Displaying items by tag: readymix concrete

UK: Denmark-based architecture fund Henrik Frode Obel Foundation has named Seratech as winner of its Obel Award 2022. The award recognises architectural contributions to global development. Seratech has developed an olivine-based composite cement produced using CO₂ from flue emissions, which can sequester double the CO₂ of ordinary Portland cement (OPC). When used as 40% of a blend with OPC, it is able to completely offset the emissions of concrete production.

Team member Barnaby Shanks said "The beauty of the idea is that you can just use it as normal concrete. There are other carbon-neutral materials, but they can be limiting because they can only be precast, cured in a lab in special conditions and shipped elsewhere. We want people to retain the freedom to use concrete the way that they are used to. We don’t want to limit people in any way because we’ll just lessen the amount of impact we can have."

US: Argos USA has invested US$40m in 200 new ready-mix concrete mixer trucks, as the first phase of a five-year fleet expansion and replacement plan. The company says that the vehicles have a useful life of 8 – 10 years, or 53,500m³. It expects to make its next truck purchases in early 2023.

Argos USA ready-mix president Richard Edwards said "With the acquisition of these new assets, we continue our dedication to delivering extraordinary solutions to customers, helping facilitate the progress and development of the cities and communities where we have a presence. Our new trucks have a capacity of around 7.5m³ of concrete, are approximately 15% more fuel efficient than our previous trucks, and result in lower atmospheric emissions. They are also vehicles with the latest safety equipment, to continue ensuring the safety of our employees and everyone we share the road with daily."

Poland: Switzerland-based Holcim has concluded an agreement to acquire ready-mix concrete producer Ol-Trans. Ol-Trans operates five batching plants and is the market leader in Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot. Holcim says that its new customers in the region will benefit from access to its CO₂-saving products, including Agila Fibro self-compacting concrete, which can reduce steel reinforcement usage in construction by up to 50%.

Holcim’s Europe, Middle East and Africa regional head Miljan Gutovic said “With this acquisition we will further expand the footprint of ECOPact green concrete, the first and most comprehensive sustainable concrete range in Poland.”

Germany: Sweden-based Thomas Concrete Group has acquired a five-plant Rhineland-Palatinate-based concrete producer. The acquisition brings Thomas Concrete Group’s German concrete capacity to 1Mm²/yr across six federal states, 2% of domestic capacity. Germany has 1900 concrete plants in total.

Romania: Holcim Romania has announced its acquisition of independent ready-mix concrete market leader General Beton Romania. The latter operates eight batching plants with a total of 160 employees. Its markets include Arad, Bucharest, Constanta and Sibiu. Holcim Romania says that it plans to use the acquisition to grow its ECOPact green concrete’s footprint.

Europe, Middle East Africa regional head Miljan Gutovic said “General Beton provides an excellent addition to our strong and diversified ready-mix concrete operations. Over more than two decades, General Beton has been a long-standing Holcim partner as well as a growing and highly successful business. I am delighted to welcome them to the Holcim family.”

US: Holcim has acquired Louisiana-based Cajun Ready Mix Concrete. Cajun Ready Mix Concrete operates eight ready-mix concrete plants in Baton Rouge, with a total of 108 employees and 51 mixer trucks.

Holcim region head North America Toufic Tabbara said “This acquisition expands our footprint in the dynamic Baton Rouge market, confirming our focus on growth in North America. Cajun’s commitment to innovation, service and quality, along with its industry relationships and engineering capabilities, are an ideal addition to our business. We’re excited to work with the Cajun team to build further partnerships across this highly attractive growth region. I warmly welcome all Cajun employees into the Holcim family and look forward to unleashing our next era of growth together.”

Czech Republic: Českomoravský Beton has acquired six ready-mixed concrete plants and a sandpit in Moravia from Kámen Zbraslav. The plants have a total capacity of 85,000m³/yr. Českomoravský Beton says that they have a ‘well-established residential and commercial customer base’ in and around Brno.

Parent company HeidelbergCement says that the acquisition drives forward its portfolio optimisation programme. It now operates 80 ready-mixed concrete plants in the Czech Republic.

US: Lehigh Hanson has completed its acquisition of Atlanta-based ready-mix concrete company Meriwether Ready Mix.

Parent company HeidelbergCement’s chair Dominik von Achten said “The acquisition of the Meriwether Ready Mix assets will enhance our integrated footprint in the rapidly growing Metro Atlanta area. These operations better position us to capture this growth potential and serve a broader customer base with a wide range of sustainable, low carbon concrete products and digital solutions. We welcome the Meriwether employees to the HeidelbergCement team.”

India: ACC has launched its new Concrete Direct app for booking and live tracking concrete deliveries. The producer says that the app reduces operational follow-up calls.

Managing director and CEO Sridhar Balakrishnan said “At ACC, we recognise the need to improve and lead through digitalisation. We are happy to launch Concrete Direct, a premium digital tool that saves time and money for our customers. With such innovations, we want to enhance customer experience and build a strong ecosystem of partners to support them.”