US: Iconic Precast has commissioned a precast concrete plant in DeWitt, Michigan. When operational in May 2026, the plant will produce architectural precast wall panels, structural precast systems, insulated wall panels, custom-engineered solutions and underground utility products. Local press has reported that it will employ 25 people.
UK: North East Derbyshire District Council has received an application from Bear Concrete for approval to build a ready-mix concrete batching plant in the district’s Unstone Industrial Complex. The application seeks to establish a plant with a maximum storage silo height of 9m, to be equipped by aggregate bins, conveyors, a batch cabin, three silos, a mixing unit, water tanks and run-off water recycling for use in batching and dust suppression. Bear Concrete described the site as ‘Relatively remote from residential development.’ Local press has reported that a committee will now determine whether the plans meet national rules within existing industrial use of the site.
A total of 23 formal objections to Bear Concrete’s plans have cited concerns over access via a narrow road and bridge, noise, traffic, flood risks and possible impacts on water and ecosystems.
Germany/Netherlands: CO2-sequestering supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) developer Paebbl has achieved the first pour of a concrete slab to feature its materials. The pour used concrete supplied by Holcim Kies and Beton, produced at its Offenburg ready-mix concrete plant in Germany, using 15% Paebbl Rebond C SCM in place of cement. Construction firm Goldbeck poured the 420m² floor slab as part of the construction of a logistics hall close to the batching plant in Baden-Württemberg. Paebbl said that the concrete’s embodied CO₂ is 200kg/m³, 13% below that of CEM II/B-M cement-based concrete. It conforms with C30/37 strength specifications, and works with conventional construction methods, without affecting construction timelines.
Paebbl produces Paebbl Rebond C at its Rotterdam plant in the Netherlands. The developer says that it brought the material from concept to completed pour in under six months.
Paebbl vice president products Ana Luisa Vaz said "This project shows what becomes possible when a material innovator, a building materials provider and a contractor align around a shared ambition. We can decarbonise fast with an aligned value chain."
Holcim’s venture capital arm, Holcim Maqer Ventures, head Bengt Steinbrecher said "This collaboration proves carbon-storing materials can be integrated seamlessly into our building solutions."
Portugal: Cimpor’s ready-mix concrete subsidiary Betão Liz says that it has added Portugal's first fully electric concrete mixer truck to its fleet. The truck will serve the Lisbon market.
Chief commercial officer Ignacio Gómez said "Cimpor is pioneering the adoption of a technological solution that, we are confident, will soon become the standard in the sector."
