Displaying items by tag: UK

UK: Cemex has announced an upcoming dry mortar and sprayed concrete production plant in Swindon, Wiltshire. The plant will produce Cemex UK’s 30% reduced-CO₂ Vertua mortar. It will also feature a drying system designed to minimise heat consumption. The Builders Merchants Journal newspaper has reported that the plant is scheduled to open in late 2025. The move is aimed at increasing Cemex’s market penetration in South East and South West England.

UK: Construction firm John Sisk & Son has successfully concluded its construction of part of the Wembley Park mixed development using concrete produced with Ecocem’s ACT alternative circular cement. The concrete met design specifications for all elements, while reducing embodied CO₂ emissions by 70%. Construction Index News has reported that Capital Concrete and Creagh Concrete also participated in the project, which commanded €594,000 in Innovate UK funding.

UK: Precast concrete market leader FP McCann Group recorded a profit of US$67.7m in 2024, up by 11% year-on-year. It overcame a drop in turnover of less than 1%, to US$536m, Insider Media News has reported.

UK: Concrete admixtures developer Oscrete has expanded its concrete testing laboratory and doubled its trials service for customers. The expanded facility features additional mixing bays, wet production space and a new product development area.

Oscrete Technical and Development Manager Dean Clarke said “In addition to evaluating our admixtures with customers’ materials, the lab also plays a key role in evaluating cements and additives that help reduce the carbon footprint.”

US: UK-based Breedon Group has acquired Missouri-based roadbuilding firm Lionmark for US$241m. The group says that the acquisition will double its US revenues. The Daily Mail newspaper has reported that Breedon Group currently faces a construction sector ‘slowdown’ in its home market of the UK.

Breedon Group first entered the US through its acquisition of ready-mix concrete producer BMC Enterprises in March 2024.

US: Concrete Supply Co. has reportedly acquired 30 ready-mix concrete plants in North and South Carolina from Argos USA. Concrete Supply Co. said that the purchase will enhance its service for customers in the growing markets of Charlotte, Charleston, Columbia and Raleigh.

UK: Akela Group subsidiary Akela Ground Engineering has appointed John Ward as its Precast Concrete Manager to support an expansion of the Glasgow, Scotland-based company’s production footprint into England. Ward will be based between Akela Ground Engineering’s offices in Glasgow and Swadlincote, England, and will have a special focus on sourcing a manufacturing base for the company’s ABeam precast concrete elements, currently produced in Glasgow.

The Scotsman newspaper has reported that Ward brings over 35 years of managerial experience, including at Green Piling, Centrum Pile, Aarsleff Ground Engineering UK and DEL Piling.

UK: Researchers at Newcastle University have developed a new mortar using recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from plastic bottles and silica aerogel. The team says that the mortar conforms to construction standards 413-1:2011, ASTM C270-10, and AS 1012/AS 3700. They added that it additionally reduces heat loss in the spaces between blocks or bricks by 55%.

Team leader Lidija Šiller said “For the next step, we wish to find collaborators such as a construction company to apply for funding and build the house with our ‘recipe’ for mortar. This will allow us to provide the direct evidence of potential energy savings and assess the economics for masonry buildings applications.”

UK: A&L McCrae has commissioned its second ready-mix concrete batching plant at Barrachander quarry in Argyll, Scotland. West Coast Today News has reported that the producer already operates five aggregates sites. It employs 21 people in its ready-mix concrete business, and is seeking to hire 15 more.

A&L McCrae says that its next move will be to establish a third ready-mix concrete plant at Achnaba quarry in Lochgilphead.

UK: Scotland-based Akela Ground Engineering has inaugurated a new plant in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Irish Construction News has reported that the plant will produce its ABeam precast concrete beam systems. The move purportedly aims to help overcome a local shortage of housing, thanks to Abeam systems’ rapid installation capabilities.