UK: Heidelberg Materials has acquired the outstanding Smiths Concrete shares from the Smiths family. Smiths Concrete operates seven concrete plants, two quarries and an inert landfill site across Warwickshire and Oxfordshire in the centre of England. It has owned a minority stake in the Banbury-headquartered joint venture since its inception in 1957.

Going forward, Smiths Concrete will continue to operate as a stand-alone entity and there are no plans currently to change its branding or day-to-day operations. Similarly, it will continue to seek approval for its proposed new sand and gravel quarry at Wasperton Farm in Warwickshire, England.

Germany/North America: INFORM has announced new collaborations with two other software developers for the ready-mix concrete sector. US-based BCMI Corp and Canada-based Marcotte Systems will work with INFORM to develop AI tools for despatching ready-mix concrete.

INFORM senior vice president Thomas Bergmans, who concluded the deals at World of Concrete in the US, said “In addition to offering our proven AI-powered transport planning and execution software, we are very excited to see that these collaborations will further speed up the wide-spread use of our AI algorithms beyond our traditional markets.” Bergmans said that the collaboration with BCMI Corp will provide ready-mix producers with ‘enhanced decision-making tools, real-time logistics optimisation and intelligent automation, ultimately elevating operational performance and customer satisfaction.’ Regarding the collaboration with Marcotte, he said “By combining Marcotte's robust experience in concrete production management with INFORM’s AI capabilities, this ready-to-use solution will empower ready-mix producers.”

Sweden: Heidelberg Materials Northern Europe has announced its deployment of a 100% electric concrete mixer truck. The producer said that it bought the truck from Volvo.

Heidelberg Materials Northern Europe head of environmental, social and governance (ESG) & public affairs and vice president for Sweden Karin Comstedt Webb said “This partnership is a beacon for industry-wide decarbonisation, bringing us closer to our climate goals in Northern Europe. With a full-load capacity of ready-mixed concrete, our environmentally friendly truck not only heralds a new era in construction transport efficiency, but also confirms our leading position in the European building materials sector.”

Germany/US: Concrete production equipment supplier TopWerk Group has formally endorsed Partanna Global's carbon-negative binder as a replacement for cement in the production of concrete using its equipment. Partanna plans to install TopWerk equipment at its four upcoming production plants, under an exclusive three-year agreement. The endorsement is intended to help shift TopWerk's global customers from using cement to using Partanna Global’s binder.

Partanna Global CEO Rick Fox said “TopWerk's endorsement of Partanna represents a major vote of confidence in our technology from one of the most respected names in global construction. We’re humbled and proud that one of the world’s leading concrete machinery producers has given us their backing. We hope this signals to the industry that Portland cement is no longer the only solution in town, and that the days of burning rocks are fast coming to an end.”

TopWerk CEO Robert Gruss said "We believe our exclusive partner Partanna has come up with a truly impressive solution that can contribute to putting this polluting practice to an end. The company’s carbon negative binder is one of the most exciting innovations we have witnessed in our industry for decades. It is the most advanced alternative binder solution in the market and the only credibly carbon negative solution that has the potential to scale globally. Over the last two years, we have rigorously tested their formula and have validated its application as a direct replacement solution for Portland cement. In many ways, their binder actually performs better than the legacy solution.”

The endorsement follows Saudi Arabia-based property developer ROSHN's announcement of an upcoming carbon-negative concrete plant that will use Partanna Global's technology earlier in January 2024.