Displaying items by tag: admixtures
Saint-Gobain to acquire Fosroc
28 June 2024UAE: France-based Saint-Gobain has entered a definitive agreement to acquire construction chemicals producer Fosroc for US$1.03bn. Fosroc produces concrete admixtures, sealants and waterproofing products. It operates 20 plants and employs 3000 people, with a strong presence in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. Completion of the deal is expected by 30 June 2025.
Saint-Gobain chair and CEO Benoit Bazin said "The acquisition of Fosroc is perfectly aligned with our Grow & Impact strategic plan: it is a unique opportunity for Saint-Gobain to further reinforce its worldwide presence in construction chemicals, and to strengthen its presence in high-growth emerging markets, in particular in India and the Middle East. I am very impressed with Fosroc's leadership, its strategy and its impressive development, as well as the team's track record of excellent execution and profitable growth. The combination of the two groups will allow us to expand our profitable growth platform in construction chemicals. I am looking forward to warmly welcoming the Fosroc teams into the group and I am very confident about the combination of our joint forces."
Fosroc CEO Rob Bonnici said "The opportunity to join Saint-Gobain, worldwide leader in light and sustainable construction and a global player in construction chemicals is the perfect next step to enhance our offer by leveraging Saint-Gobain's innovation and technology in construction chemicals. I look forward to continuing our growth journey within Saint-Gobain."
Europe: Cemex has enhanced safety across its European Admixtures facilities during 2023 with the implementation of new assistance systems supplied by Linde Material Handling. The systems include a reverse assist camera for forklifts. The group installed the technology at its Salzkotten admixtures plant in Germany and its Rugby admixtures plant in the UK. It will now implement the upgrade at its Alicante admixtures plant in Spain, as well other sites across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) during 2024.
Cemex European regional director of admixtures Dietmar Voetsch said “At Cemex, we are always looking for new processes and innovations to ensure safety in our workplaces. Linde’s safety guard system and reverse assist camera are ideal solutions for occupational safety in our Admixtures plants; we were immediately convinced by the technology and the feedback we’ve received from employees who have used it has been extremely positive. Once the European rollout is complete, we are excited to adapt the technology further for use in our admixtures plants across the wider EMEA region.”
Linde Material Handling safety product manager Fabian Zimmerman said “We’re proud to have supported Cemex with the implementation of both the safety guard system and the reverse assist camera at their European admixtures plants. By installing these systems, the safety of daily situations like loading and unloading lorries or storage can be increased significantly. We provide these solutions as a retrofit; thus, complete fleets can be equipped with these assistance systems.”
Sika opens Suzhou Technology Centre
15 December 2023China: Switzerland-based Sika has opened its new Suzhou Technology Centre in Jiangsu Province. The centre will help Sika to develop its sustainable and high-performance technologies in order to grow it market potential throughout the Asia/Pacific region. By strategically expanding its research and development activities across all core technologies, Sika aims to further strengthen its global innovation leadership.
Chief innovation and sustainability officer Patricia Heidtman said "With our new technology centre, we are strengthening our innovation capabilities in the Asia/Pacific region and are fostering synergies in sustainable construction and environmentally friendly mobility. We have created the ideal framework for close collaboration between our research teams. It will thus enable us to develop forward-looking technologies for our customers that combine sustainability with performance."
Oscrete acquires increased stake in Adcrete
06 December 2023Ireland/UK: UK-based construction chemicals company Oscrete has raised its stake in its Northern Ireland-based distributor, Adcrete, to 90%. The group says that this will enlarge its customer base across Ireland in line with its 2024 strategic growth plan.
Director Scott Wilson said “The strengthened Oscrete business model and presence in Ireland will ensure the team has the infrastructure and the expertise to become the leading supplier of concrete admixtures and additives in the country.” He added “Our growth and turnover in Ireland has increased by 200% in the last four years and this growth serves to support the wider business operations.”
Cemex UK launches Vertua reduced-CO2 mortars
01 August 2023UK: Cemex UK says that it has achieved a 30% reduction in the CO2 emissions of its mortars range, enabling it to bear the company's Vertua sustainability label. The producer said that it has incorporated its Vertua CEM II A-L Portland limestone cement (PLC), alongside new admixture technology, in its mortar mixes. It added that it has upgraded drying processes in its mortar production, increasing energy efficiency.
Cemex's Europe regional mortars production manager Andy Bright said “By utilising designed mortar formations, we have been able to make a considerable carbon reduction to the products in our mortars range. These products are prized by our customers because of their strong performance and strength, flexibility of supply and wide range of colours and we are confident they will appreciate the opportunity to choose a more sustainable product too.”
Master Builders Solutions to supply 11,000t of concrete admixtures for Fehmarnbelt Tunnel project
03 July 2023Denmark/Germany: US-based Master Builders Solutions has won a contract to supply admixtures for use in the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel project. The project will build a 17.6km immersed tunnel between the islands of Fehmarn in Germany and Lolland in Denmark. It will directly connect Germany via a double-track railway and four-lane motorway to eastern Denmark and the Scandinavian Peninsula beyond. This will reduce rail travel time between Hamburg in Germany and Copenhagen in Denmark by 35% to 3 hours 15 minutes. The tunnel will consist of 79 standard 217m-long precast elements, and a further ten 85.7m-long service elements. The latter include a subfloor sections in addition to the tunnel's four tubes. Master Builders Solutions says that it will supply 11,000t of admixture to produce a total 3Mm3 of concrete required for the project. The supplier said that its admixtures will help concrete to meet specifications in line with the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel's projected 120-year lifespan. Master Builders Solutions has collaborated with contractor FLC to develop a new MasterEase superplasticiser for use in the project.
Master Builders Solutions Denmark technical manager Jens Qvist said "This has been an incredibly exciting process, requiring very close collaboration with both our own European colleagues and FLC’s Danish and international concrete experts."
Global Cement and Concrete Association announces Innovandi Open Challenge 2023 shortlist
30 June 2023World: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has named the 15 anticipated deliverers of low-CO2 cement and concrete production shortlisted for participation in its second Innovandi Open Challenge. The association chose the start-ups based on their potential to deliver CO2 emissions reduction in the global cement and concrete sector in line with its Concrete Future 2050 Net Zero Roadmap. The applicants are presenting their pitches to GCCA members on 30 June 2023. All those accepted will gain access to members' plants, labs, networks and expertise. The following start-ups made the Innovandi Open Challenge 2023 shortlist:
Arrakis Materials | US | Carbon negative materials for concrete |
Chement | US | Room temperature cement production |
EcoAdmix Global | UK | Nanotechnology ('HDT') for concrete |
EcoLocked | Germany | Biocarbon-based admixtures |
EnviCore | Canada | Low temperature supplementary cementitious material production |
Enzymatic | US | Carbon negative enzymatic concrete corrosion inhibition and recycling |
Louis Structures | US | Municipal solid waste-based lightweight aggregates |
MEP - SeaMix | US | Basalt fibre and graphene-based admixture |
Nano Crete | US | Graphene-enhanced CO2 sequestration |
Nanospan India | India | Graphene-based admixture |
NeoCrete | New Zealand | Nano-activator for natural pozzolans |
Queens Carbon | US | ~500°C cementitious materials production |
The Cool Corporation | UK | Carbon negative carbon nanotube-based additive for concrete |
Ultra High Materials | US | Clinkerless cement |
Versarien Graphene | UK | Graphene-based admixture ('Cementene') |
GCCA cement director and innovation lead Claude Loréa said “We received more than 70 quality applications, so drawing up a shortlist was challenging." Loréa continued "Our essential industry needs something easily scalable and affordable. Those start-ups on the list demonstrated the most potential, and we look forward to hearing more about their ideas. But we’ll also be keeping in touch with other start-ups who didn’t make this year’s shortlist, with future projects in mind.”
Cemex launches bio-based admixtures
13 January 2023World: Cemex has announced the launch of new bio-based admixtures which offer CO2 emissions reductions of up to 70% compared to oil-based admixtures in its Asian, European and Middle Eastern markets. The range includes 10% reduced-CO2 IsoPlast Bio, 20 - 30% reduced-CO2 IsoFlex Bio plasticisers and superplasticisers and 50% reduced-CO2 IsoFlow Bio high-performance superplasticiser technology, as well as CO2-reducing IsoMill Bio grinding aids. The products will subsequently become available in other markets during 2023.
CEO Fernando González said “Innovation is at the core of our efforts to become a carbon neutral company and foster a more circular building materials industry." He added "Innovative admixtures aim to enhance concrete's sustainable attributes for our customers further.”
US: Switzerland-based Sika is starting up production at a new concrete admixtures plant at Stafford in Virginia that opened earlier in 2022. The 3950m2 facility has a production capacity of 50,000t/yr and two mixers with a capacity greater than 27,000l each. The unit is intended to serve markets in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions along with the company’s existing concrete admixtures plant at Fairless Hills in Philadelphia.
Christoph Ganz, Regional Manager Americas said "This investment allows us to significantly expand our production capacity while creating the best possible conditions for continued growth in the North American market. Our concrete admixtures satisfy the construction sector’s most demanding requirements and make it possible to produce higher-performance, resource-saving concrete. Sika admixtures enable the realisation of critical infrastructure projects, are used in state-of-the-art high-rise construction, and help increase sustainability in megacities."