Displaying items by tag: US

US: Martin Marietta Materials has signed a deal to buy 20 aggregates operations in the Southeast US from Blue Water Industries for US$2.05bn. Reuters has reported that the partners expect to close the deal later in 2024. Martin Marietta Materials says that the acquisitions will help it to meet rising national demand for building materials. The North Carolina-based group operates aggregates sites in 28 US states, Canada and the Bahamas.

Martin Marietta Materials previously indicated that recent divestitures in its ready-mix concrete business and other areas would help it to ‘redeploy the proceeds into pure-play aggregates acquisitions.’

US: CRH has completed its acquisition of a portfolio of ready-mix concrete and cement assets from Martin Marietta Materials for US$2.1bn. The portfolio includes a network of 20 ready-mix concrete plants in South Texas.

US: The Department of Transportation has announced a US$5m initiative to investigate the use of steel slag in cement and concrete. This will take the form of a collaboration between the Department of Transportation and a selected US-based steel producer and university partner. The initiative seeks to reduce CO₂ emissions in the production of building materials. Prospective participants may view the grant opportunity here.

Transport secretary Pete Buttigieg said "We're proud to make this funding available to help develop the next generation of construction materials so that the future of our transport infrastructure is more resilient, more sustainable and made in America.”

Robert Hampshire, deputy assistant secretary for research and technology and chief science officer, said “This funding initiative will develop and advance innovative materials and technologies that support the nation’s goals to decarbonise the transportation sector by 2050, strengthen resilience of the nation’s transportation infrastructure, and address adverse environmental impacts created by the transportation system.”

US: Chingle has announced plans for its upcoming Etna ready-mix concrete plant in Ohio’s Licking County. Local press has reported that the Etna Township Board of Zoning Appeals evaluated the company’s plans at a meeting on 30 January 2024.

Middle East/North America: Climate tech start-up Partanna has announced plans for four new plants to produce its carbon negative binder. The plants will be located in the Bahamas, the US and the Gulf region.

Partanna said that the development demonstrates its growing momentum as a construction sector disruptor, offering a sustainable, cost-comparable alternative to cement for users of concrete.

Germany/North America: INFORM has announced new collaborations with two other software developers for the ready-mix concrete sector. US-based BCMI Corp and Canada-based Marcotte Systems will work with INFORM to develop AI tools for despatching ready-mix concrete.

INFORM senior vice president Thomas Bergmans, who concluded the deals at World of Concrete in the US, said “In addition to offering our proven AI-powered transport planning and execution software, we are very excited to see that these collaborations will further speed up the wide-spread use of our AI algorithms beyond our traditional markets.” Bergmans said that the collaboration with BCMI Corp will provide ready-mix producers with ‘enhanced decision-making tools, real-time logistics optimisation and intelligent automation, ultimately elevating operational performance and customer satisfaction.’ Regarding the collaboration with Marcotte, he said “By combining Marcotte's robust experience in concrete production management with INFORM’s AI capabilities, this ready-to-use solution will empower ready-mix producers.”

Germany/US: Concrete production equipment supplier TopWerk Group has formally endorsed Partanna Global's carbon-negative binder as a replacement for cement in the production of concrete using its equipment. Partanna plans to install TopWerk equipment at its four upcoming production plants, under an exclusive three-year agreement. The endorsement is intended to help shift TopWerk's global customers from using cement to using Partanna Global’s binder.

Partanna Global CEO Rick Fox said “TopWerk's endorsement of Partanna represents a major vote of confidence in our technology from one of the most respected names in global construction. We’re humbled and proud that one of the world’s leading concrete machinery producers has given us their backing. We hope this signals to the industry that Portland cement is no longer the only solution in town, and that the days of burning rocks are fast coming to an end.”

TopWerk CEO Robert Gruss said "We believe our exclusive partner Partanna has come up with a truly impressive solution that can contribute to putting this polluting practice to an end. The company’s carbon negative binder is one of the most exciting innovations we have witnessed in our industry for decades. It is the most advanced alternative binder solution in the market and the only credibly carbon negative solution that has the potential to scale globally. Over the last two years, we have rigorously tested their formula and have validated its application as a direct replacement solution for Portland cement. In many ways, their binder actually performs better than the legacy solution.”

The endorsement follows Saudi Arabia-based property developer ROSHN's announcement of an upcoming carbon-negative concrete plant that will use Partanna Global's technology earlier in January 2024.

US: C-Crete Technologies poured its zeolite-based concrete for the construction of a 20t slab-on-grade foundation and set of steps in Seattle. The concrete uses zeolite as a binder, removing the need for cement.

C-Crete Technologies founder and president Rouzbeh Savary said "Our successful 20t concrete pour in Seattle using the zeolite-based binder is an important step in our quest to revolutionise construction. This landmark use of the product epitomises C-Crete's commitment to reshaping the industry through environmentally conscious innovations. By tapping into various natural rocks like zeolite and converting them into cementitious binders we're forging a path toward truly sustainable infrastructure."

US: Ireland-based CRH has concluded a deal for the acquisition of Martin Marietta Materials’ South Texas business. This includes 20 ready-mix concrete batching plants, alongside the Hunter cement plant and a network of cement terminals on the Gulf of Mexico. The value of the transaction is US$2.1bn.

CRH CEO Albert Manifold said “The acquisition of these high-quality assets further strengthens our market leading position in Texas and increases our exposure to attractive, high-growth markets. Our ability to leverage our cement expertise and technical capabilities will enable us to enhance and optimise our existing footprint in Texas, resulting in significant synergies and self-supply opportunities. This transaction reflects our disciplined approach to capital allocation as well as our commitment to deliver further growth and value creation for our shareholders. We also believe there is significant potential to unlock additional growth opportunities across an expanded footprint in this attractive growth market.”

US: Solidia Technologies has commenced production of its mineralised CO₂-based supplementary cementitious material (SCM) at a pilot line at its headquarters in San Antonio, Texas. The pilot line increases the company’s production capacity of the SCM by a factor of 25.

Solidia Technologies senior director of strategy and business development Pradeep Ghosh said "With the dramatic increase in production capacity that the new pilot line brings, we are now shipping significant quantities of Solidia SCM to ready-mix concrete producers, transport agencies and contractors to qualify and trial our material."