Displaying items by tag: Holcim

Poland: The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKK) has conditionally approved Lafarge Polska's acquisition of certain assets of Eurobud Chajewscy. A condition for the approval is that Lafarge Polska sell the Piła concrete plant in Greater Poland. Baltic Legal Updates News has reported that this would enable Lafarge Polska to retain a single concrete plant in the city.

The UOKK said "Concentration in the proposed form would mean the lack of free choice of supplier and the risk of price increases for concrete buyers in Piła. The sale of one of the concrete plants in Piła will allow entrepreneurs to maintain fair competition on the local concrete supply market."

Spain: Switzerland-based Holcim has acquired a majority stake in precast concrete systems producer Arterpref. Holcim says that Artepref’s smart design systems combined with its own range of low-carbon and circular solutions will help Spain’s fast-growing construction sector to build better with less.

Holcim’s Europe regional head Miljan Gutovic said “Fully in line with our strategy, this expands our range of innovative and sustainable solutions in high-growth markets.”

UK: Holcim subsidiary Aggregate Industries has acquired mortars producer Eco-Readymix. Aggregate Industries that the acquisition will reinforce its position in the north west of England, and help to establish its place in the mortars market.

Aggregate Industries CEO Dragan Maksimovic said “This also marks our entry into the UK mortars market with a knowledgeable and ambitious management that has multiple synergies with our own. The acquisition supports our long-term strategy to continue to grow our business in order to become the UK’s leading supplier of sustainable construction materials and solutions.”

Argentina: Holcim Argentina has launched a new line of liquid additives under the brand Tector. The line encompasses two products: Tector Hydrophobic 1230 reduces permeability in cementitious mortars, improving workability and corrosion resistance, while Tector Latex 1700 enhances adhesion, flexibility and plasticity in various applications, reducing surface cracking and flaking.

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.”

France: Climate protest group Earth Uprising says that it will target sites belonging to Holcim subsidiary Lafarge France for demonstrations as part of planned actions between 9 and 12 December 2023. Ouest France News has reported that the demonstrations will include a ‘festive but determined’ gathering at Lafarge France’s Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou concrete plant in Maine-et-Loire on 10 December 2023.

Lafarge France said “The people who intend to respond to this call for mobilisation against our sites have the wrong target. Of all industrial sectors, ours is moving the fastest and strongest in favour of the climate.” It added “Moreover, we are useful to society. The country's needs for housing, public facilities and infrastructure are immense, and concrete represents the best solution to meet them.”

Romania: Holcim Romania invested Euro15m in an upgrade to its Abjud autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) block plant in Vrancea, using equipment supplied by AAC specialist Aircrete Europe. The producer says that the project raised the production capacity of the plant by 45%.

Holcim Romania CEO Bogdan Dobre said "The investment involved the automation of processes in order to harmonise operations with Holcim standards, but also to bring our customers the best performing products. With the investment, the previous production line, almost 50 years old, was completely replaced.” He continued “We have rethought the entire industrial process, making it more efficient and increasing the degree of safety at work.”

Mexico: Holcim Mexico says that its supply of cement to the government’s Tren Maya railway project is 170,000t/month. This corresponds to 50 – 60% of its total production volumes. Local press has reported that construction of the 1500km-long Tren Maya railway will consume 1Mm³ of concrete. Holcim supplied its cement for Sections 1 – 3 of the line between 2020 and 2022. It is currently supplying Section 5, which is 50% complete. The cement comes from the company’s Orizaba, Veracruz, plant; its Macuspana, Tabasco, plant and its Mérida, Yucatán, plant.

Holcim Mexico’s infrastructure development manager Fernando Roldan said "Our participation has been a challenge, but the relationship we have with the suppliers and with the construction companies in charge of the railway has allowed us to meet the requirements."

US: Holcim US has inaugurated a 1300 – 1500Mwh/yr solar power plant at its Fort Totten ready-mix concrete plant in Washington DC. Resources News has reported that the solar power plant consists of both silo rooftop modules and carport-mounted modules. Madison Energy Investments will operate the solar power plant, and solar power engineering companies Centennial Generating Company and Halo were also partners for the project. Holcim US is committed to powering 100% of its operations renewably by 2030. It expects to reach 40% by the end of 2023.

France: Lafarge France is participating in a 76-unit housing development project called Recygénie, at Gennevilliers in Hauts-de-Seine. Lafarge France will supply the project with 100% recycled concrete for use in facades, interior walls and roof slabs. It produced 2000t of 100% recycled 'clinker' at its Altkirch cement plant in Haut-Rhin during a suspension of ordinary clinker production in 2022. It has produced 1600m³ of recycled concrete to date. The concrete won the New Materials Prize at L'Usine Nouvelle's Sustainable Industry Awards 2023.

The Recygénie housing project is due for delivery in late 2024.