Displaying items by tag: Canada

Canada: Canal Block will begin to produce CarbiCrete's cement-free concrete products under licence from 2025. The partners say that they have installed a new curing system for the purpose at Canal Block’s Port Colborne plant. Innovation cluster NGen awarded them US$4.04m in funding for the project.

Canal Block president Durk Bylsma said "We look forward to offering a carbon-negative masonry unit to Ontario's construction market in 2025.”

CEO Jacob Homiller said "We are tremendously pleased to bring our cement-free concrete technology to Ontario through Canal Block."

Canada: The Sarjeant has inaugurated its new Parry Sound ready-mix concrete plant. The plant is intended to help meet growing demand and support the growth of the local construction industry. Local press has reported that the project was partly funded by a US$298,000 grant from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation. In turn, The Sarjeant donated US$37,100 to the Let’s Make a Splash campaign for construction of the upcoming West Parry Sound Recreation and Cultural Centre.

Canada: Lakeshore Concrete is constructing a new premixed concrete plant in Essex County, set to create 30 to 35 jobs and begin operations in early 2025. The new premixed plant in Amherstburg aims to improve product consistency and reduce carbon emissions, distinguishing it from the typical dry mix plants found throughout Ontario and North America, according to John Vanderwerf, co-owner of Lakeshore Concrete. This plant, along with existing facilities in Tecumseh and Leamington, will allow the company to produce about 200m3/hr of concrete. Vanderwerf is awaiting final calculations on environmental benefits, including reductions in carbon emissions achieved by using electric motors for mixing concrete instead of diesel-powered truck drums.

Vanderwerf said "With the new employment coming and the growing population, we feel there's reason to be optimistic about this area and that's why we're investing now."

Canada: Clark Brothers Contracting has received conditional approval from the council of Wellington North Township to build a ready-mix concrete plant in the town in Ontario. Local press has reported that the plans will be subject to review by the Wellington County Land Division Committee in September 2024.

Canada: Cellular concrete products company Cematrix reported revenues of $10.8m in the first half of 2024, up by 11% year-on-year. It recorded adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$364,000, compared to a loss of US$801,000 in the first half of 2023.

CEO Jeff Kendrick said "We continue to work on a number of initiatives to grow shareholder value, as evidenced by our recent uplisting to the Toronto Stock Exchange. We recently completed a new financing round that strengthened our balance sheet and increased Cematrix’s institutional ownership with quality investors committed to our long-term success. Our commitment to growth and shareholder value remains unwavering as we continue to foster strong organic growth and maintain a robust balance sheet. As we execute our strategic plan, we are optimistic about the remainder of 2024 and beyond, confident that our product offerings and the advantages that it delivers to customers will continue to bring tremendous opportunities for our business.”

Canada: US-based Command Alkon has acquired concrete digitisation specialist Marcotte Systems. Command Alkon says that the acquisition will accelerate its deployment of cloud applications and automation software.

Marcotte Systems CEO Joel Bardier said "Joining forces with Command Alkon marks a significant milestone, not only for our company, but for the heavy building materials industry as a whole as it will drive the next generation of fully automated plant solutions.”

Command Alkon CEO Martin Willoughby said "Combining Marcotte’s plant automation solutions with Command Alkon’s Command Cloud platform will deliver enhanced value to customers, supporting their efficiency and sustainability goals."

Canada: US-based Arclin has concluded a deal to acquire fellow construction polymers producer RG Dispersants from CPS Performance Materials. RG Dispersants employs 150 people across its operations, with plants in Candiac, Quebec, and Cedartown, US.

Arclin president and CEO Bradley Bolduc said "The addition of RG Dispersants will add applications such as wallboard, speciality concrete and speciality rubber/tyre production."

Canada: Threatened strike action at Heidelberg Materials North America’s ready-mix concrete plants in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, is on hold after the company and the Teamsters Local 213 union agreed to mediation meetings. Local press has reported that the meetings will seek to draw up a new contract for workers at the producer’s ready-mix concrete plants. The union previously voted down Heidelberg Materials North America’s last and final offer in the on-going contract dispute in April 2024.

Heidelberg Materials North America said “The potential strike notice will be held in abeyance until a new collective bargaining agreement is ratified or the mediator is unable to resolve differences between the parties."

Canada: Concrete block producer Canal Block has integrated CarbiCrete’s cement-free concrete production technology at its Port Colborne plant in Ontario. CarbiCrete’s technology produces concrete from steel slag. The integration at the Port Colborne plant commands US$2.24m-worth of funding from the global innovation cluster NGen, towards a total project cost of US$5.97m.

CarbiCrete CEO Chris Stern said "We are tremendously grateful for NGen's continued support, which is helping Canada position itself as the undisputed world leader in low carbon concrete."

Canal Block president Durk Bylsma said "Canal Block has had a long history of developing sustainable products for the masonry industry. We are excited to partner with CarbiCrete to bring this truly revolutionary technology to market and further our commitment to be an ecologically and socially responsible manufacturer."

Canada: Carbon-negative concrete producer CarbiCrete has signed a deal with Holcim subsidiary Lafarge Canada. Under the deal, Lafarge Canada will process steel slag at its St. Constant cement plant in Québec for use as an ingredient in CarbiCrete’s CO₂-cured cement-free concrete.

CarbiCrete partner Patio Drummond produces carbon-negative concrete blocks using CarbiCrete’s technology at its Drummondville concrete block plant in Québec. The company is on a drive to double the production of CarbiCrete blocks. It first partnered with CarbiCrete during trial production of its material in 2018.

Lafarge Canada vice-president of cement Andrew Stewart said “We are committed to reducing our environmental footprint and leading the way in sustainable construction. Our partnership with CarbiCrete is a testament to our dedication to offering sustainable solutions and actively participating in the circular economy.”

CarbiCrete CEO Chris Stern said “Collaborating with Lafarge allows us to leverage long-established infrastructure and years of expertise in processing steel-related by-products. This enables us to make an immediate climate impact as we scale the deployment of our technology which reduces embodied carbon in concrete by both avoiding emissions and removing carbon through mineralisation.” Regarding the on-going scale-up of production at Patio Drummond’s Drummondville plant, Stern said “Increased production of our carbon-negative blocks brings us closer to our common goal of decarbonising production of the world’s most consumed man-made substance.”