge who have interests in the country. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=821 Mon, 18 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=822 Speaking at a press conference, Holcim Romania general manager Markus Wirth outlined the company's commitment to both continued operation in the country and the safety of its workforce. According to Wirth, the company invested €900,000 in new cement mills and aggregate and concrete plants last year as well as €400,000 on improving safety with better access to plant. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=822 Thu, 21 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=823 Israel Celli has been appointed as Case Construction Equipment's new vice president of sales and marketing for the European region and will report directly to CEO Jim McCullough. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=823 Thu, 28 08 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=824 Olof Persson has been announced as successor to Tony Helsham as president at Volvo Construction Equipment. Persson will take over the role on 1 November 2008 when Helsham steps down although he will remain part of the executive committee and take on responsibility for the group's ?soft' products. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=824 Tue, 16 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=825 It is reported that Graham Brown has been appointed as interim executive chairman of Ennstone with immediate effect. The company has said that Vaughan McLeod will retain the post of chief executive but plans to retire next year and a successor is currently being sought. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=825 Wed, 17 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=826 Lafarge Ciment Romania has announced that production at its new €2.3million cement packing plant at Medgidia in Romania is now underway. The new packaging line will allow the company to bag up to 4000tonnes of cement per day. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=826 Wed, 17 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=827 Ennstone may be the target of a takeover bid according to a number of reports in the financial press. The company has confirmed that it is involved in talks but the Financial Times has named Marwyn Materials as the other party. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=827 Fri, 19 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=828 Lafarge UK has announced that it is to ?mothball' one of its two kilns and two of its four cement mills at its Westbury Works in Wiltshire. According to a statement from the company, the decision has been made due to operation costs and current market conditions. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=828 Mon, 22 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=829 Holcim has announced that Russian-based investor Eurocement Holding has raised its shareholding in the business. Eurocement has now raised its stake in Holcim to hold 6.52% of the voting rights in the business. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=829 Mon, 22 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=830 CRH's Ireland-based subsidiary Irish Cement is reported to be considering an 18% rise in cement prices despite the slowdown in the construction market. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=830 Tue, 23 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=831 After a nine year legal battle, the UK's Peak District National Park has reached an agreement over quarrying by Stancliffe Stone at Stanton Moor. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=831 Thu, 25 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=832 Heidelberg Cement has announced that it has increased its interests in the Russian aggregates and industrial minerals market with acquisition of a 75.1% stake in OAO Voronezh Rudoupravlenie. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=832 Fri, 26 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=833 Holcim has announced that it is to invest €300million to boost its presence in Azerbaijan's growing building materials market. The company is planning to build a new cement kiln line through its Garadagh Cement subsidiary to add more than 1.7million tonnes per year to the production capacity. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=833 Mon, 29 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=834 Metso Minerals has announced that it has acquired PSP Slévárna in a bid to improve its wear parts supply chain in Europe. According to Metso, the takeover of the crusher wear part manufacturer based in Prerov, Czech Republic will help improve capacity and shorten lead times for its construction and mining business. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=834 Tue, 30 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=835 Energy provider EDF Energy Renewables and Lafarge UK have joined forces to review the potential for generating green energy at its Dunbar Quarry in Scotland. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=835 Tue, 30 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=836 Cemex France is aiming to improve its customers' business by providing them with essential information about products. In line with this, the company has updated its website to add information required under the REACH regulations for all of its products. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=836 Wed, 01 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=837 Russian-based Eurocement has announced that is has officially opened a new 20ha quarry in the Bryansk region that will ensure supply of raw materials through to 2011. The new site at Dyatkovo will be used to supply limestone to Eurocement's JSC Maltsovsky Portland cement plant. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=837 Mon, 29 09 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=838 Russia-base cement manufacturer Eurocement has said that it expects cement prices in the region to drop another 10% by the end of November. The company has said that it is planning to cut production and manpower at its plants in line with this fall. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=838 Wed, 01 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=839 Inspectors from Ireland's Health and Safety Authority will be cracking down on unsafe practices through a series of quarry visits this week. The campaign forms part of this year's Quarry Safety Week. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=839 Thu, 02 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=840 China National Materials has announced that its construction subsidiary has been awarded the contract to build a new cement plant in the Ukraine for Lafarge. Under the €167million deal, CNM's subsidiary will design and build the 5000tonne per day capacity plant in Mykolaiv, western Ukraine. The new plant is expected to be operational within 30 months. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=840 Thu, 02 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=841 Groupe Bruxelles Lambert has acquired a further 1.3% of the share capital in Lafarge to take its stake in the business to 20.45%. The announcement was made by stock market regulator AMF. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=841 Mon, 06 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=842 Cemex UK has announced that it has launched two new web-based solutions to allow customers to locate materials more easily. The tools www.cemexlocations.co.uk and www.cemexstockists.co.uk use Google map technology to allow customers to locate Cemex sales outlets for around 9000 different products. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=842 Fri, 03 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=843 Sibirskiy Cement is reported to be planning to build a new cement plant in the Ryazan Province which will be the largest in Russia. The €1.5billion plant is expected to have a 7.8million tonne capacity. The first production line at the site is likely to be operational by 2011 with the plant working at full capacity by 2014. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=843 Tue, 07 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=844 It has been reported that Lafarge UK is planning to set up three new sites for its ‘sustainable' Phoenix cement to make it available nationwide. According to Lafarge, the Phoenix Portland Fly Ash cement has a lower embodied carbon dioxide value than other Portland cements. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=844 Wed, 08 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=845 Holcim's Indian subsidiary ACC is reported to be planning to set up a hydroelectric plant to help cut its rising energy bills. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=845 Thu, 09 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=846 Cemex Deutschland has announced that the company has strengthened its business with addition resources secured for its downstream operations through the acquisition of three gravel quarries. The new resources in the Westphalia region of Germany are located at Wietersheim south, Windheim Döhren and Lindhöpen at the central Weser. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=846 Wed, 08 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=857 Archaeological investigations being carried out ahead of expansion of Cemex UK's Kingsmead Quarry near Windsor, Berkshire have unearthed another siginificant Bronze Age artefact. The dig at the site has revealed a 200mm long Picardy pin dating back to the 11th Century BC which is believed to have been used as part of a costume or as a hair pin. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=857 Fri, 10 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=858 Tong Farm Quarry hopes to boost its production performance with delivery of a new Volvo 29tonne EC290B excavator to provide a continuous feed to its crushing and screening plant. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=858 Mon, 13 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=859 Productivity and environmental performance at Cemex France's Sorèze Quarry is expected to be boosted with investment of €8million at the site. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=859 Mon, 13 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=881 Ireland-based CRH has announced that Liam O'Mahony will become a non-executive director of the company when he steps down from the post of group chief executive on 1 January 2009. It was announced in May this year that O'Mahony would be retiring and current group finance director Myles Lee would take over the role at the start of 2009. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=881 Wed, 15 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=882 Cemex is reported to have approached banks to request a year long extension on US$3billion (€2.2billion) of loans which were used to help finance the company's takeover of Rinker last year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=882 Tue, 14 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=883 Workers at Tarmac's Harden Quarry in Northumberland, UK are celebrating the fledging of a new generation of Barn Owls that were born and bred in the quarry. The new owls are the second clutch to be raised in specially erected nesting boxes at the quarry since they were placed on site last year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=883 Wed, 15 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=884 RUGE Capital has announced that it is planning to invest up to US$300million (€220million) in developing a new cement plant in Georgia. The company, which is part funded by US-based Firebird Fund, has said it plans to have the plant operating within three years and will compete with Heidelberg Cement's Georgia operations. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=884 Tue, 14 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=885 Greece-based Titan has announced that it has joined forces with Lafareg in Poland to work on a project to offer a green cement product. Under the deal, Titan's US subsidiary Separation Technologies will work with Lafarge's Polish operation Hatra Cement i Beton to install a fly ash separator at the Janikowo plant. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=885 Thu, 16 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=886 Italy-based Buzzi Unicem has announced that it has signed a joint venture agreement with Assing to create a company to develop a household waste power system for cement plants. Operating under the name Thorcem the company will work on developing technology to render urban solid wastes (RSU) into a new industrial fuel for Italian and foreign cement plants. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=886 Fri, 17 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=888 According to Cemex, its decline in sales and profit recorded in the third quarter of this year is mostly due to the exclusion of its Venezuelan business rather than the current economic climate. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=888 Thu, 16 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=890 Aggregate Industries is celebrating taking the top award at the UK's Quarry Products Association's Health and Safety Best Practice Awards. The company was presented with the John Crabbe Memorial Cup for achieving outstanding excellence in health and safety over the last 12 months. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=890 Mon, 20 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=891 Lafarge has announced that it is planning to invest €300million in developing a new cement plant in Oromia, Ethiopia. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=891 Tue, 21 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=892 Budget cutbacks, capacity closures and lowering staff number form part of Cemex's plan to reduce its costs and optimise its business in the current economic climate. According to a statement from the company, around US$500million (€377million) per year in potential cost savings has been identified and Cemex has said that it plans to implement these initiatives by the end of the year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=892 Fri, 17 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=893 Sale of Ciments Francais' Turkish business to Sibirskiy Cement has been delayed after the companies failed to reach an agreement. The sale of SET was planned for completion by a deadline of 20 October. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=893 Tue, 21 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=894 US-based crushing and screening specialist Astec has announced that it has appointed a new sales director to target growth of its business in Europe. The company has said that Nathalie Fourrier will have responsibility for the European region with a specific focus on Western Europe. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=894 Wed, 22 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=895 Cemex Spain has signed an agreement with Valencia Polytechnic University and the University of Zaragoza to support sustainability research and learning programmes. The deals were signed during an official ceremony between Cemex chief advisor Joaquin Estrada and Manuel Lopez from Univervisity of Zaragoza and Juan Juliá  from Valencia Polytechnic University http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=895 Thu, 23 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=896 Vicat has announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Mauritania-based BSA Ciment. Under the deal, Vicat with gain a 65% shareholding in the business that includes a cement mill, a ready-mixed concrete batching plant and a prefabrication production unit. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=896 Thu, 23 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=897 Eurocement has officially opened its newest concrete plant in the Voronezh region of Russia and forms part of the company's upgrading programme across the region. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=897 Fri, 24 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=898 Workers at JCB's UK factory have voted for a shorter working week to protect jobs at the facility in Staffordshire. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=898 Mon, 27 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=899 Removal of overburden at Scottish Coal's Pennyvenie opencast coal mine in Ayrshire has been boosted with the delivery of the first 16 of 32 planned new rigid trucks from Terex. The Terex TR100 units are used to move the peat and rock overburden at the site and the fleet will be completed with delivery of a further 16 trucks by the end of this year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=899 Tue, 28 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=900 Cemex has announced that two of its UK cement specialists have been promoted in bid to help boost productivity across the group. Carlos Uruchurtu has moved from Rugby cement plant director to the position of vice president of cement operations for the UK, while former operations manager at Rugby Luis Galan will now take on Uruchurtu's previous role. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=900 Mon, 27 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=901 Rising fuel prices and the US housing crisis have been blamed for the drop in profits at Greece-based Titan during the first nine months of the year. However, consolidation of recent acquisitions in Egypt and Turkey has helped the company to post a 3.5% rise in turnover for the period to reach €1.1billion. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=901 Fri, 24 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=902 Standard and Poor's has said that Heidelberg Cement is at risk of not meeting financial covenants and has slashed the company's credit rating to speculative or ‘junk' status. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=902 Tue, 28 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=903 US-based Oceanit claims to have developed a new concrete admixture that could transform concrete into a smart building material. According to a statement from the company, the new additive uses nanotechnology to give concrete inherent sensor and structural health monitoring capabilities. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=903 Wed, 29 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=904 Tarmac's Lound Quarry in Nottinghamshire, UK threw open its gates earlier this month to host a visit for children from the nearby Mayflower School to give them an insight into the quarry industry. Two groups from the school visited the sand and gravel quarry to learn about playing safely near quarries and then donned safety equipment to go into the quarry to tour the site and learn about the various processes used there. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=904 Wed, 29 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=905 Heidelberg Cement has said that it anticipates steps being taken at European level to shape the emissions trading landscape in Europe from 2013 to threaten cement operations in Europe. The company claim that the changes could affect all of its 36 plants in the EU and does not take account of steps taken by the industry to reduce CO2 emissions in recent years. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=905 Wed, 29 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=906 In a bid to maintain good relations with local communities, Nordkalk organised a party at its Miedzianka quarry in Poland to give them a chance to understand the business and socialise. More than 1000 people attented the event which Nordkalk organised with the help of the local authorise and included safety tours of the site during the day followed by food, music and dancing in the evening. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=906 Thu, 30 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=907 Lafarge and Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussees (LCPC) are joining forces to demonstrate the technology and creativity of concrete at a new Paris exhibition. The event at the Grand Palais museum is called the European City of Science and will be held between 14 and 16 November to mark the start of the annual Science Festival. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=907 Mon, 03 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=908 Portugal-based Cimpor has announced that is Chinese subsidiary Cimpor Chengtong Cement Corporation has signed an agreement to buy out Liyang Dongfang Cement Co. (Liyang). The deal is expected to be valued at €25million. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=908 Fri, 31 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=909 The UK's Quarry Products Association has recorded a sharp drop in aggregates volumes for the third quarter of 2008 indicating that construction is entering a recession. Sales of ready mixed concrete were down 21%, compared to the same period last year, while sales of sand and gravel were also down 17%, crushed rock fell 15% and asphalt dropped 2%. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=909 Fri, 31 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=910 Falling demand for cement in the UK has led Cemex to announce proposals to shut down the kiln at its cement works in Barrington, Cambridgeshire. The company has said that it is currently consulting with the site's 87 employees and trade unions. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=910 Tue, 04 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=911 Lafarge has announced that it is pulling out if the Italian market with news of the sale of its business there to Italy-based Sacci for €290million. According to Lafarge, its decision to pull out of the market, which it has been present in since 1996, is part of the company's divestment programme. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=911 Tue, 04 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=912 Offices belonging to Cemex in the UK and Germany were raided yesterday as part of an investigation launched by the EU Competition Authority. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=912 Wed, 05 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=913 France-based Ciments Francais has announced that it has withdrawn from negotiations to sell its Turkish subsidiary to Sibirskiy Cement. The two companies had failed to reach financial close over the sale of SET, which was expected to be completed in the form of a combine d €400million cash and €200million share deal. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=913 Mon, 03 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=914 France-based Vicat has announced that sales for the first nine months of the year are down 3.1% to €1.58billion, compared to the same period last year. Sales of concrete and aggregates were worst hit with a 6.5% fall in sales over the period. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=914 Wed, 05 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=915 Cemex Deutschland has announced that is reviewing the possibility of closing two clinker production lines in Brandenburg and a cement plant in Beckrum Mersmann. The company has announced the plans in light of falling demand in both the domestic and export markets in Germany and closure of the ageing plants could reduce capacity by 700,000tonnes per year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=915 Thu, 30 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=916 Germany-based Heidelberg has confirmed that its offices in the UK and Benelux region have been searched as part of the EU Competition Authority investigation into the cement industry. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=916 Wed, 05 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=917 Mounting debts has led to Eurocement reportedly stopping supply to two of its customers until their bills are settled. Local media reports have said that Eurocement is no longer supplying material to PIK group and Glavstroy after the racked up €2.4million and €1.6million in unpaid bills, respectively. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=917 Wed, 29 10 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=918 Cost cutting exercises are likely to lead to the loss of 10% of the workforce at Cemex's Croatian subsidiary Dalmacijacement. Under the plan around 80 jobs will be axed from the business in order for the company to remain profitable despite falling demand in the domestic Croatian and export markets. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=918 Thu, 06 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=919 Switzerland-based Holcim has confirmed that its offices in Belgium, France, Germany and the UK have been searched as part of a series of similar investigations by the EU Competition Authority. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=919 Thu, 06 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=920 Infrastructure investment is expected to be a top priority for new US president elect Barack Obama following his election this week. He is reported to have said that spending on bridges and roads in the US is not only needed to improve the network but will also provide a much needed boost to the economic climate. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=920 Thu, 06 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=921 The EU Competition Authority has released a statement about its raids on the offices of cement producers in Europe and has said that, "The Commission has reason to believe that the companies concerned may have violated EC Treaty antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices and/or abuse of a dominant market position." http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=921 Thu, 06 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=922 The effect of integrating Hanson into Heidelberg is still having a positive impact on results with the company recording a 49% increase in sales for the first nine months of 2008, compared to the same period last year. Operating income was also up on last year by 15.6% to €1.6billion. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=922 Thu, 06 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=923 Rising fuel costs and inefficiency have been cited as the reasons behind the planned closure of Buzzi Unicem's Santarcangelo di Romagna cement plant near Rimini, Italy. The plant, which dates back to 1920, will cease production on 31 December this year with the loss of 64 jobs. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=923 Fri, 07 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=924 Cemex has announced the sell off of more assets in a bid to further reduce its debt burden. The latest business to be hived off is its ready mixed concrete and cement operations in the Canary Islands to Cimpor Inversiones, the Spanish subsidiary of Portugal-based Cimpor. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=924 Mon, 10 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=925 Rising operating costs have been blamed for Ciments Francais 14.4% fall in EBITDA for the first nine months of this year, compared to the same period in 2007, despite a 2.5% rise in revenues. The company has posted an EBITDA of €812million for the year to 30 September 2008 on the back of sales amounting to €3.6billion. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=925 Fri, 07 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=926 Good geographical spread and strategic acquisitions are being attributed for Lafarge's good third quarter results when others in the sector have seen a decline in profits, compared to 2007 levels. The France-based company recorded an 8% rise in sales to €14.4billion and a 14% gain in operation income to €2.8billion for the first nine months of 2008, compared to the same period last year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=926 Fri, 07 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=927 Ireland-based CRH has issued a management statement warning that profits and earning for the full year are likely to be behind revised forecasts suggested after the first half. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=927 Tue, 11 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=928 Safety procedures at Aggregate Industries subsidiary Ronez were put through a live test at the company's Les Vardes quarry in Guernsey last week. The staged accident was planned with the local emergency services to test both procedures in the quarry and allow the fire brigade and ambulance service to practice rescue operations. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=928 Wed, 12 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=929 Buzzi Unicem's German subsidiary Dyckerhoff has reported strong growth in both turnover and profit for the first nine months of the year and expects its full year results to be in line with previous forecasts. The company has reported a 39% rise in net profit to €251million on the back of an 18% increase in sales to €1.55billion. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=929 Tue, 11 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=930 Demand for ready mixed concrete in Spain has fallen by an average of 24% in Spain during the first six months of this year, according to local media reports. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=930 Tue, 11 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=931 The management board of Croatia-based Dalmacijacement has denied that they are in talks with Lafarge over a possible takeover bid. Suggestions that the business could be sold off to the French materials business emerged in the local press after Dalmacijacement announced plans to cut its workforce. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=931 Tue, 11 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=932 Approval has been granted for work to start on construction of a new £350million (€430million) indoor winter sports resort in a disused quarry in Suffolk, UK. Under the plans, a 140ha site, including the former Blue Circle Masons Quarry, will be developed as the SnOasis centre which is designed to become a centre of excellence for winter sports athletes. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=932 Thu, 13 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=933 Market research organisation ABARUS has reported the demand for ready mixed concrete in Russia grew by 18.5% during the first half of the year, compared to 2007 levels. Despite the double digit increase, analysts have still described this figure as a slowdown in the market as it is well behind the 46.4% growth seen in 2007. A reduction in housing construction is being blamed for the slower rate of growth. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=933 Mon, 10 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=934 Repnyanskoe KU has said that it is planning to invest around €10million to develop a new quarry to capitalise on railway and highway construction projects in the Rostov and Krasnodar region of Russia. The company wants to install a 1million tonne per year crushed stone facility to start exploiting the sandstone at Svetlovsky to process material from a 60ha site. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=934 Mon, 10 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=935 Cemex and Dyckerhoff are understood to be negotiating a deal to exchange ready mixed concrete plants in Germany in a bid to reduce transport costs. The companies have informed the German Federal Cartel Office of the plan which involves Dyckerhoff handing over one plant in Saxony to Cemex in exchange for seven Cemex sites in Thuringia. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=935 Mon, 10 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=936 Holcim has announced that it recorded a 4.7% fall in sales to CHF19.4 billion (€13billion) and 18.3% drop in profit to CHF4.3billion (€2.9billion) in the first nine months of this year, compared to the same period in 2007. The decline has been blamed on fluctuating currency markets and rising operating costs and has led the company to announce some plant closures. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=936 Wed, 12 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=937 Tarmac France has said that it hopes to speed up the process of bringing new products to the market place with the appointment of an innovation specialist. Under the plan, Bernard Cosnier will head up the innovation department in Tarmac's French business. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=937 Wed, 12 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=938 The owner of Weardale Railway is reported to be involved in discussions to re-open a 29km section of track to freight traffic for use by the local aggregates sector. A 10km section of the line in Darlington is currently operated as a pleasure railway for tourists but track is still in place over the full length of the track. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=938 Wed, 12 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=939 Arcelor Mittal Construction Romania, the Romania-based construction materials division of Arcelor Mittal has said that is expecting a 30% rise in turnover in 2009 to €40million, despite a drop in residential investment. The company has said that it is investing €15million in new facilities to allow it to tap into market segments more easily. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=939 Thu, 13 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=940 Following on from Holcim's announcemtn that it was looking to rationalise its operations in the US and Spain, Holcim Espana has announced that its plant in Torredonjimeno is to close. The plant has been selected due to slowing demand and rising energy costs and its closure will lead to the loss of 120 jobs. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=940 Thu, 13 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=941 Siberian Cement (Sibcement) has announced that its revenues for the first 10 months of the year rose to €550million with an EBITDA margin of 49%. However, the company has said that it is cutting back on plans to raise production to 11million tonnes per year by 2012 in a bit to maintain profit growth. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=941 Thu, 13 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=942 Italy-based Buzzi Unicem has said that it is planning to build a new cement plant in the Samara region of Russia. According to media reports, the company is planning to invest €330million in construction of the new 2million tonnes per year cement line. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=942 Thu, 13 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=943 Spain-based Cementos Portland has reported that its net profits for the first nine months of the year were down 40.4% on 2007 levels to €95.9million. Turnover and EBITDA also fell during the period. Turnover was down 17.1% from 2007 to €1.2billion and EBITDA fell 23.7% to €222.8million. According to a stament from the company, further declines are expected during the fourth quarter and have been caused by declining activity in the construction sector. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=943 Fri, 14 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=944 French building materials group VM Matériaux has reported that its turnover in the third quarter was up 8.6% on the same period last year to €153.6million. But despite confirming its full year growth at 11.7% in July, the company has now downgraded its expectations to 10.3% for 2008. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=944 Fri, 14 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=945 Discovery of 75 flint hand axes in marine sand and gravel dredged off the UK coast in February has helped Hanson Aggregates Marine scoop a top award. The company's prehistoric find won the British Archaeological Awards' best archaeological discovery trophy at the 2008 event. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=945 Mon, 17 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=946 Italy-based Buzzi Unicem has reported a 4.1% gain in sales to €2.7billion and a 2.7% rise in EBITDA to €362million for the first nine months of 2008, compared to the same period last year. Nonetheless the company has said that it has seen a slowdown in sales in the third quarter but its businesses in Eastern Europe are still progressing well. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=946 Tue, 18 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=947 Potential for future growth in the Baltic construction market has prompted Austrai-based building materials producer Baumit to invest in a new dry mortar plant in Latvia. Under the plan, the company will invest €3million in a new facility at Koknese, which will be operational by March 2009. The plant will have an initial capacity of 30,000tonnes but will have the option for future expansion if demand in the Baltics increases further. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=947 Mon, 17 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=948 Estonia-based Silbet is to force some of its block manufacturing workforce to take a month's leave in January. The construction materials company has said that it will temporarily "dismiss" its 227 staff that work on the cellular block production on 60% pay during January to overcome the drop in demand. The company has said that work on its aerated blocks will continue. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=948 Mon, 17 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=949 Criminal cases have been launched by Sovetsky district of the city Krasnoyarsk in Siberia against the company Stroytekhnika and the concrete production plant Stroykom-Plus for non-payment of salaries. The companies owe RUB11million (€300,000) and RUB38million (€1.09million), respectively, in back pay and also have large debt burdens, according to local media reports. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=949 Mon, 17 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=950 Cemex has announced that it has appointed BBVA, Citi, HSBC, RBS and Banco Santander to lead its global efforts to negotiate credit facilities and amend existing loans to ensure its ongoing financial security. Cemex has said that this new group of banks will help the company to ensure it has financial flexibility and will work to lengthen the maturity of its loans and credit facilities. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=950 Mon, 17 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=951 Holcim has announced that it is to temporarily stop production at three cement plants in Spain until excessive clinker reserves at the sites are used. Stores of material at Jerez, Carbonaras and Gador have accumulated following a drop in demand in the market. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=951 Wed, 19 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=952 The Polish Cement Producers' Association has said that the Polish construction market is being affected by the financial crisis and the effects can be seen in local cement demand. According to the latest report from Stowarzyszenia Producentow Cementu, the forecast rise in cement demand for 2008 of 7 to 8% is unlikely to be met and the increase in demand is more likely to be in the region of 1.5%. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=952 Tue, 18 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=953 Lafarge has announced that it has created a new UK-wide role to increase use of waste derived fuels and manage use of other raw material at its UK cement plants. Martin Stocks has been appointed to take on the role of optimisation development manager and will be based at Cauldon Works, where he previously carried out a similar task for the plant but will now look at Lafarge's entire UK cement operation. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=953 Wed, 19 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=954 Increased aggregate production capacity and strong pricing in Poland has helped to boost Ennstone's trading figures over the last two months, according to the company's latest interim management statement. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=954 Thu, 20 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=955 Heidelberg Cement's share price dropped sharply earlier this week with news that Adolf Merckle may have to sell his 25.19% shareholding, held through VEM Vermögensverwaltung in the company to support his other businesses. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=955 Wed, 19 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=956 The next two years are likely to still offer "good business" for the European quarrying market, according to Caterpillar core and growth industries marketing manager Mark Teel. Speaking at the Quarry Masters event at Cat's demonstration ground in Malaga, Spain, Teel revealed his view that while there is a slowdown in construction, prospects for the aggregates business are still good. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=956 Thu, 20 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=957 Colas has strengthened its supply chain in France with the acquisition of CERF, which owns a network of quarries, sand pits and ready mixed concrete plants in central France. The business centres on the Auvergne region and has more than 20 years of reserves producing around 2million tonnes of aggregates and revenues of €30million each year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=957 Thu, 20 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=958 Lafarge is to mothball part of its cement operation in Brest, France due to falling demand, according to local media reports. The site has been supplying construction and public works projects from stocks since October 2008 but as demand has failed to pick up, Lafarge plans to maintain the site with just four employees. The other 12 workers are being interviewed with a view to transferring them to other Lafarge sites in France. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=958 Thu, 20 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=963 Ireland-based CRH has helped to secure its financial position through the extension of €1.5billion of banking facilities with maturities in 2009. According to the company's interim management statement, the renewal combined with CRH's cash flow profile and focus on cash generation, leaves the business well positioned in terms of debt facilities and maturity profile. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=963 Fri, 21 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=964 Plans to further improve the safety record of the UK quarrying industry are to be launched by the Health Safety Executive (HSE) at next year's Hillhead exhibition. The Target Zero Action Plan will be present to the industry at the event near Buxton, UK on 23 June 2009. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=964 Fri, 21 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=965 Improved safety, increased use of recycled materials and greater focus on carbon emissions are some of the key improvements identified in the latest Quarry Products Association's sustainable development report. The fourth such report from the QPA focuses on the improvements made by the organisation's UK membership, which represents 76% of the sector. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=965 Fri, 21 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=988 Using images from the International League of Conservation Photographers, Cemex and Conservation hope to challenge perceptions of climate change with a new book published last week. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=988 Mon, 24 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=990 Titan Cement has announced that it has signed agreements with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to strengthen its Albanian business. Under the deal, €12.6million from each of the two organisations, along with €37.8million from Titan, will be used as equity and debt financing for Albania-based Titan subsidiary ANTEA Cement. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=990 Mon, 24 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=994 Local media have reported that a man working in a Scottish quarry was killed while undertaking maintenance work at the site on Friday afternoon. According to the reports, the man was working at Leiths' Parkmore Quarry near Dufftown when in the incident occurred at 2.15pm. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=994 Fri, 21 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=995 Following market speculation that Ennstone was in talks with Marwyn Materials over a possible acquisition bid, Marwyn has now confirmed that it is the interested bidder. Nonetheless, the company led by Peter Tom, who previously headed up Aggregate Industries, has said that it has made an approach to Ennstone but no definite offer has yet been made. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=995 Mon, 24 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=996 Spanish cement producer Portland Valderribas has announced that it has acquired further shares in rival business Uniland. Under the deal, Portland has gained a further 4.9% stake in Uniland, taking its interest in the business to 64.09%. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=996 Mon, 24 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=999 Italy-based Buzzi Unicem is to sell its Spanish cement import business to Cemex, according to local media reports in Spain. No financial details for the sale of Orionidas have been released but it is thought that the subsidiary is worth around €12million. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=999 Tue, 25 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1000 Cemex has agreed a €8.46million loan with Latvian bank SEB in order to expand its rail freight operations in the region. Under the deal, Cemex will use the funds to buy a further 86 freight containers to export cement. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1000 Tue, 25 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1001 Heidelberg Cement has announced that it will be introducing changes to its management board from 1 January next year to streamline it and reorganise regional responsibilities. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1001 Wed, 26 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1002 Rapid growth in the Russian construction materials market has helped the LSR Group to record a 53% rise on turnover for the first nine months of 2008, compared to the same period last year. The company's revenues for the period were US€1.5billion (€1.16illion), while EBITDA was up 86% to US$377million (€292.6million). http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1002 Thu, 27 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1003 The Russian government has promised support for 16 cement plant construction projects that are already underway and cannot be frozen due to the stage of works. According to the government, while the cement demand is expected to fall slightly in Russia due to the current financial crisis but state analysts expect the market to be 32million tonnes in 2009 and 38million tonnes in 2010. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1003 Thu, 27 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1004 Herhof Basalt und Diabas Werke has just taken delivery of its third Terex articulated dump truck to work in the company's two quarries in Hesse, Germany. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1004 Fri, 28 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1005 Construction work on the latest addition to Holcim's cement production has got underway today in Hungary. Work on the new €269million cement facility at Nyergesujfalu, northwest Hungary will be completed in 2010 and add 1.7million tonnes of capacity. The new factory is thought to be part of a move to replace the Labatlan factory, which Holcim has recently announced is to be closed. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1005 Wed, 26 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1006 Growth in the Moroccan, Egyptian, Cape Verde and Brazilian markets help Portugal-based cement manufacturer to record a rise in turnover for the first nine months of 2008, compared to last year. But sharp declines in the Spanish and Turkish market, along with rising costs, hit the company's EBITDA for the period. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1006 Thu, 27 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1007 Speaking at the European Minerals Forum in Brussels yesterday, EC vice president commissioner for enterprise and industry Gunter Verheugen said that plans are underway to help support Europe through the current recession. During his speech at the annual aggregates industry event, Verheugen said that recession was now a reality in Europe but through fiscal support the EC can help shorten and lessen the effects. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1007 Thu, 27 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1008 Russian quarry operator Permdorstroy has announced that it has been granted permission to develop a major sand and gravel deposit in Zaosinovskoe. According to the company, the reserves run to at least 9million cubic metres and Permdorstroy is investing around €1million in the site. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1008 Mon, 01 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1009 French quarry operator Roy has connected two of its wheeled loaders at its 150ha quarry near Thouars with its company office by WiFi in a bid to improve productivity. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1009 Fri, 28 11 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1010 Recycling operations at New Earth Solution's Blaise Farm Quarry in Kent, UK have been boosted with delivery of two new Volvo L110F wheeled loader. The new machines will play a key role in operating the recently commissioned £8million (€xxmillion) composting facility at the site. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1010 Tue, 02 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1011 Ireland-based CRH is reported to be planning to boost its capacity in Ireland with €250million earmarked for investment there in 2009. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1011 Mon, 01 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1012 Lafarge has announced that its new 830,000tonnes per year cement facility in Chilanga, Zambia is now fully operational. According to Lafarge, the new plant near the capital city of Lusaka is part of the company's strategy of internal growth in high-potential markets. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1012 Mon, 01 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1013 VB-Development has announced that work is start next spring on a new crushing plant to process Kazinskoe granite in Voronezh, Russia. Construction at the site is expected to take three years and will give the site a processing capacity of 10million tonnes. Total investment in the project is valued at €460,000. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1013 Mon, 01 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1014 Cemex's Croatian subsidiary Dalmacijacement has announced that it has completed work on its latest concrete plant, located in Dugopolje. The new plant with work with Marasovic to develop new business in the region. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1014 Tue, 02 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1015 Tarmac has successfully gained the support of both the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and local communities to be granted consent to extend its Swinden Quarry in the UK. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1015 Tue, 02 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1016 Cemex Polska has said that falling demand and lower annual growth rates forecast for 2009 have forced it to consider job cuts and to suspend an investment project in the region. The company is reported to be considering reducing its 1700-strong workforce by 250 people and has put plans to invest €400million in capacity expansion on hold. Cemex Polska has said that it expected year on year growth in the cement sector to be lower than previous years at 1.5%. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1016 Wed, 03 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1017 Gorazdze Cement has said that it is putting a €150million investment project in Poland on hold until the EU position on carbon dioxide emissions is confirmed. According to president of the company Andrzej balcerek, the Gorazdze plans to expand its cement production in Poland have been suspended until the EU clarifies its position on cutting carbon dioxide emissions. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1017 Wed, 03 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1018 Cement demand in Germany is expected to record a 1 or 2% growth for the full year, according to the country's cement industry association, but this is well behind the 5% figure predicted at the start of the year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1018 Thu, 04 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1019 JCB has now transferred excavator production in the UK to a new purpose-built £40million (€46million) heavy products factory outside Uttoxeter. The move ends 140 years of production at the old site in the town, which was formerly the home of Bamfords agricultural manufacturing business, but was taken over by JCB in 1989. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1019 Thu, 04 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1020 Tarmac has announced that it has achieved The Wildlife Trusts' Biodiversity Benchmark for all seven of its Northumberland quarries - the first time this award has been granted for this number of sites in one area. Following assessment, Tarmac's quarries at Barrasford, Belford, Broadoak, Harden, Howick, Lanton and Woodbridge have been recognised for their ongoing commitment to improving biodiversity. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1020 Fri, 05 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1021 Russia-based Ust-Luga has announced that is has signed an agreement with a land owner to operate a 58.1ha sand and gravel quarry at Belorechenskoe. Under the deal, the company will extract around 600,000tonnes of material each year over the next seven years. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1021 Fri, 05 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1022 Olympic construction and infrastructure investment is expected to help offset the declining residential market in Russia in 2009, boosting demand for cement. Renaissance Capital has said that it expect demand for cement to rise 6.5% next year to reach 76.7million tonnes and could climb to 134.8million tonnes by 2015. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1022 Fri, 05 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1023 Sweden-based Peab's takeover bid for materials business Peab Industri in November has now been given the go ahead by the Swedish competition authorities Konkurrensverket. Approval by the authorities in Finalnd and Norway has already been granted. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1023 Fri, 05 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1024 Spain-based cement producer has exercised its preferential right on a 50% stake held by Cemex in Spanish firm Ceisa, which owns 23 concrete plants in the Canary Islands. This share option effectively blocks Portugal-based Cimpor's plan to acquire Cemex's operations on the Spanish Island. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1024 Mon, 08 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1025 Approval for two new quarries has been granted in Russia. In Kemerovo, Kuzbasskie Nedra has been granted a licence to operate a new crushed rock quarry, which is estimated to have reserves of 6.1million cubic metres. While in Forshtadsky, Novokuznetsk MSC has been granted consent to open up a new 1million tonnes sand and gravel deposit. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1025 Mon, 08 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1026 Bulgaria's Investor of the Year award has been presented to one of Italy-based Italcementi's subsidiary Devnya Cement. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1026 Mon, 08 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1027 Investment in new roads over the next three years, along with vital maintenance, is likely to give the European quarrying industry much needed opportunities for growth, according to Atlas Copco business area president Björn Rosengren. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1027 Tue, 02 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1028 Construction will recover from the current recession, and recover strongly, was one of the main messages from Sandvik mining and construction at its UK press conference yesterday. According to Sandvik mining and construction vice president of marketing and sales Magnus Titus, while the industry is experiencing a difficult period, the fundamental drivers are still there. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1028 Fri, 05 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1029 Following discovery that O'Reilly Brothers' Irish quarry was operating illegally, the company has now applied for consent to continue operation of the site in County Wicklow. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1029 Mon, 08 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1030 Growing acceptance of new technologies will provide the driver for continued growth in the worldwide concrete and cement additives sector, according to a new report from Freedonia. The organisation cl http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1030 Tue, 09 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1031 Cemex UK has invested in 82 new rail hopper wagons to boost its rail transport capacity to around 10% of its production volume. The 76tonne capacity wagons will be operated by EWS Construction, part of English, Welsh and Scottish Railway Ltd, under a six year contract. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1031 Tue, 09 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1032 A joint venture of China-based companies has announced plans to construct a new cement plant in Daghestan, Russia. JiangSu Heng Yuan Engineering Cî Ltd, Beijing Broadtec Group and Vatan have said that the plant will have a 1 to 2million tonne per year capacity. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1032 Tue, 09 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1033 UK-based silica sand producer Bathgate has increased productivity at its Arclid, Cheshire quarry with delivery of a 32tonne wheeled loader as its new prime mover. The company bought the new Volvo L220F wheeled loader to replace an L220E machine, acquired in 2003, and will work alongside a more recently delivered L220E. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1033 Wed, 10 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1034 Delivery of the first Maskin Mekano screen into Germany is helping to boost Yeoman Baumineralien's screening of material imported into the Wilhemshaven Harbour. The site receives crushed aggregates from the UK-based Glensanda super quarry but the screening is carried out once the material reaches Germany. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1034 Thu, 11 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1035 Dublin-based Stockbrokers Bloxham has said that CRH is likely to be one of the few Irish companies to buck the trend for declining sales in 2009. Bloxham has reported that the Irish stockmarket has declined 75% since February last year and the economy is expected to contract by 3% in 2009. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1035 Wed, 10 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1036 Portugal-based holding company Sociedade Lusa de Negocios has said that it is planning to sell off its cement business Cimentos Nacionais e Estrangeiros (CNE) and Cimpor is expected to be one of the leading bidders for the operation. Secil has also been linked to the sell of the business which recorded an annual turnover of €44million. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1036 Wed, 10 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1037 Efforts to improve energy efficiency at Sibelco in the UK have helped the company to secure recognition at a recent national awards ceremony. The company beat off competition in the Large Business category from companies like Marks Spencer and Marston's Brewery to take second place at the National Energy Efficiency Awards and was only beaten to the top spot by Tesco. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1037 Wed, 10 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1038 The Spanish port of Sagunto has received proposals for the planned development of four cement terminals at the site from the three major operators in Europe. The bids were received during a day of proposals for development of the pot which includes dredging and new quay development, as well as the new cement facilities. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1038 Thu, 11 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1039 According to media reports in Germany, Heidelberg Cement is looking at options to rationalise its lime operation by selling its plants or stakes in them. According to the report, the move is part of the company's strategy to focus on core products of aggregates, cement and concrete. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1039 Fri, 12 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1040 Holcim Srbija has said that work on project Petrus which would have doubled the company's cement capacity in Serbia has been postponed due to falling demand for construction materials in the region. The company has said that work on the €800,000 scheme has been delayed for 12 months to give the market time to pick up. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1040 Fri, 12 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1041 Spain-based cement association Oficemen has said that it expect demand for cement to fall 24% for the full year, compared to 2007. The fall has been attributed to the slowdown in the construction sector and further drops in demand are forecast for 2009. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1041 Fri, 12 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1042 Nordholz in Germany has been selected by Thomas Beton as the location for its latest investment. The company, which is part of a Swedish Group, plans to invest €1.8million in the new plant to add to its portfolio of 36 plants in Germany. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1042 Fri, 12 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1043 Cemex has announced that it has exchanged €54million of debt in shorter-term Certificados Bursatiles for new notes. The new debt is guaranteed by Empresas Tolteca de Mexico and matures on 15 September 2015 and much of this replaces debts that were due to mature in the next six weeks. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1043 Mon, 15 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1044 Lafarge has announced George Moriso has been appointed as director for the company's operations in the CIS region. The company has said that Aleks de Valukhoff has been promoted to take over Moriso's previous role of general director of its Russian business. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1044 Mon, 15 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1045 Cemex has announced that it is to temporarily halt production at two of its Spanish cement plants. The company has said that the production of grey cement in the Catalonia region is to be stopped due to the slowdown in property construction in the area. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1045 Mon, 15 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1046 Holcim has used the Moroccan capital market to raise CHF208million (€132million) to refinance its existing debts to ensure its ongoing liquidity. Under the deal, Holcim has issued a 7 year bond placement with a 5.49% coupon per year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1046 Tue, 16 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1047 Collaboration on price fixing and job sharing between concrete companies operating in Hungary is being investigated by the country;s competition authority GVH. According to a press statement, GVH believes that the cartel has been working to keep prices unnaturally high and divide the market since 2002. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1047 Tue, 16 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1048 Cemex has announced that its results for the final three months of the year will be significantly down on the same period last year due to declining markets and currency fluctuations. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1048 Tue, 16 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1049 Sandvik Mining and Construction has announced that it has signed a five year deal with DHL Global Forwarding for transport of spare and service parts by air, sea and road. Sandvik has said that it has worked with DHL for 25 years and continuing the partnership makes sense for the company and its customers. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1049 Wed, 17 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1050 UK-based equipment manufacturer JCB has announced that it will be launching a new training plan for over 2000 of its workforce early next year. The company has said that it plans to use the quiet period in January to equip employees with the necessary skills to cope with the current downturn and ensure they are ready for the opportunities that the market's recovery will bring. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1050 Wed, 17 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1051 Worsening cash positions in Ennstone's US business has led to the company suspending payments of charges and finance lease repayments on its US facilities. The company has said in a statement that it is in discussions with its US lenders regarding restructuring proposals for Ennstone's US subsidiary, Ennstone, Inc. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1051 Wed, 17 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1052 Plans for Vista Pro to build a new 1million tonne per year cement plant in the Ulyanovsk region of Russia have been placed on hold while land ownership rights for the site are resolved. Vista claims that it bought the rights for the site in an auction in November last year at a cost of €11.25million but has said that the tender was conducted without permission from the land owner Prominvest. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1052 Thu, 18 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1053 Cemex has realised the benefits of more than €3.7million of investment in the UK with the opening of two new concrete plants. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1053 Thu, 18 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1054 Spain-based Cementos Portland Valderrivas has signed a deal with employment agency Adecco to help improve the opportunities for disabled people within the cement industry. Under the agreement, Cementos Portland Valderrivas will take on people with disabilities for a minimum of 12 months and provide them with the necessary training and assistance. The company has said that it will try to work with disabled relatives of its existing employees before rolling out the scheme to the wider employment market. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1054 Fri, 19 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1055 Italy-based Buzzi Unicem has announced that it has acquired Parmacementi and Escalcementi from Cemex Spain subsidiary Cementilce. According to Buzzi Unicem, the take over of the two Italian clinker cement producers will help bolster its own production volumes. Parmacementi recorded a turnover of €13million in 2007, while Escalcementi posted sales of €11million for the same period. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1055 Fri, 19 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1056 Poland-based concrete producer Solbet has announced that it plans to move into the wind power sector. The company, that holds a 27% market share of the concrete business in Poland, has said that it will invest €20million in buying and assembling 10 wind plants in the country. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1056 Tue, 23 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1057 Ireland-based Readymix, a subsidiary of Cemex, has reported that it expects to post a pre-tax loss for the full year of around €33million. The company has said that the loss is a result of a declining market and increased severance costs. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1057 Mon, 22 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1058 Czech Republic-based cement producers have warned that they will have to raise prices next year to cover increased costs from buying pollution permits. Lime producer Vapenky Certovy Schody has said that the level of permits it receives for free to cover CO2 emissions will no longer cover its operations and will have to buy additional permits from next year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1058 Mon, 22 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1059 Sweden-based Peab has announced that it is on the verge of completing its takeover of Peab Industri. The company has said that it has already acquired 84.1% of the shares in the business but still wants to buy out the remaining shares in Peab Industri. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1059 Tue, 23 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1060 Ciments du Maroc, Italcementi's Moroccan subsidiary, has reported that construction work on its new Ait Baha cement plant is well underway with 30% of the civils works now complete. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1060 Wed, 24 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1062 Cemex has said that its work to improve its debt position has made significant progress and will strengthen its position in 2009. According to a statement from the company, the five banks selected by Cemex earlier this month are close to extending debt maturities originally scheduled for 2009. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1062 Wed, 24 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1063 Thailand-based cement producer SCG has said that it plans to stop exporting cement to Europe in 2009. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1063 Mon, 29 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1064 Spain-based cement producer Cementos Portland Valderrivas has announced that it has appointed Dieter Kiefer as its new chairman. Swiss-born Kiefer lives in Spain and has previously held the post of chairman of the UBS Bank in Mardrid, France and Monaco. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1064 Mon, 29 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1065 Construction work on a new concrete and asphalt plant in the Volga region of Russia has reached the final stage with test operation of the plant now underway. Commissioning of the facility in Ulyanovsk will clear the way for the plant to supply materials for construction of the Volga bridge crossing and the Kazan-Ulyanovsk-Samara road project. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1065 Tue, 30 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1066 Cemex has announced that it has completed the sale of its Canary Islands operation to the Spanish subsidiary of Portugal-based Cimpor. The deal has been valued at €162million but €5million has been placed in ESCROW to cover any price adjustments on account of possible contingencies and is in addition to a separate payment for working capital. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1066 Tue, 30 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1067 Ennstone has announced that it will no longer manufacture concrete products following the sale of Ennstone Concrete Products to FP McCann last week. But the company has signed a long term supply agreement with the new owner to ensure it has a route to market for its aggregates. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1067 Tue, 30 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1068 Peab has said that its take over of Peab Industri is nearing completion and has applied to stop trading in the companies shares on 30 January 2009. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1068 Wed, 31 12 2008 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1069 Services to the quarrying industry and geology have helped Cemex UK quarry manager John Drayton earn his award of the Order of the British Empire: Member (MBE). The award for Drayton, who has managed the quarry at Barrington cement plant in Cambridgeshire, UK for 38 years, was announced in the annual Queen's New Year's Honours list. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1069 Thu, 01 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1070 CRH has announced that Liam O'Mahony has now officially retired from the post of group chief executive but has accepted an invitation to continue as a member of the board in a non-executive capacity. Myles Lee, who was group finance director, will now take on O'Mahony's previous role. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1070 Fri, 02 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1071 Ennstone has announced that it has appointed a new executive chairman with immediate effect to bolster the board's financial expertise. Julian Cooper will take over the role previously held by Graham Brown who will remain on the board as a non-executive director to help ensure a smooth transition. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1071 Mon, 05 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1072 According to a report in the French press, Lafarge's debts now exceed its equity following the acquisition of Egypt-based Orascom Cement. This, combined with the current financial situation, are expected to mean that the company will no longer achieve its 2010 targets and Lafarge will need to take measures to improve its cash flow. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1072 Mon, 05 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1073 Cemex NI has announced plans to construct a new concrete plant in Belfast's Titanic Quarter to meet the needs of the £100million development (€108million) as well as demand in the wider Belfast area. The £2million (€2.16million) plant will have an 80 cubic metre capacity. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1073 Tue, 06 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1074 Ireland-based CRH has said it expect pretax profit to be around €1.6billion for the full year of trading in 2008, down significantly on the €1.9billion recorded in 2007. The lower profit is in line with an interim management statement issued by the company in November. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1074 Tue, 06 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1075 Share prices in Heidelberg Cement dropped by around 13% to €29 today after news that the company's major shareholder Adolf Merckle had died. It was reported in German newspaper Die Walt that Merckle, who has been in financial difficulty in the last few months, had died after being hit by a train on Monday evening and police believe the incident may have been suicide. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1075 Tue, 06 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1076 High environmental standards and improved worker safety are two of the benefits of a new precast concrete factory in Epône, France, according to operator Tarmac. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1076 Wed, 07 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1077 Heidelberg Cement has said that it is mourning the death of its major shareholder and member of the supervisory board Dr Adolf Merckle. His family have reportedly confirmed that he committed suicide after a note was found following his death in Ulm earlier this week. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1077 Wed, 07 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1078 Just days after announcing that it would only target companies with a strategic fit, CRH has announced that it has completed another acquisition. The company has expanded its interests in the Chinese cement market with finalisation of its deal to buy a 26% stake in Yatai Cement. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1078 Thu, 08 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1080 Lafarge CEO Bruno Lafont has said that activity in the US, the UK and Spain is down 10 to 20% but growth in emerging markets, such as Africa, India and China is currently at 3 to 15%. Lafont said that the growth in these emerging regions is helping to offset the declines in established markets. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1080 Fri, 09 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1081 Market analysts have suggested that Heidelberg Cement will restructure its €6billion of debts before next year and is likely to present plans to banks at the end of the first quarter this year. According to the analysts, the company's debts exceed €10billion in net terms. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1081 Fri, 09 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1082 Tarmac France has announced that Françoise Guérin Prouvost has been appointed as head of human resources for the company's aggregates and concrete operations. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1082 Fri, 09 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1083 Portugal-based cement producer Cimpor has commissioned a study to look at the use of construction waste and other alternative fuels to power it production facilities. The company has said that is looking for other energy sources to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. It is hoped that the project will help save funds on the acquisition of licences for the emission of carbon dioxide. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1083 Mon, 12 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1085 Holcim has completed commissioning on a new green power facility for its cement packaging operations in Peschiera Borromeo in Italy. The €240,000 photovoltaic plant will power the prepackaged cement operations using the 186 panels which are spread over an area of 312 square metres and can provide up to 42,819kWh. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1085 Mon, 12 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1086 Nikolaevtsement, in which Lafarge has a 99% stake, has announced that is has won the rights to a 102ha are of land in Ukraine and plans to construct a new dry-mix process cement plant at the site. The company has gained the rights to the land in the Nikolaev district of the Lvov region for a 49 year period. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1086 Mon, 12 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1087 The row over gas supplies between Russia and the Ukraine has impacted on aggregate and cement production in some areas of Eastern Europe. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1087 Mon, 12 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1088 Scotland-based Leiths has just taken delivery of a new fleet of Volvo machines to boost production of both its quarrying and contract crushing activities. Under the deal,  Leiths has added two 36tonne EC360Cs, three wheeled loaders - an L180F, L150F and an L120F - and a 25tonne A25E to its fleet. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1088 Wed, 14 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1089 UK-based Ennstone has announced that it has agreed the sale of a quarry near Stainton, County Durham to a group of private investors for £1.325million (€1.46million). The deal with Messrs Buck, Foster and Gauja is expected to be completed today. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1089 Tue, 13 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1090 UK-based construction equipment manufacturer JCB has announced that it will be making a further 684 people redundant and has blamed lack of bank credit for the lay offs. According to JCB, the lack of credit available from banks to fund machine purchases and continuing low confidence means that production for the first three months of 2009 is likely to be 75% lower than the same period last year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1090 Tue, 13 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1091 Industry analysts have reported that Switzerland-based Holcim is looking at the potential of acquiring some of Adolf Merckle's shareholding in Heidelberg Cement following his death last week. It is not expected that Holcim will launch a wholesale buyout, which is considered too risky, but may target Heidelberg's aggregates assets in the US to strengthen its position there to profit from infrastructure investment. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1091 Tue, 13 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1093 Lafarge Cement's UK Cauldon Works has announced that it has promoted French-born Fabrice Roch to take on the role of optimisation manager. Roch, who was formerly an automation and process engineer, takes over the role from Martin Stocks who moved into a new national role at the end of 2008. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1093 Fri, 16 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1094 Marshalls has announced that it is to list actual carbon footprint data on its range of hard landscaping materials to enable customers to make decisions based on carbon impact. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1094 Wed, 14 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1095 Cemex has announced that its Latvian subsidiary saw a significant rise in exports during the course of 2008. The company has said that sales to neighbouring construction markets in Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, and Estonia tripled in 2008, compared to the year before. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1095 Wed, 14 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1096 Spanish cement producer Cementos Portland has announced that it has increased its stake in rival Uniland. Cementos has said that it has acquired a further 5.04% stake in Uniland, taking its total holding to 70.53%. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1096 Wed, 14 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1097 Germany-based Züblin has announced that it is to build a new concrete plant to serve the needs of its growing offshore windfarm business. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1097 Wed, 14 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1098 Ireland-based CRH has said that it will not proceed with the acquisition of US business Pavestone after The United States Federal Trade Commission decided to challenge the takeover. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1098 Thu, 15 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1099 To demonstrate the importance of safety at Caterpillar, the company has launched a new website dedicated to the health and safety of anyone using Cat products on site. According to Cat, www.safety.cat.com is built around the company's belief that all injuries are preventable and focuses on creating a culture where everybody works safely. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1099 Thu, 15 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1100 Heidelberg Cement has announced that debt maturities resulting from its acquisition of Hanson will force the company to restructure. The company has said that it is acting proactively by addressing the capital structure this year ahead of the debts maturing in 2010. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1100 Thu, 15 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1101 Holcim has announced that it will reduce capital investment in maintenance to CHF400million (€271million) for 2009, down from CHF1.2billion (€813million) last year. The company has also said that investment in increasing capapcity will also be cut from CHF3.5billion (€2.47billion) in 2008 to CHF2.5billion (€1.7million) this year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1101 Thu, 15 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1102 Bosnia-based cement producer Calme is looking to reduce reliance on imports with development of a new €18million cement plant in Krivaca. The company has said that it is in the process of applying for licences to construct the new facility but has not said what its capacity is likely to be. Calme has said that construction is likely to take 12 months. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1102 Fri, 16 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1105 Investment firms Goldman Sachs and TPG are reported to have expressed an interest in buying a stake in Heidelberg Cement. It has also been suggested that France-based investment house PAI is also considering buying into the company http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1105 Mon, 19 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1107 Sanchez Dominguez Quarry's appeal against the closure of four of its sites in Alhaurin de la Torre in Spain has been turned down during a judicial review of the case. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1107 Mon, 19 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1108 Ennstone has announced that it has sold wharf facilities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the US to West Penn Aggregates for US$1.73million (€1.33million). However it is estimated that Ennstone will have to re http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1108 Fri, 16 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1109 Preserving a historical French site is part of a €1.8million plan announced by Lafarge this week. Through its involvement in the Remembering Camp des Milles scheme, Lafarge will help fund restoration of the former internment and deportation camp at Les Milles, near Aix-en-Provence. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1109 Tue, 20 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1110 Holcim has announced that it has improved the environmental operation of its cement plants in Normandy, France through use of alternative fuels and measures to reduce dust. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1110 Tue, 20 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1111 Cement demand in Romania reached an all time high of 13million tonnes during 2008 which is double the figure recorded during the previous 12 months, according to the latest report from Romania's cement industry association. The association also claims that Romania is now theseventh largest producer of cement in the EU, after Germany, Spain, Italy, France, the UK and Poland. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1111 Tue, 20 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1113 Metso Minerlas has said that it is planning to temporarily lay off 200 employees in Finland to reduce staff numbers due to the current downturn in demand. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1113 Tue, 20 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1114 A banking syndicate led by Agrileasing, Banca Eturia and Efibanca has agreed a €206million loan to Italy-based construction business Sacci to assist its acquisition of Lafarge's Italian operations. Sacci will use the loan to fund its €290million take over of Lafarge's two cement plants, 13 ready mixed concrete plant, three aggregates quarries in Ambruzzo and four cement terminals on the east coast of Italy. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1114 Wed, 21 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1115 Tarmac has announced that it has reorganised its business in France into two regions in a bid to simplify its structure. The company has now split its operations in France into Tarmac Nord – formed from BCIS, BCIO, DBMS, Bloc de Picardie, Hecquet, Prêtre, Sodimat and Sopréfa - and Tarmac Sud has been created from Ain Agglos, Cofrab, Robin, Rudigoz, Spb, Sbdn, Sopral and Spac. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1115 Wed, 21 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1116 Russia-based competition authority FAS has said that it believes that Basel Cement breached competition laws last year following a tip off from Eurocement. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1116 Wed, 21 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1117 Hanson Aggregates has applied for planning permission for a new sand and gravel quarry to serve the London aggregates market. The company is seeking consent for the new 2.3million tonne operation in Egham from Surrey County Council. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1117 Thu, 22 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1118 Technical studies into the development of Heidelberg Cement's Antoing site in Belgium have been suspended, according to local media reports. The site, operated by Heidelberg's cement specialist subsidiary CBR, had been due to undergo an upgrade to increase capacity from 1200 to 1600million tonnes per year at a cost of €120million. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1118 Thu, 22 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1119 France-based Vicat has said that it now has all the necessary funding for its Jambyl Cement factory in Kazakhstan in place. World Bank subsidiary the International Finance Corporation has arranged a €124million loan in partnership with four other banks in a deal that will see the IFC take a 10% stake in the project. Vicat will hold a 60% stake and the remainder will be owned by Kazkommerts. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1119 Thu, 22 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1120 Cement demand in Germany is expected to fall by around 3% during 2009, according to Bundesverband der Deutschen Zementindustrie president Martin Schneider. He said that he expects the decline to be seen more strongly during the second half of the year. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1120 Thu, 22 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1121 Visitors to restored parts of Bardon Aggregates' Haughmond Hill Quarry in Shropshire, UK can now find out more about the area's geology thanks to the company's partnership with other organisations. Bardon joined forces with the Forestry Commission, Shropshire County Council and local geology groups to create a Geo-Trail and quarry viewing platform at the site. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1121 Fri, 23 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1122 Nordkalk has hit out against a court ruling against its plans to open a new limestone quarry in Sweden. "The decision is a setback for both Nordkalk and the lime industry," said Nordkalk project manager Henrik Grind. http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1122 Fri, 23 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1123 Finnish based concrete manufacturer HB-Betoniteollisuus has scrapped plans for temporary layoffs of its staff after winning some lucrative new orders. The company had warned its workforce that it woul http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1123 Fri, 23 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT http://www.aggbusiness.com/article.asp?id=1124 Falling demand from the house building sector is being blamed for the expected 30% fall in reinforced concrete demand in Romania this year. The association representing the sector has said that it exp http://www.aggbusiness.com/rss-comments.asp?id=1124 Fri, 23 01 2009 00:05:05 GMT