Displaying items by tag: market

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.

South Korea: The construction and ready-mix concrete industries have concluded four months of negotiations with an agreement that ready-mix concrete prices will come down by 2.5% to US$62.8/m³. Chosun Biz News has reported that Youngwoo Association represented local ready-mix concrete producers throughout negotiations.

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: Titan America has awarded BCMI Corp. a contract to supply its cloud-based despatch system across its ready-mix concrete operations, including Titan Florida and Titan Virginia Ready Mix. By integrating the system with its existing suite of BCMI products, Titan America aims to increase its efficiency and data flow and streamline order placement in order to meet growing demand.

BCMI Corp. says that this deal more than doubles its installed despatch systems footprint.

Argentina: Holcim Argentina has acquired ready-mix concrete producer Horcrisa for US$32m. Horcrisa operates seven concrete batching plants in the cities of Caseros, General Pacheco and Isidro Casanova in Greater Buenos Aires, with a combined production capacity of 1.2Mm³/yr.

Holcim Argentina CEO Pablo Bittar noted the importance of Greater Buenos Aires as representing 40% of Argentina's concrete consumption.

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.

US: A joint study by the University of Colorado Boulder and Pennsylvania State University has demonstrated a lack of ‘granularity’ to regional benchmarks for the use of reduced-CO₂ concrete, while recognising the benchmarks as a ‘promising starting point.’ The team found that regional global warming potential (GWP) targets may be less attainable outside of metropolitan areas. The researchers noted that two cities – Los Angeles and New York – hold 41% of concrete environmental product disclosures (EPDs). In addition to a lack of access to concrete with EPDs, builders outside of the country’s cities face an increased burden of emissions due to transport.

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.

Spain: The National Association of the Precast Concrete Industry (ANDECE) has reported a 9% year-on-year rise in the total number of projects to use precast concrete during 2024. The association attributed this to ‘positive trends’ in construction activity during the final four months of the year.

Brazil: China-based Huaxin Cement has acquired Embu Engenharia e Comércio for US$186m. Migalhas News has reported that Embu Engenharia e Comércio mines 8.8Mt/yr of aggregates across its four quarries in São Paulo Metropolitan Region.

The completed acquisition marks the entry of the global top-10 cement producer into the Brazilian market. It previously acquired Brazil-based InterCement’s South African business in December 2023.