Switzerland/UK: Holcim has invested in in-truck concrete quality sensors developer Cloud Cycle, and will now proceed to deploy the company’s concrete quality monitoring technology across its ready-mix concrete operations. Alliance News has reported that the technology provides real-time quality management throughout transit.
Holcim Head of Operational Excellence Ram Muthu said that the sensors will complement its existing AI-based software, including its Q-Predict prediction tool.
Lithuania: UK-based SigmaRoc has entered into an agreement to acquire Dolomitas, a producer of dolomite for use in concrete production, among other industries. Under the deal, SigmaRoc will pay €110m, including €90m in cash, €20m in SigmaRoc shares and €8m in cash for non-core assets. AK&M News has reported that Dolomitas will join SigmaRoc as a new business unit. The acquisition advances SigmaRoc's upstream growth strategy and increased focus on Baltic countries. The parties expect the transaction to complete before the end of 2026.
US: Amrize and Concrete Strategies have reported successful field trials of industrial floor pours using concrete produced with CEM-II Portland-limestone cement (PLC). The trials produced floors suitable for use in data centres, distribution centres and warehouses. Findings showed that PLC-based concrete performed comparably for abrasion resistance to concrete produced using CEM-I cements.
Europe: The Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS) has called on EU lawmakers to mandate sustainability criteria for public procurement under the proposed Public Procurement Act. In a joint statement with fellow Buy Better to Build Better (BBBB) members, ECOS praised the bill’s recognition of quality alongside costs as a decision-making factor in public procurement. However, ECOS criticised the failure of the bill in its present form to establish sustainability ‘by default,’ and to address the construction sector, which accounts for the largest share of public contracts.
BBBB co-coordinator Tudor Cherhat said "The construction sector gets almost a third of its business from public projects. Mandatory environmental measures could almost halve construction-related emissions, while giving businesses and procurers the right tools to act.”
