US: Ideal Ready Mix has announced the completion of construction of a new warehouse at its Ottumwa plant in Iowa. The facility will serve the plant’s growing concrete supply and construction services operations in South East Iowa. Fox 5 News has reported that construction firm The Rasmussen Group carried out the project.
US: Oak Ridge National Laboratory has launched new composite forms for 3D-printed polymer concrete for Kairos Power’s Hermes low-power demonstration reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The forms reduce construction times ‘from weeks to days’ and reduce costs, according to the developer. Also partnering on the project were Additive Engineering Solutions, tooling materials producer Airtech, Barnard Construction, 3D printers supplier Haddy, coatings producer TruDesign and the University of Maine.
The Hermes reactor is part of the US Department of Energy’s SM2ART Moonshot Project to install nuclear power plants with scalable technologies on the US grid.
UK: Domestic ready-mix concrete sales dropped by 12% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of the 2026 financial year, the Mineral Products Association (MPA) has reported. The figure represents a 20-year drop of 50% since the first quarter of the 2006 financial year, and is the lowest level in any quarter since 1963. Sales of mortar and sand are also at a ‘historical low.’ Meanwhile, production of cement is reportedly at its lowest on record, amid high electricity prices, leading to increased imports.
The independent Office of Budget Responsibility estimated in March 2025 that the UK would add 1.3m new homes by 2030. Authorities issued 201,000 energy performance certificates for new homes in the 12 months up to the end of July 2025, down by 8% year-on-year. The government plans to introduce mandatory homebuilding targets for local authorities.
MPA Director of Economic Affairs Aurelie Delannoy said "Activity on the ground remains subdued, a result of housing demand held back by affordability pressures and mounting supply-side challenges, from rising costs and regulatory uncertainty to delivery backlogs linked to the Building Safety Regulations.” Delannoy noted a ‘worsening macroeconomic outlook,’ with a ‘chronic lack of new infrastructure projects,’ including scrapped road projects and a planned ‘reset’ to the HS2 rail project.
South East Europe: Spain-based Molins and Greece-based Titan have jointly acquired 80% of shares in Bosnia & Herzegovina-based precast concrete and steel structures producer Baupartner. The company employs 280 people across its operations in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia, and has delivered 110 projects to date. It will continue to operate as a joint venture (JV) of Molins and Titan, with its Eldin Hadžibegović-led founders retaining a minor stake. The move marks Molins’ entry into the South East Europe market and Titan’s into the precast concrete industry.
