Displaying items by tag: precast

Australia: A court has fined Novus Precast US$19,500 for failures leading to two incidents in 2022 and 2023 during which workers at its Toowoomba precast concrete plant were hit on the head with a chain and suffered a crushed finger. Local press has reported that Novus Precast neglected to ensure that operations conformed to its safe work method statement.

World: Data company Research and Markets has forecast that the global precast concrete market will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6% up to 2030, from US$24bn to US$35bn. It previously grew by 6% year-on-year from US$22.6bn in 2023.

Canada: CarbiCrete has obtained the first Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for its cement-free concrete masonry units (CMUs). The products have specific CO₂ emissions of 11.7kg/m³ for the CMUs, 94% below the industry norm of 200kg/m³. FinancialWire News has reported that CarbiCrete’s recipe for the CMUs replaces cement with steel by-products, while also sequestering CO₂.

Concrete products company Canal Block is set to commence production of CarbiCrete CMUs at its Port Colborne plant in Ontario in early 2025.

Algeria: China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) and Cosider Travaux Publics have commissioned a new concrete railway sleeper plant in Tindouf. The Global Times newspaper has reported that the plant will supply the upcoming 575km-long Western Algeria Railway Mining Line project. The railway will conform to local European-based standards, while incorporating Chinese heavy-haul systems and materials.

General manager Xu Huaxiang said "This sleeper factory is the first standardised concrete sleeper plant built by a Chinese company in the Sahara."

Belarus: Alfa has raised US$152m for its construction of a new building materials production facility in Minsk. The upcoming facility will include a ready-mixed concrete plant and a reinforced concrete structures plant. AK&M News has reported that commissioning is scheduled for 2025.

US: Construction and design products company Outdoor Living Supply has acquired Mid-Atlantic Concrete Products (MACP) and South-Atlantic Concrete Products (SACP). MarketLine News has reported that MACP president Ken Armistead will move to an ambassadorial role, while SACP president Rich Kearney will join Outdoor Living Supply in the newly-created position of vice president, commercial and wholesale.

SACP president Rich Kearney said "Outdoor Living Supply provides us with expanded resources and a powerful growth platform, helping us take our commercial sales, talented team, loyal customers and suppliers to new levels."

Outdoor Living Supply CEO Brian Price said "We are thrilled to have the teams at MACP and SACP join Outdoor Living Supply. These partnerships enhance our existing store network in North Carolina and Georgia and give us a significant foothold in the commercial hardscape market."

US: Premier Concrete Products is expanding its Livingston Parish concrete plant in Louisiana with the construction of a new concrete pipes production unit. The company plans to invest US$10m in the line. It will employ 33 workers when operational later in 2024. It will be equipped with an automated concrete batching system, ‘high-level’ curing equipment and overhead cranes.

President Cody Colvin said “We are excited about the partnership we have with the Livingston Parish community.” He added, “This expansion will add jobs and will serve to satisfy a shortage of precast concrete infrastructure that currently exists in Louisiana and the Southern US. We are very excited to work with Livingston Parish President Randy Delatte and the whole Livingston community.”

UK: Shane Clee has acquired Forden Concrete Products, with the help of a €54,000 loan from the Development Bank of Wales. Forden Concrete Products specialises in feed and water troughs, slurry systems and foot baths for the dairy sector. Business Sale Report News has reported that the company is planning to expand its product range with an upcoming line of concrete wall panels for use in garden fencing.

Director Shane Clee said “After 24 years with Forden, this is a great opportunity to take on the business myself and work with our close-knit team to continue doing what we love and know best.”

Development Bank of Wales investment executive James Ryan said “We’re pleased to have been able to help Shane to become the new owner of Forden, particularly as it is a well-established business that employs local people. We wish the team every success.”

US: Princeton University researchers Shashank Gupta and Reza Moini have developed an extra-strength hollow concrete based on the tubular structure of the femur bone. The concrete offers 5.6 times greater strength than conventional concrete by isolating cracks. BGR News has reported that the developments are applicable to commercial concrete production through 3D printing or precast concrete casting.

France: Circular aggregates producer Néolithe has partnered with Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies and Groupe GCC to produce a fuel loading slab for a temporary bus depot in Marseille. The slab will be made of Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies’ H-UKR clinker-free cement and Néolithe’s mixed circular materials-based Anthropocite aggregates. The resulting slab will serve as a test for the use of H-UKR concrete in future Groupe GCC projects.

The partners say that a mix of H-UKR cement with 20% Anthropocite reduces CO₂ emissions by 63% compared to CEM II/A cement-based concrete produced using conventional aggregates, to 62kg CO₂eq/m³.

Groupe GCC executive vice-president Patrick Dubourg said "This project perfectly illustrates one of GCC's key priorities: implementing sustainable solutions. The work we've been doing for several years with Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies enables us to take tangible action in this direction, and the partnership with Néolithe enables us to take a further step in the direction of decarbonisation, an essential issue for construction.”

Laurence Hemerit, infrastructure director at customer Marseille Metropolitan Transport Authority (RTM), said "RTM found GCC's proposal very interesting in that it enabled us to carry out a large-scale, long-term comparative test to assess the qualities of low-carbon concrete. Our temporary bus storage site was therefore the ideal candidate for this experiment."