Displaying items by tag: investment

US: Heidelberg Materials North America has acquired aggregates and asphalt producer Highway Materials. Highway Materials is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operates four stone quarries, a concrete recycling facility and other assets, with 350 employees. Heidelberg Materials previously acquired Texas-based aggregates producer Victory Rock and concrete recycling company Aaron Materials earlier in July 2024. The deals advance Germany-based Heidelberg Materials’ strategy of growth through small-to-medium-sized synergistic bolt-on acquisitions. The combined value of the acquisitions is US$380m, with anticipated earnings synergies of US$50m.

Heidelberg Materials North America president and CEO Chris Ward said “We are excited to further expand our footprint in two of the fastest-growing areas in the US. The addition of these operations complements our existing aggregates businesses in Texas and Pennsylvania, while also adding to our rapidly growing portfolio of circular solutions across North America.”

Heidelberg Materials chair Dominik von Achten said “These latest US acquisitions reflect the progress of our ongoing efforts to optimise our portfolio by expanding our presence in this key region. We will continue on our growth trajectory in our key markets around the globe, while pursuing the industry’s most ambitious sustainability goals.”

Ukraine: ONUR Group’s concrete products subsidiary EFE has announced a new US$15m investment in its operations in Ukraine. Ukraine Business News has reported that EFE is paying ‘special attention’ to automation within its investments.

CEO Erhan Oztop said "Although we were able to increase our staff by 30% after 24 February 2022, the need for new employees remains. This motivates us to make large investments in the automation of production processes."

EFE produces ready-mix concrete, reinforced concrete products and paving slabs in Ukraine. It inaugurated two new ready-mix concrete plants in 2023, raising its production capacity to 800m³/hr.

Romania: IBB Holding inaugurated a new €1.5m ready-mix concrete batching plant in Mogoșoaia, Bucharest. Money News has reported that the plant is the company’s fourth.

CEO Ion Crăciunescu said "Through this new concrete plant located in the north of Bucharest, we are in a favourable position to participate in tenders for infrastructure projects in this area and establish strategic partnerships with real estate developers. Moreover, we can ensure the quality of the materials used, faster and more efficient services. Our strategy is to offer services integrated with production, with responsibility towards the environment and towards future generations, adapted to each type of project in which we are involved: infrastructure, residential, commercial or industrial construction. The real need that Romania has both in terms of investments in infrastructure and in the housing fund, as well as the projects already started, leads us to look optimistically at the development of our businesses in the medium and long term."

Bulgaria: The government has licensed concrete and aggregates producer Balastrieri to conduct aggregates exploration on land in Yakoviya Chiflik, Plovdiv. SeeNews has reported that the licence will last until April 2025. Balastrieri plans to invest €13,800 in exploration at the site.

US: Vulcan Materials raised its sales by 6.4% year-on-year in 2023, from US$7.32bn to US$7.78bn. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 24% to US$2bn, while its profit grew by 25% to US$1.95bn. Vulcan Materials’ full-year concrete volumes dropped, during which time it also divested some concrete operations. Altogether, the producer plans to invest US$625 – 675m in maintenance and growth projects in 2024.

Chair and CEO Tom Hill said "We carry momentum into 2024, and our focus is the same - compounding unit margins through all parts of the cycle and creating value for our shareholders through improving returns on capital."

Spain: Heidelberg Materials and construction firm Viuda de Sainz plan to open a construction and demolition waste (CDW) recycling and slag grinding plant in Güeñes, Basque Country. The plant, called Harri Green, will be situated in Heidelberg Materials' existing Zaramillo limestone quarry. It processing capacities will be 140,000t/yr CDW and 20,000t/yr steel slag, with which it will produce aggregates. The cost of the plant is Euro2m.

US: Georgia Power has awarded Eco Material Technologies a contract to start harvesting 600,000t/yr of pond ash from the site of its decommissioned Harllee Branch power plant in Milledgeville, Georgia. Eco Material Technologies will dry the ash and begin recycling it as replacement for cement in its concrete production from 2026. It expects to extract a total of 8Mt of pond ash from the site. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper reports that Georgia Power intends to invest US$7.8bn to disposal of its ash deposits across the country over the next 60 years to around the early 2080s.

Eco Material Technologies’ chief executive officer Grant Quasha said that he hopes for the company’s work at the Harllee Branch site to serve as a ‘model for the rest of the country’ for the efficient recycling of stored coal ash.

Colombia: Cemento País expects to commission its upcoming Aguas Prietas grinding plant in Turbaco, Bolívar, soon. The plant will have a capacity of 0.48t/yr, and cost US$20m in total. ESEuro News has reported that investors in Cemento País include engineering and construction firm AGM Desarrollos. The owners expect to corner a 15% share in Colombia’s Atlantic Coast cement market. The Aguas Prietas grinding plant will also produce 300,000m³/yr of ready-mix concrete.

Peru: Cemento Inka says that it plans to build a new ready-mix concrete batching plant in Trujillo, La Libertad Department. Nate's Crest News has reported that the plant will have a capacity of 87,700t/yr and cost US$150,000 to build. Commissioning is scheduled to follow eight weeks after the start of construction. The company, which holds a 4% share in the Peruvian cement market, recorded a 22% year-on-year fall in its concrete, paving and mortar sales during the first quarter of 2023. Over the same comparison period, domestic cement demand dropped by 15%.

Cemento Inka currently produces ready-mix concrete in the south of Peru at Cajamarquilla, Lima Province, while competitor Cementos Pacasmayo serves La Libertad and neighbouring markets in the north.

Bolivia: Construction of an upcoming 237,000m³/yr precast concrete plant in Uru Uru, Cercado Province, commenced on 13 December 2022. The plant will cost US$2.22m and have the capacity to produce 23,000 concrete paving blocks per day.