Romania: West Group subsidiary West Beton plans to invest €2.5m in its operations in 2026, in line with its total for 2025. Plans for 2026 include a further 25% increase in production volumes and expansions to the company’s vehicle fleet and product portfolio, to include self-compacting concrete, pervious concrete and concrete resistant to aggressive environments. It will also seek ISO 14067 certification for products’ environmental impacts.

The Diplomat newspaper has reported that current investments targeted the producer’s vehicle fleet, which includes 25 truck mixers and four pumps, alongside upgrades to the three plants. The producer has projected full-year deliveries of 200,000m³ of ready-mix concrete in 2025, up by 25% year-on-year. 180,000m³ (90%) of deliveries went to residential customers and the rest to ‘major infrastructure projects,’ including the construction of Bucharest Metro Line 6 and the A0 Motorway Bucharest ring-road.

West Group said "In the context of a significant decline of the ready-mix concrete market in 2025, West Beton's output increased. This result is a direct consequence of the investments made this year in this West Group business line, which generated almost one third of the Group's consolidated turnover across Romania and Germany. Our objective for next year is to expand into other regions of Romania and achieve a sustainable 25% increase in West Beton's production."

South Korea: Construction firm POSCO E&C and concrete production automation specialist SHLab have developed a new AI-based system for real-time monitoring and automatic quality adjustments in ready-mix concrete production. The Korea Times newspaper has reported that the system analyses video footage during mixing. It can predict the resulting concrete’s compressive strength and residual water inside mixer trucks.

POSCO E&C said "We will continue improving our AI technology to achieve even higher quality standards."

UK: Tru7 Group subsidiary Tru Mix has installed a Liebherr Mobilmix concrete batching plant at its Hadleigh Road Industrial Estate ready-mix site in Ipswich, Suffolk. Project Plant News has reported that the new installation includes two 100t cement silos, four aggregates compartments and a 2.5m³ twin-shaft mixer, with thermally-insulating cladding. Germany-based Liebherr is supporting the plant under a service package.

Tru Mix batcher Michael Crick said "Once we had it sorted, it's been a wonderful plant. You know you are going to get an accurate mix each and every time and it's also very quick which is great when you have a big pour on the go."

UK: CRH subsidiary Tarmac has urged the government to raise the vehicle gross weight limit for four-axle rigid vehicles in order to support the electrification of construction transport. Current gross vehicle weight (GVW) limits of 32t disproportionately affect payload capacities for electric vehicles fitted with lithium ion batteries, which weigh 2 – 4t, according to the concrete producer.

Logistics director Ben Garner said "Battery energy density is improving – which means a longer range for lower battery weight – but, for now, electric mixers remain best suited for urban deliveries, where they can charge at depots or batching plants between runs. For longer routes, or sites without high-power charging, the payload compromise is still a significant challenge. If we want to encourage widespread adoption of decarbonised transport solutions in construction, we have to make allowances – either by increasing the limit, or allowing the introduction of five-axle vehicles that are in common use across many European countries.”

Installer News has reported that Tarmac recorded a 42t/yr reduction in CO₂ emissions using an electric ready-mix concrete mixer truck instead of its diesel equivalent.