Displaying items by tag: Holcim
French police arrest 17 suspects in connection with attack on Lafarge France’s Val-de-Reuil concrete plant
10 April 2024France: Police have detained 17 suspected vandals in connection with the 10 December 2023 invasion of Lafarge France’s Val-de-Reuil concrete plant in Normandy. The attack resulted in €450,000-worth of damage. The L'Echo Républicain newspaper has reported that invaders attacked equipment with expanding foam, poured concrete into water outlets, broke windows and damaged cement bags. Spray-paint graffiti left at the site reads ‘Tomorrow will be without concrete or will not be,’ ‘Lafarge terrorist’ and ‘Concrete kills,’ and also compares concrete suppliers to drug dealers. Further tags include the logo of Soulèvements de la Terre (‘Earth Uprisings’), a nation-wide climate protest organisation. The arrest of suspects on 9 April 2024 led to a 200 people-strong protest for their release.
Soulèvements de la Terre had warned of planned actions affecting Lafarge France sites on 9 - 12 December 2023. It named the Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou concrete plant in Pays de la Loire, over 200km away from the Val-de-Reuil concrete plant, as a site for a ‘gathering.’
In response to the warning, Lafarge France said on 8 December 2023 “The people who intend to respond to this call for mobilisation against our sites have the wrong target. Of all industrial sectors, ours is moving the fastest and strongest in favour of the climate. Moreover, we are useful to society. The country's needs for housing, public facilities and infrastructure are immense, and concrete represents the best solution to meet them.”
Mexico: Holcim México has acquired the San Juan del Río and Balvanera ready-mix concrete plants in Queretaro from Grupo Comosa. The purchases raise the company’s ready-mix concrete production capacity by 120m³/hr and bring its total number of ready-mix concrete plants in Mexico to 72. As a result, Holcim México's production capacity in Queretaro will double to 432,000m³/yr. Grupo Comosa was the first ready-mix concrete producer in Mexico to obtain environmental product certification for its products, which Holcim México says aligns with its own focus on sustainability.
Director of concrete and aggregates Manuel Sirtori said "This expansion not only strengthens our production network, but also underlines our on-going commitment to sustainable construction and innovation."
Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection approves Lafarge Polska’s acquisition of some Eurobud Chajewscy assets
05 February 2024Poland: The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKK) has conditionally approved Lafarge Polska's acquisition of certain assets of Eurobud Chajewscy. A condition for the approval is that Lafarge Polska sell the Piła concrete plant in Greater Poland. Baltic Legal Updates News has reported that this would enable Lafarge Polska to retain a single concrete plant in the city.
The UOKK said "Concentration in the proposed form would mean the lack of free choice of supplier and the risk of price increases for concrete buyers in Piła. The sale of one of the concrete plants in Piła will allow entrepreneurs to maintain fair competition on the local concrete supply market."
Holcim acquires majority stake in Arterpref
12 January 2024Spain: Switzerland-based Holcim has acquired a majority stake in precast concrete systems producer Arterpref. Holcim says that Artepref’s smart design systems combined with its own range of low-carbon and circular solutions will help Spain’s fast-growing construction sector to build better with less.
Holcim’s Europe regional head Miljan Gutovic said “Fully in line with our strategy, this expands our range of innovative and sustainable solutions in high-growth markets.”
Aggregate Industries acquires Eco-Readymix
11 January 2024UK: Holcim subsidiary Aggregate Industries has acquired mortars producer Eco-Readymix. Aggregate Industries that the acquisition will reinforce its position in the north west of England, and help to establish its place in the mortars market.
Aggregate Industries CEO Dragan Maksimovic said “This also marks our entry into the UK mortars market with a knowledgeable and ambitious management that has multiple synergies with our own. The acquisition supports our long-term strategy to continue to grow our business in order to become the UK’s leading supplier of sustainable construction materials and solutions.”
Holcim Argentina launches Tector additives
10 January 2024Argentina: Holcim Argentina has launched a new line of liquid additives under the brand Tector. The line encompasses two products: Tector Hydrophobic 1230 reduces permeability in cementitious mortars, improving workability and corrosion resistance, while Tector Latex 1700 enhances adhesion, flexibility and plasticity in various applications, reducing surface cracking and flaking.
CarbiCrete secures steel slag supply from Lafarge Canada
15 December 2023Canada: Carbon-negative concrete producer CarbiCrete has signed a deal with Holcim subsidiary Lafarge Canada. Under the deal, Lafarge Canada will process steel slag at its St. Constant cement plant in Québec for use as an ingredient in CarbiCrete’s CO2-cured cement-free concrete.
CarbiCrete partner Patio Drummond produces carbon-negative concrete blocks using CarbiCrete’s technology at its Drummondville concrete block plant in Québec. The company is on a drive to double the production of CarbiCrete blocks. It first partnered with CarbiCrete during trial production of its material in 2018.
Lafarge Canada vice-president of cement Andrew Stewart said “We are committed to reducing our environmental footprint and leading the way in sustainable construction. Our partnership with CarbiCrete is a testament to our dedication to offering sustainable solutions and actively participating in the circular economy.”
CarbiCrete CEO Chris Stern said “Collaborating with Lafarge allows us to leverage long-established infrastructure and years of expertise in processing steel-related by-products. This enables us to make an immediate climate impact as we scale the deployment of our technology which reduces embodied carbon in concrete by both avoiding emissions and removing carbon through mineralisation.” Regarding the on-going scale-up of production at Patio Drummond’s Drummondville plant, Stern said “Increased production of our carbon-negative blocks brings us closer to our common goal of decarbonising production of the world’s most consumed man-made substance.”
Earth Uprising targets Lafarge France sites
08 December 2023France: Climate protest group Earth Uprising says that it will target sites belonging to Holcim subsidiary Lafarge France for demonstrations as part of planned actions between 9 and 12 December 2023. Ouest France News has reported that the demonstrations will include a ‘festive but determined’ gathering at Lafarge France’s Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou concrete plant in Maine-et-Loire on 10 December 2023.
Lafarge France said “The people who intend to respond to this call for mobilisation against our sites have the wrong target. Of all industrial sectors, ours is moving the fastest and strongest in favour of the climate.” It added “Moreover, we are useful to society. The country's needs for housing, public facilities and infrastructure are immense, and concrete represents the best solution to meet them.”
Holcim Romania expands Abjud autoclaved aerated concrete block plant
16 November 2023Romania: Holcim Romania invested Euro15m in an upgrade to its Abjud autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) block plant in Vrancea, using equipment supplied by AAC specialist Aircrete Europe. The producer says that the project raised the production capacity of the plant by 45%.
Holcim Romania CEO Bogdan Dobre said "The investment involved the automation of processes in order to harmonise operations with Holcim standards, but also to bring our customers the best performing products. With the investment, the previous production line, almost 50 years old, was completely replaced.” He continued “We have rethought the entire industrial process, making it more efficient and increasing the degree of safety at work.”
Mexico: Holcim Mexico says that its supply of cement to the government’s Tren Maya railway project is 170,000t/month. This corresponds to 50 – 60% of its total production volumes. Local press has reported that construction of the 1500km-long Tren Maya railway will consume 1Mm3 of concrete. Holcim supplied its cement for Sections 1 – 3 of the line between 2020 and 2022. It is currently supplying Section 5, which is 50% complete. The cement comes from the company’s Orizaba, Veracruz, plant; its Macuspana, Tabasco, plant and its Mérida, Yucatán, plant.
Holcim Mexico’s infrastructure development manager Fernando Roldan said "Our participation has been a challenge, but the relationship we have with the suppliers and with the construction companies in charge of the railway has allowed us to meet the requirements."