Displaying items by tag: Ireland

Ireland: New regulations effective from 1 September 2024 require all state-funded building projects in Ireland - including roads, schools, and hospitals - to use low-carbon concrete. The directive prohibits the use of CEM I cement, mandating a minimum of 30% replacement of clinker with low-carbon alternatives for public projects.

Ireland: Construction company Harcourt Technologies used COBOD's gantry-mounted 3D for a three-unit social housing development in Dundalk, County Louth. Voxel Matters News has reported that the equipment reduces construction times by 67% and labour requirements by 33% for projects of this kind. Delivery of the homes is scheduled for October 2024.

Harcourt Technologies’ managing director Justin Kinsella said "It’s like building a concrete block wall, but the machine lays 50mm layers instead of manual placement. As architects and engineers, we design the building digitally, and the model guides the printer to extrude the material layer by layer."

Ireland/UK: UK-based construction chemicals company Oscrete has raised its stake in its Northern Ireland-based distributor, Adcrete, to 90%. The group says that this will enlarge its customer base across Ireland in line with its 2024 strategic growth plan.

Director Scott Wilson said “The strengthened Oscrete business model and presence in Ireland will ensure the team has the infrastructure and the expertise to become the leading supplier of concrete admixtures and additives in the country.” He added “Our growth and turnover in Ireland has increased by 200% in the last four years and this growth serves to support the wider business operations.”

UK: Breedon Group’s sales revenue grew by 33% to Euro1.48bn in 2021 from Euro1.11bn in 2020. Its statutory earnings before interest and taxation more than doubled to Euro153m from Euro74m. Cement and concrete sales volumes increased by 20% to 2.4Mt and 23% to 3.2Mm3 respectively. The group described 2021 as an ‘exceptional’ year for its cement business due to pent-up demand following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“2021 was a record year for Breedon. We navigated the second year of the pandemic successfully, supplied our customers with more materials than at any point in our history and fully integrated the Cemex assets,” said chief executive officer Rob Wood.