News Cement industry has “25-year surplus” Ali Emir Adiguzel, the director of the World Cement Association (WCA), has said there is “enough cement for the next 25 years”, website World Cement reports. Speaking in Dubai at…
News European Commission raids construction chemical companies over cartel fears The European Commission said on Tuesday it was carrying out unannounced antitrust inspections in the construction chemicals sector of several member states. It said there were concerns that companies may…
News Chinese machinery group to ‘generate $5bn investment’ in Mexico Chinese construction machinery group Lingong Machinery (LGMG) plans to build an industrial hub in the northeast Mexican state of Nuevo León that it says will generate $5bn in investment. Mexico…
Trends Getting to grips with unsafe cladding in New South Wales The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) is attracting international attention for its approach to replacing flammable cladding on multi-unit residential buildings. Launched in March 2021 after the state…
News 2km of plastic kerbs installed in Longford, Ireland Clandillon Civil Consulting and precast specialist Killeshal have installed around 2km of Dura Products’ recycled kerb-and-drain system on the N63-Majors Well Road in Longford, Ireland. Made from 70% recycled plastic…
News World’s largest medical complex to have low-carbon concrete extension Mexican cement company Cemex is to provide 20,000 cubic yards of low-carbon concrete for an extension to Houston Methodist’s Centennial Tower, the world’s largest medical complex. Structural work on the…
News Mass Timber Studio scheme aims to give NYC designers a love of wood A New York funding body has launched a project to encourage construction professionals in the city to make greater use of mass timber in their buildings. The New York City…
News Carbon-negative concrete maker Partanna inks deal with Diriyah giga project US carbon-negative concrete maker Partanna says it will set up a factory in Saudi Arabia after signing a collaboration agreement with the developer of the $63.2bn Diriyah tourism giga project.…
News Malta breaks rocks underwater to clean the air above Industrial equipment maker Atlas Copco has shared pictures of its underwater pneumatic drill being used to break up rocks under Malta’s Grand Harbour. The plan is to lay 800m-long cables…
News California to limit carbon emissions in commercial and educational buildings The state of California will issue new rules limiting the embodied carbon allowed in commercial buildings larger than 100,000-sq-ft in area and school projects over 50,000-sq-ft. Embodied carbon means the…
News MIT team discovers simple way of using concrete to store energy Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have discovered that adding water and carbon black (soot from partial burning of hydrocarbons) to cement turns concrete into an energy storing…
News Mammoet electrifies its heavy-lift transporters Dutch heavy-lift specialist Mammoet has launched the world’s first electric heavy-lift vehicle for moving bridges, wind turbines, and big power station components. It developed a retrofit kit to electrify its…
News Kingspan to acquire majority stake in German rival Steico for €251m Irish building materials company Kingspan has acquired a 51% stake in German insulation company Steico for €251m. The shares were bought from Schramek, Steico’s Austrian parent. Steico runs four production…
News Hungary referred to court over building material fixed price rules The European Commission has decided to refer Hungary to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for setting fixed prices for building materials such as sand, gravel, and cement. It objects…
News Besix to recycle materials in major Brussels office refurb Besix Belgium-Luxembourg has won a contract to comprehensively renovate “The Hive”, a 60,147-sq-m office building in central Brussels owned by BNP Paribas Fortis. The client wants to bring more daylight…
News Spain’s new royal museum needed special tool for awkward granite cladding A museum is about to open in Madrid housing 160,000 precious items owned by the Spanish royal family. It will exhibit around 650 of them, including paintings by Goya, Velázquez,…
Companies Saint-Gobain expands in North America with €925m Canadian acquisition French materials company Saint-Gobain is to acquire Building Products of Canada, which specialises in roof shingles and wood-fibre insulation panels, for €925m. The move comes a year after it purchased…
News New York trials porous concrete on Rockaway transport corridor A recently completed $17m traffic corridor in Rockaway, Queens, has used porous concrete on the pavement to improve drainage. The Beach 108th Street project was designed to accommodate increased pedestrian…