Nigeria: Lafarge Africa has launched its new Freedom Plant ready-mix concrete plant in Lekki, Lagos State. The plant is equipped with a fully-automated batching system that can be operated via secure internet access.
Head of Aggregates and Ready-Mix Concrete Derek Williamson said “This development complements our business extension strategy across the country.”
UK: Heidelberg Materials UK has launched a ready-mix concrete plant at its Abergele site in Conwy, Wales. Its products will include reduced-CO₂ concrete and special mixes. Two concrete mixer trucks based at the plant will supply customers in the residential segment, as well as major construction projects, within a 30km radius.
Area General Manager Concrete Barry O'Hanlon said "Our new Abergele concrete plant is well placed to support a wide range of customers in the region."
The Abergele site also includes aggregates quarries and road and maritime distribution facilities.
Chile: A team at Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago has successfully incorporated precast concrete block waste (PCBW) as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in cement production. In a paper published in the Journal of Building Engineering, the team reported that they achieved a 10% substitution rate without meaningful loss of compressive strength in the resulting cement. It noted that PCBW content impacts cement’s compressive strength through a short-term filler effect and a long-term pozzolanic effect.
Chilean precast concrete plants reject 3 – 5% of their product annually. National output is increasing as a result technological developments in production.
US: Roseville Crushed has secured rezoning permission for a planned expansion to its concrete crushing and recycling plant in Roseville, Michigan. Local press has reported that Roseville Crushed plans to demolish existing structures to create space for an entirely new 1060m3 building. As a result, the company will increase its total employees from 10 to approximately 16.
