New Zealand: Fletcher Building subsidiary Firth Industries has launched a new 200m³/hr ready-mix concrete batching plant in Penrose, Auckland. The plant is equipped with two drive-through production lanes, storage capacity for supplementary cementitious materials and recycled concrete aggregates, automated concrete reclaiming and 100% wastewater recycling. It will produce Firth EcoMix reduced-CO₂ concrete, ramping up production to full capacity from 2 February 2025.

General manager Cameron Lee said that the plant "Will enable us to efficiently serve the needs of major construction and infrastructure projects in Auckland. We're seeing a big demand for concrete as the economy recovers. We're now well-placed to fill that demand."

US: Furno Materials has signed an agreement with ready-mix concrete producer Maschmeyer Concrete for the use of its compact modular cement kiln technology. Maschmeyer Concrete plans to operate the kilns using its 90,000t/yr of ‘waste’ concrete as a feedstock. The company will build an initial 50,000t/yr-capacity mini cement plant in Florida. The partners are currently conducting site analysis and a feasibility study for the project.

This latest deal brings Furno Materials’ total commitments to 295,000t/yr across announced and unannounced projects. The sale remains contingent on the successful deployment of its first commercial-scale reactor with concrete producer Ozinga in Chicago, Illinois.

UAE: Investment company Nael & Bin Harmal Group has launched a new precast concrete plant in Abu Dhabi. The plant will serve Abu Dhabi Housing Authority and Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre's on-going US$28.9bn, 40,000-unit housing initiative across Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra. Gulf News has reported that Nael & Bin Harmal Group's concrete capacity is now 450,000m³/yr of precast concrete components.

General Manager Joseph Varghese said "The launch of this facility marks a major advance not only for our company but for the UAE's broader vision for sustainable, high-quality housing."

US: Construction Owners News has reported that Knife River Corporation has acquired Texcrete Operations and TexAgg’s operations in Bryan and College Station, Texas. The assets consist of six ready-mix concrete plants, served by 85 mixer trucks, and a sand and gravel site with 20 years’ reserves. Following the deal, 100 new employees have joined Knife River Corporation's Texas team.

Knife River Corporation president and CEO Brian Gray said "This acquisition fits our strategy of focusing on materials-based, vertically integrated operations in mid-size, high-growth markets. We expect the ready-mix plants will pull through aggregates from our existing Knife River operations, in addition to leveraging Texcrete's own supply. We're excited about the growth potential in Texas, and we further expect the addition of Texcrete will help balance the seasonality in our Northern US markets."