Displaying items by tag: precast

UK: Shane Clee has acquired Forden Concrete Products, with the help of a €54,000 loan from the Development Bank of Wales. Forden Concrete Products specialises in feed and water troughs, slurry systems and foot baths for the dairy sector. Business Sale Report News has reported that the company is planning to expand its product range with an upcoming line of concrete wall panels for use in garden fencing.

Director Shane Clee said “After 24 years with Forden, this is a great opportunity to take on the business myself and work with our close-knit team to continue doing what we love and know best.”

Development Bank of Wales investment executive James Ryan said “We’re pleased to have been able to help Shane to become the new owner of Forden, particularly as it is a well-established business that employs local people. We wish the team every success.”

US: Princeton University researchers Shashank Gupta and Reza Moini have developed an extra-strength hollow concrete based on the tubular structure of the femur bone. The concrete offers 5.6 times greater strength than conventional concrete by isolating cracks. BGR News has reported that the developments are applicable to commercial concrete production through 3D printing or precast concrete casting.

France: Circular aggregates producer Néolithe has partnered with Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies and Groupe GCC to produce a fuel loading slab for a temporary bus depot in Marseille. The slab will be made of Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies’ H-UKR clinker-free cement and Néolithe’s mixed circular materials-based Anthropocite aggregates. The resulting slab will serve as a test for the use of H-UKR concrete in future Groupe GCC projects.

The partners say that a mix of H-UKR cement with 20% Anthropocite reduces CO₂ emissions by 63% compared to CEM II/A cement-based concrete produced using conventional aggregates, to 62kg CO₂eq/m³.

Groupe GCC executive vice-president Patrick Dubourg said "This project perfectly illustrates one of GCC's key priorities: implementing sustainable solutions. The work we've been doing for several years with Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies enables us to take tangible action in this direction, and the partnership with Néolithe enables us to take a further step in the direction of decarbonisation, an essential issue for construction.”

Laurence Hemerit, infrastructure director at customer Marseille Metropolitan Transport Authority (RTM), said "RTM found GCC's proposal very interesting in that it enabled us to carry out a large-scale, long-term comparative test to assess the qualities of low-carbon concrete. Our temporary bus storage site was therefore the ideal candidate for this experiment."

US: Builders Supply Co. plans to invest US$10.6m in the construction of a new concrete block plant in Fort Payne, Alabama. Local press has reported that the plant is scheduled for commissioning in mid-2025 and will employ 10 people.

Builders Supply Co. president George Weatherly said “We are extremely proud to be a multi-generational, family-owned and operated local business. We are excited to reinvest in the future of our employees, our families and the communities in which we work and live.”

Finland: Betolar has procured a patent for a new accelerator solution for use in CEM III/B slag cement mixes. The company says that the product enables the achievement of conventional demoulding times in the production of concrete elements using slag cement with a clinker content of 20 – 34%. It will also enable its use in hollow-core slabs and as shotcrete in the mining industry.

President and CEO Tuija Kalpala said "Our patented innovation paves the way for the large-scale use of cement mixtures in the production of concrete elements and products, significantly reducing CO₂ emissions."

Finland/Germany: Heidelberg Materials and Metsä Wood have launched a concrete-based wall element designed to replace conventional walls in construction. The product is comprised of insulation and laminated veneer lumber, sandwiched between two layers of reduced-CO2 concrete. The Cool Down News has reported that the element has 30 – 50% lower CO₂ emissions than conventional concrete walls, according to its developers. It also reduces the total weight of the wall by 60%.

Metsä Wood business development manager Håkan Arnebrant said "One of the advantages of this hybrid element is that builders do not have to change their way of building with concrete elements, but can still lower their emissions. At the same time, the walls can be made 50 – 75mm thinner than walls built with concrete elements, which can give quite a few extra square meters in a building."

UK: Precast concrete producer FP McCann plans to invest €105m in expansions and upgrades to its plants. The plans include the launch of multiple new product lines, including a new decorative paving range, due for launch in September 2024. Another new line will build drainage pipes, complementing its portfolio of concrete products for below-ground applications. Upgrades include the installation of an additional bagging line at a mortars plant. Local press has reported that a total of 100 new jobs will be created as a result.

FP McCann said “We constantly take on board customer feedback, and the investment in these new products and services is driven by their needs. FP McCann’s unique multi-product load offering has been a fantastic success. Builders’ merchants no longer have to coordinate multiple deliveries of single product loads, each often carrying a part-load surcharge. With the introduction of our new decorative paving range, we can now offer up to eight different products on a single load, and as more products come online we will expand this service further.”

Brazil: Gerdau Graphene has launched NanoCONS, a new line of graphene-based admixtures for concrete. Graphene-Info News has reported that NanoCONS increases the durability and strength of concrete, while lowering its CO₂ emissions by 20%, according to the developer. Gerdau Graphene noted that the first product in the line, water-based NanoCONS W104, offers faster drying times, making it well-suited to use in precast concrete production.

Saudi Arabia: Doha Concrete Molds Factory (DCMF) has entered into a strategic partnership with Saudi Vitrified Clay Pipes (SVCP). Under the terms of the partnership, DCMF will acquire outstanding shares in precast concrete products company Saudi Land Factory Company for Cement Products (SLFCCP). Arab News has reported that that the partnership builds on a pre-existing memorandum of understanding (MoU) for DCMF to relocate Qatari production lines to SLFCCP’s plant, in exchange for a 55% stake in the latter.

Canada: Cellular concrete products company Cematrix reported revenues of $10.8m in the first half of 2024, up by 11% year-on-year. It recorded adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$364,000, compared to a loss of US$801,000 in the first half of 2023.

CEO Jeff Kendrick said "We continue to work on a number of initiatives to grow shareholder value, as evidenced by our recent uplisting to the Toronto Stock Exchange. We recently completed a new financing round that strengthened our balance sheet and increased Cematrix’s institutional ownership with quality investors committed to our long-term success. Our commitment to growth and shareholder value remains unwavering as we continue to foster strong organic growth and maintain a robust balance sheet. As we execute our strategic plan, we are optimistic about the remainder of 2024 and beyond, confident that our product offerings and the advantages that it delivers to customers will continue to bring tremendous opportunities for our business.”