Switzerland-based Holcim Ltd. announced a management shake-up as new Chief Executive Officer Bernard Fontana said the Swiss cement maker may need to further streamline its business in Europe to stem falling demand. Holcim will introduce a “leaner and more efficient” structure, including a new head of Europe, as of September 1. The cement maker also cut its outlook for the…
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Nonresidential construction index drops to 2010 levels
Raleigh, N.C.-based FMI, the largest provider of management consulting and investment banking to the engineering and construction industry, announces the release of its “Third Quarter Nonresidential Construction Index Report.” Plunging 5 points, the index is back to Q2-2010 levels.
Read MoreEssroc celebrates railroad spur improvement with ribbon cutting
Officials in Berkeley County recently celebrated the completion of a $10 million railroad spur project that is expected to help Essroc Italcementi Group’s Martinsburg, W.Va., plant ship thousands of tons of product each year via rail instead of area highways. About 100 people attended the official dedication and ribbon cutting for the 1.2-mile rail spur, which connects the plant to…
Read MoreCemex subsidiary to put minority stake in Latin American assets on Colombian stock exchange
Cemex Latam Holdings, S.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cemex España, S.A., presented to the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia an application to list its shares on the Colombian stock exchange and to offer a minority of Cemex Latam’s shares in a public offering to investors in Colombia and, in a concurrent private placement, to eligible investors outside of Colombia. Cemex…
Read MoreCemex’s Craddock receives PCA leadership award
The Portland Cement Association recognized Cemex Executive Vice President Frank Craddock as the winner of the 2012 John P. Gleason, Jr., Leadership Award. Presented at association’s recent annual fall committee meeting in Chicago, the award honors employees of member companies who have exhibited industry leadership by taking the PCA in new directions. Awards are presented in two categories of key…
Read MorePCA Second-quarter cement consumption survey shows gains
North American portland cement consumption increased 11.6 percent in the second quarter of 2012 against the same quarter in 2011. Both the U.S. and Canada recorded double-digit gains of 11.8 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively, according to Portland Cement Association’s Survey of Portland Cement by User Group report.
Read MoreCompliance deadline reset to increase technology availability, preserve jobs, says PCA
A recently proposed standard for particulate matter for the cement industry will allow plants to develop new control and compliance strategies to address this and other emissions while preserving vital manufacturing jobs, according to statements Portland Cement Association issued recently at a public hearing in Arlington, Texas.
Read MoreHolcim honored as South Carolina manufacturer of the year
The Holcim (US) Inc. cement plant in Holly Hill, S.C., has been named the medium-sized manufacturer of the year by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. “Holcim believes that active involvement in the communities in which it operates is essential to the success of its business,” the chamber said in an announcement about the honor.
Read MoreAsh Grove contributes to flood-ravaged Iowa highway reconstruction
After large-scale floods destroyed vital Iowa infrastructure in 2011, Ash Grove Cement Co.’s Louisville, Neb., plant stepped up production to meet the demand of several large-scale reconstruction projects. The company supplied cement for the reconstruction of Interstate 680 and the Keg Creek Bridge replacement on US Highway 6, east of Council Bluffs, Iowa. Both projects won recognition in the America’s…
Read More$446M Lafarge NA asset deal yields Eagle Materials Great Plains platform
Source: Eagle Materials Inc., Dallas; Lafarge Group, Paris; Staff reports Eagle Materials announced recently that the company has entered into a definitive agreement with Lafarge North America to purchase for $446 million Lafarge’s Sugar Creek, Mo., and Tulsa, Okla., cement operations, as well as related assets, which include six distribution terminals, two aggregates quarries, eight ready-mixed plants and a fly…
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