Displaying items by tag: costs

Australia: Ready-mix concrete producer Baines Concrete says that it will shut up shop in October 2024, ending its 45 years’ service to the construction sector in Woonona, New South Wales. Local press has reported that the producer took the decision to close based on the present economic climate. Allied company Baines Masonry Blocks will continue to operate its Appin block and paving products plant.

General manager Bill Hudson said "Despite our best efforts to sustain the business, the ongoing economic conditions have forced us to make this difficult decision. Our primary focus is to ensure a smooth transition for our clients, suppliers and partners alike. We are committed to fulfilling any outstanding obligations to the best of our abilities before the closure date."

US: Netherlands-based Basilisk has launched its bacterially-enhanced Basilisk Self-Healing Concrete in the US. The product self-heals cracks with new limestone, sealing them shut without the need for additional maintenance.

Romania: Concrete paving slab producer Symmetrica's sales grew by 40% to €30.2m in the first half of 2024, driven by strong demand for road and water infrastructure projects. Sales volumes also grew, by 30%, to 2.7Mm². The producer noted high costs, which it partly offset by raising its prices. It also faced collection issues and a decline in residential demand.

SeeNews has reported that Symmetrica is currently building a new €48m concrete paving slab plant Bucharest. When commissioned in mid-late 2024, it will be the largest plant of its kind in the region.

Russia: BK-BETON recorded a net profit of US$19,200 in 2023, against a narrow loss in 2022. The company’s cost of sales rose by 7% to US$205,000. BK-BETON said that the rise reflected its operational growth.

US: Eco Material Technologies has supplied its PozzoCEM Vite clinker-free cement to 3D printing construction firm Hive 3D for its The Casitas @ The Halles project in Texas. PozzoCEM Vite cement has 92% lower CO₂ emissions than ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The producer said that concrete produced using PozzoCEM Vite is also more durable and longer lasting than OPC-based concrete. Eco Material Technologies and Hive 3D developed a custom batching system to mix PozzoCEM Vite cement and local Texan sand for use in the project. Eco Material Technologies said that the system created a significant cost reduction compared with other available printable mortar technologies.

Eco Material Technologies recently launched a new 99% reduced CO₂ PozzoCEM formulation, which it expects to use in future projects with Hive 3D. Other reduced-CO₂ cements produced by Eco Material Technologies include its PozzoSlag 50% ground granulated blast furnace slag cement. In total, Eco Material Technologies has supplied 1Mt of reduced-CO₂ cements across 4000 construction sites since 2012. It said that it expects to announce multiple new infrastructure projects and strategic partnerships later in 2023.

Eco Material Technologies' CEO Grant Quasha said “Hive 3D’s commitment to building the first 100% cement replacement 3D printed homes aligns with our goal of transitioning the construction industry away from using materials that generate approximately 8% of the world’s carbon emissions each year."

Chile: Mexico-based Cemex has announced an investment by its venture capital subsidiary Cemex Ventures in concrete monitoring software supplier ObraLink. ObraLink’s software uses advanced thermal imaging to monitor the concrete hardening process at up to three times more measurement points than similar sensors, at a fraction of the cost. By enabling builders to remove formwork or moulds at precisely the right time, the software can reduce a project’s structural costs by 15%, according to the supplier. Its integrated platform automates the process, offering additional features via APIs.

Cemex Ventures head Gonzalo Galindo said "As pioneers in the construction industry's digital transformation, our mission is to seek innovative solutions that help boost productivity and efficiency. ObraLink's scalable technology is a perfect fit with Cemex's service offering, as it digitalises a currently manual process, improving both the efficiency of execution and completion time of a project. We look forward to working with them to further scale and develop the solution so we can deliver a superior customer experience enabled by digital technologies.”