Global Concrete News

India: Ready-mix concrete producers suspended operations at 17 different batching plants in Mira-Bhayander and neighbouring Vasai, Maharashtra, during the second half of 2024. The closures resulted from closure notices from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board. The Times of India newspaper has reported that all plants subsequently complied with pollution restrictions and have since reopened.

US: Taiheiyo Cement USA has acquired California-based building materials producer Grimes Rock’s ready-mixed concrete and aggregates assets. Reuters has reported that the acquisition also includes some ‘affiliated’ assets.

US: Concrete and aggregates company Poeppelman Materials & Pepcon has acquired precast concrete producer Coate Concrete Products, local press has reported. Coate Concrete Products is based in West Milton, Ohio. Poeppelman Materials & Pepcon currently supplies its products to markets in Ohio and Indiana.

India: A study at the DPG Institute of Technology and Management in Gurugram has investigated the effects of blending different concentrations of silica fumes to ground granulated blast furnace slag-based (GGBFS) geopolymer concrete. Findings reported in the Nature concluded that the addition of 10% silica fumes ‘significantly’ enhanced the durability and strength of the resulting concrete.

US: Eagle Materials has entered into an agreement to acquire aggregates producer Bullskin Stone & Lime for US$153m. Bullskin Stone & Lime serves the Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania market. Eagle Materials expects to close the deal in the first quarter of 2025.

Eagle Materials president and CEO Michael Haack said the deal "complements and extends our network of aggregates quarries and cement plants and terminals in the region."