US: The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has ordered Crown Hill Materials to cease operations at a ready-mix concrete batching plant in Vallejo, California, after it allegedly operated it without an air quality permit. The plant is the larger of two ready-mix concrete plants at a site in the city, the other of which is reportedly exempt.
US: Silvi Materials has entered an agreement to acquire North Carolina-based ready-mix concrete producer Eagle Rock Concrete. CityBiz News has reported that the deal is scheduled to close in September 2025. This acquisition marks Silvi Materials' entry into the South East US construction market, via nine ready-mix plants in Durham and Raleigh.
France: Belgium-based formwork company Construx Group has acquired moulds and carousel systems producer CBE Group. Tunnelling Journal News has reported that CBE Group comprises CBE and heavy loads handling specialist Acimex, both of which operate in both France and China. CBE Group’s consolidated turnover was €28m in 2024.
UK: The Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) has poured 15m³ of 49% reduced-CO₂ graphene-enhanced concrete at a Northumbrian Water wastewater treatment facility. The concrete, called Combining Micronised Limestone and Graphene (GEIC), features a ternary cement blend containing ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and micronised limestone. The graphene-enhanced product achieved a 28-day compressive strength of 78.3N/mm², close to that of concrete produced using CEM-I cement. Eureka Magazine News has reported that the GEIC developed the formula at Cemex UK’s National Technical Centre in Long Itchington, Warwickshire. Cemex UK previously supplied its i-Con maturity monitoring system for a demonstration pour of GEIC concrete. Sika UK and construction firm Galliford Try also participated in the latest project.
