UK: Hope plans bagged cement launch

Despite being on the verge of being taken over, Hope Construction Materials continues to invest in expanding and strengthening a brand with an uncertain future.

Hope Construction Materials is in the process of being acquired by Breedon Aggregates, subject to approval of competition authorities. The deal is expected to complete sometime during 2016. Until then, however, Hope Construction Materials is continuing to operate as if nothing is going to change.

Next up, Hope is planning the launch of a bagged cement product.

The cement will be produced at the Hope Works in Derbyshire, which has been making cement for more than 80 years, and then transported by rail for bagging and distribution from Hope’s new Dagenham plant (below) which is set to open in the second quarter of 2016. It will be available to customers across the southern half of England.

The distinctive packaging features a large ram – a nod to the firm’s Derbyshire roots.

Hope cement had previously been available in bags through a third party supplier, but this launch marks the first time Hope cement will be in the firm’s own packaging.

Hope has spent 18 months developing this product launch, so was not likely to postpone it to see what Breedon’s plans might be for the Hope brand.

Gary Brennand, Hope’s commercial director for cement, said: “For 18 months we have spoken at length to builders and merchants to understand their needs and how we can add value to them. Using this insight we have developed a full package which we believe will redefine the sector and are really excited about sharing it all. Revealing our Hope Professional Grade Cement branding is just the start.”

UK: Breedon to buy Hope Construction for £336m

Aggregates industry veteran Peter Tom is set to lead a major shake up in the industry to create an independent cement, concrete and aggregates producer.

Breedon chairman Tom has struck a deal to pay £336m for Hope Construction Materials, creating a business to rival the major multinational suppliers.

Tom said: “We’re creating a vertically-integrated business with one of the country’s largest cement plants, nearly 60 quarries, more than 200 ready-mixed concrete plants and around 750 million tonnes of mineral reserves and resources – together with access for the first time to the rail-fed sector of the market.

“Together we will be an even stronger business, complementing one another geographically, operationally and culturally.”

Under the deal Amit Bhatia, Hope’s Chairman, will join the Breedon broad and hold a large stake in the business.

Breedon expects to realise £10m in operational improvements after three years.

The firm will pay £202m in cash, supported with a £41m rights issue, and give Hope’s holding company Abicad an 18.4% stake in the enlarged business.

Tom said: “This acquisition is well-timed, with UK construction output forecast to expand by around 15% over the next four years and volumes of all our major products expected to grow strongly.

“We are confident that we will be able to continue delivering significant value for our shareholders in the coming years, with an even stronger platform for growth. We very much look forward to welcoming everyone at Hope to the Breedon family.”

Over the last three years Hope has grown to be a formidable competitor in the UK market. It boasts a national footprint of over 160 operational sites, including the Hope cement works in Derbyshire, five quarries and 152 concrete plants.

In the last 12 months, Hope turned over £286m selling 1.6m tonnes of cement, 4.7m tonnes of aggregates and 2.3m cubic metres of concrete. This generated a pretax and interest profit of £37m.

The deal is conditional upon the approval of the competition and markets authority and is expected to complete before next summer.

UK: New cement producer opens for business

Aggregate Industries has become the UK’s newest cement producer after taking control of major cement plants in Cauldon, Staffordshire and Cookstown, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

Becoming a cement producer and supplier is the final piece in the jigsaw for Aggregate Industries, allowing the firm to offer contractors a full range of heavyside construction materials.

Lafarge was required to offload its Tarmac business in the UK with the exception of two plants, a quarry at Cauldon Low and a cement terminal at Belfast Docks, as a condition of its global merger with Holcim.

The transfer was finalised yesterday and sees 250 staff switch to Aggregate Industries, itself part of new LarfargeHolcim group.

Irish rival CRH will take control of the rest of the Tarmac business.

Pat Ward, CEO, Aggregate Industries, said: “These are exciting times for Aggregate Industries. Along with the wider benefits of being part of the new LafargeHolcim group, the integration of cement production represents a significant strategic opportunity for us.

“We’re now able to offer our customers the full range of construction materials and solutions, while maintaining our high levels of customer service.”

Given the strength of the Lafarge cement brand, Aggregate Industries will continue with this branding for its bulk cement products, although some bagged products will be renamed in due course.

The new cement division will be led by Joe Hudson, managing director, Cement & Concrete Products. He joins Aggregate Industries from Lafarge, where he has worked in a number of key functional and operational roles since 2001.

UK: Hope cement plant gets £14m upgrade

Hope is now two years old – it was January 2013 that Mittal Investments bought the bits of Lafarge and Tarmac that competition authorities required them to sell before they could merge. The biggest asset acquired was the cement works in Hope in the Derbyshire Peak District, which supplies approximately 15% of the UK’s cement consumption

To mark its second birthday, Hope has initiated several major capital projects designed to improve the plant’s operations.

These include:

• Completion of a multi-million pound system to increase the amount of sustainable waste-derived fuels the operation can accommodate; as well as being a ‘cleaner’ energy source this helps to make use of waste which would otherwise be landfilled;
• An internal overhaul of the landmark Hope chimney, which will involve the construction and use of a second temporary chimney for a number of months;
• Construction of a new storage facility to increase stock holding of cement clinker; this should help secure a consistent supply of cement to the construction industry;
• Improvements to the way the raw materials are fed into the twin kilns – the 70m long, 4.9m diameter rotating steel cylinders which are the heart of the cement-making process; and
• Maintenance and refurbishment of a large section of one of the two kilns.

Hope Works operations manager Ed Cavanagh said: “We are very excited to be involved in the largest investment programme on site for many years. This works has operated for more than 85 years and directly employs nearly 200 people, making a massive contribution to the UK construction industry, producing 1.5 million tonnes of cement at the site in 2014.

“The installation of the new kiln shell section is a spectacular piece of engineering involving several teams and very careful planning. We are delighted with the way that this individual project has evolved and look forward to seeing the others progress to schedule. Once this programme is complete, we will have an upgraded production plant, ready for the challenges of an increasingly busy time for building in the UK.”

UK: Cauldon Cement works excluded from the sale of Lafarge Tarma.

MORE than 150 jobs are set to be secured after it was revealed a cement plant in the Staffordshire Moorlands is to merge with another operator.

After months of speculation it has been confirmed the Cauldon works near Waterhouses is to be excluded from a sale of the assets of its parent UK Lafarge Tarmac.

It comes after Lafarge and Holcim, a global leader in the manufacturing and distribution of cement and aggregates, last week formally notified the European Commission of their proposed merger.

Now subject to the successful completion of the proposed merger and regulatory approvals, the Cauldon plant and associated assets could become part of a future Lafarge/Holcim business in the UK.

UNITED KINGDOM: Anglo American to sell stake in UK's largest cement maker Lafarge for £885 million

Britain’s biggest cement, concrete and aggregates company has been put up for sale with a likely price tag of almost £2 billion.

A queue of bidders is expected for a major business which is likely to be a major beneficiary of the UK’s economic recovery and plans for major infrastructure projects like HS2.

Lafarge Tarmac, which dates back to the early years of the 20th Century, employs 6,600 people in this country and has 330 sites spread across the UK.

It has been put on the auction block as part of the giant E40 billion merger of Switzerland’s Holcim and France’s Lafarge which will require major sell-offs by both companies in order to get the green light from European competition authorities.

At the same time mining giant Anglo American has agreed to sell its 50% stake in the jointly owned Lafarge Tarmac to the French company for at least £885 million.

That will make it easier for Lafarge to sell the UK business in its entirety for around £1.8 billion.

Anglo American said it would use the cash raised from the sale to pay down its own debt and concentrate on its core mining activities.

Lafarge Tarmac was first mooted as a joint venture in 2011 but only became a reality last year after a near two year investigation by the Competition Commission which demanded various local sell-offs of businesses.

Originally the joint owners had planned to float Lafarge Tarmac on the stock market but this was unlikely to take place until next year at the earliest and has been overtaken by the Swiss-French merger.

Potential bidders for Lafarge Tarmac could include its two major UK rivals Breedon Aggregates and CRH.

But the stronger likelihood is a bid from private equity with a consortium of Blackstone, Cinven and a Canadian pension fund already running its slide rule over Holcim Lafarge assets. Other private equity firms potentially in the frame include Apollo, Carlyle, TPG Capital, BC Partners, CVC and KKR.

Analysts pointed out that any buyer would be unlikely to face competition problems given that the joint venture had been put together so recently with the okay from what was then Competition Commission.

Holcim and Lafarge also announced a number of other disposals today including a cement plant in Austria, Most of Holcim’s French business, Lafarge’s German and Romanian assets and Holcim’s assets in Hungary and Serbia.

Competition authorities in 15 countries as well as the European Commission are examining the deal.

Credit Suisse, HSBC, Morgan Stanley and BNP Paribas are handling the sell-offs.

Anglo American bought Tarmac for £1.2 billion in 1999 while Lafarge built its UK business through a series of takeovers including the bitterly fought £3.1 billion two year battle for Blue Circle which ended in 2001.

UK: Cement firms to face more competition after inquiry

The UK's cement market is set to see greater competition following changes ordered by the Competition Commission.

The Commission spent two years studying the market amid fears existing firms were concentrating on preserving their market share and failing to compete.

It said the lack of competition was costing cement users £30m a year.

The Commission has told one of the existing firms, Lafarge Tarmac, to sell one of its cement plants to enable a new firm to compete in the industry.

The dominant cement firms are Lafarge Tarmac, Cemex, and Hanson. These three were joined a year ago by new entrant, HCM. These, and another company, Aggregate Industries, which does not produce cement, make up the five main suppliers of heavy building materials in the UK, which include aggregates, cement and ready-mix concrete.

Lafarge Tarmac will be required to choose between selling either its Cauldon, Staffordshire or its Tunstead, Derbyshire cement plants.

Lafarge's chief executive, Cyrille Ragoucy, said he was "disappointed" by the decision, adding it was "not reasonable or proportionate".

"The Commission has based its remedies on a partial and historic picture of the market. Its analysis of industry profitability... is flawed, grossly overestimating the returns made," he said.

"It has also failed to take into account the new business environment that has been established by our divestments - only 12 months ago - to create a new competitor, and the entry of new importers into the market."

'Essential product'

The Commission also ordered changes in the supply of another heavy building material, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), which is a partial substitute for and input into cement.

It has ordered Hanson to sell one of its GGBS production facilities.

It says the inefficient market for this material has led to losses for buyers of a further £15m-£20m a year.

Professor Martin Cave, the chairman of the inquiry, said: "Cement is an essential product for the construction and building sectors and the amount of such work that is funded by the public purse only underlines the importance of ensuring that customers get better value for money."

UNITED KINGDOM; Novacem: el cemento ecológico

El sector de la construcción, considerado de los más contaminantes y, en especial, la industria del cemento (responsable de al menos un 6% de las emisiones de CO2 de nuestro planeta), ahora parece reverdecer a través de la creación de un nuevo hormigón que produce carbón negativo, o sea, no produce CO2, sino que lo absorbe. Novacem es el nombre de la compañía responsable del desarrollo de esta nueva tecnología, una pequeña empresa que pertenece al Imperial College London, y que tiene como ideal reducir la huella de carbono de la industria del cemento.


El cemento portland, creado en 1842, está presente en los edificios como compuesto clave en el hormigón, mortero, render y bloques. Su fabricación desprende grandes cantidades de dióxido de carbono liberado de la roca durante el proceso de cambio de carbonato de calcio a dióxido de calcio a una temperatura de 1450º C. La industria del cemento emite unas 2 GT (gigatoneladas) de CO2 al año, aproximadamente el 6% de las emisiones industriales del mundo, y se prevé que crezca hasta 5GT para el año 2050.

El cemento desarrollado por Novacem, en palabras de Nikalaos Viasopoulos, el investigador jefe de este novedoso proyecto, está basado en una tecnología completamente diferente al cemento portland tradicional, al crearse a partir de silicatos de magnesio cuyo balance de carbono es negativo, ya que el CO2 que emite durante su fabricación lo compensa con el que absorbe una vez construido. El truco consiste en no partir del carbonato de calcio, es decir, de cal, sino de silicato de magnesio a una temperatura de 650º C, muy inferior a la del cemento convencional. Es a través de este material como el nuevo cemento emite cantidades mínimas de dióxido de carbono cuando es fabricado y  mientras envejece absorbe gases de efecto invernadero.

El cemento ecológico de Novacem tiene la misma calidad estructural que el portland tradicional y, lo más importante, durante el proceso de endurecimiento es capaz de capturar 100 kg de CO2 por tonelada, pudiendo llegar a 900 kg.

La investigación, que ha convertido a uno de los materiales más usados del mundo en un material absorbente de dióxido de carbono, fue desarrollada por el London Imperial College, que planea la construcción de una planta piloto y la comercialización del nuevo cemento para el año 2015. De momento, los investigadores ya han cosechado los frutos de su trabajo, pues Novacem se ha convertido en toda una revolución industrial ganando más de 10 premios medioambientales y tecnológicos, tales como el Pionero Tecnológico por el World Economic Forum; MIT Technology Review's que lo nombró una de las tecnologías emergentes más importantes del año.

Los desarrolladores de Novacem calculan que por cada tonelada de cemento construida con el nuevo cemento se evitará la emisión de casi una tonelada de dióxido de carbono. Es decir, que no habrá mejor manera de reducir el efecto invernadero, que construyendo. Este panorama pondría a la industria de la construcción en una de las más limpias y verdes del planeta. Es, sin duda, una de las mejores noticias para el medio ambiente, siempre que este tipo de tecnología sea comercializada.

UK: Lafarge Cement UK’s Dunbar cement plant achieves safety goal

Lafarge Cement UK’s Dunbar cement plant is celebrating the achievement of going a year without any ‘Lost-Time-Incidents’ (LTI), in which a contractor or employee is forced to take time off work due to an accident. The cement plant reached this goal by holding practical workshops, remedying potential hazards, focusing on leadership and proactive reporting.

To mark the achievement, a safety day was held at the site, which was attended by Lafarge Cement UK Industrial Director Rajeev Ramankutty. A special breakfast was served before employees took part in safety tasks and then received a half-day holiday.

“We’ve been working to introduce a zero-harm working environment where everyone takes extra responsibility to look out for themselves and their fellow workers. This includes reviewing our risk assessments in even greater depth and allocating dedicated days to address any potential hazards that have been raised. We also all signed a pledge last year committing to put safety at the front of everything we do,” commented Nigel Blair, Dunbar Works Manager.

UNITED KINGDOM: Sharp construction fall causes deepening UK recession

UK GDP figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show that the UK’s recession deepened further in the second quarter of 2012, led predominantly by further sharp falls in construction activity.  


The UK economy shrank by 0.7 per cent, marking its third consecutive quarter of contraction and the longest recession the country has faced in 50 years. However, construction fell 5.2 per cent over that same period, indicating that the construction sector was now in a deep depression, despite a number of recent initiatives by government to spur growth.  


Commenting on these figures, Noble Francis, Construction Products Association Economics Director said:  “Although the vast majority of commentators have been predicting continuing recession, very few will have expected such a sharp fall. For construction the position is now very worrying, as although we have known for some time that public sector activity would begin to decline, because of the government’s deficit reduction plan, the hoped for recovery in the private sector has not materialised.  


"As the construction sector is such a key part of the economy, until we see recovery in construction, we will not have the economic growth the UK needs. “According to our latest forecasts, which were published this week, construction is unlikely to return to growth until 2014. Government has acknowledged that construction will be a part of the solution for our economic woes, but if they are serious then they must act now to stimulate growth and drive recovery.”

UK: Cement firms face competition probe

The building materials sector has been referred to the competition watchdog amid concern that taxpayers are paying too high a cost for public schemes.

An initial investigation into the £3.4 billion a year industry suggested that a flurry of deals may have over-consolidated and distorted the market.

As a result, the Government may have been paying too much for aggregates, cement and ready-mix concrete used in the building of schools, hospitals and roads, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said.

It found that just five major firms controlled more than 90% of the cement market, 75% of aggregate sales and 68% of ready-mix concrete production.

Earlier this year, Tarmac owner Anglo American and France’s Lafarge announced plans to combine their UK ventures, further consolidating the market. Both companies are among the firms being looked at in the OFT’s market study alongside Hanson UK, Cemex and Aggregate Industries.

The Competition Commission will conduct a more detailed probe into the market once the OFT has consulted with major firms in the sector. The commission may force larger companies to divest or break up their UK interests if anti-competitive practices are found.

The issue is of particular concern to taxpayers as central government is the industry’s biggest customer and 40% of all construction expenditure is on public buildings and infrastructure.

John Fingleton, chief executive of the OFT, said: “Aggregates, ready-mix concrete and cement, important in their own right, are also fundamental to the wider construction industry. We are concerned that competition is not working well in these sectors, with underlying features of the market giving rise to persistent concerns.”

It is feared that, under current conditions, smaller firms are being squeezed out, the OFT warned.

The watchdog also expressed concern that major firms have been engaged in multiple contacts and information exchanges, alongside asset swaps. Such practices could “prevent, restrict or distort competition” the OFT warned.

UK: Cemex appoints LeasePlan as sole fleet supplier

LeasePlan has announced that it has signed a major three year sole supply agreement with Cemex, one of the UK’s leading providers of aggregates, cement, readymixed concrete, and other building materials.

After a successful tendering process, LeasePlan will provide 600 vehicles to the firm, consisting of a mixture of cars and vans. The deal was won on the basis of LeasePlan’s overall competitive proposition and also their latest whole-life-costs (WLC) solution.

The offering balanced Cemex’s need to provide their drivers with an attractive range of vehicle choices, which remained within the most efficient environmental criteria, and at the most financially beneficial rates with regard to all aspects of running a vehicle over the contract term.

The agreement with Cemex represents one of LeasePlan’s first using this latest WLC solution.

The LeasePlan implementation and account teams worked closely with the Cemex team to create a long term robust fleet policy that represented best value for money whilst ensuring the company had a smooth transition from their incumbent service provider.

UK: UK Cement Plant Sets New Record

South Ferriby Cement Plant in North Lincolnshire, which is owned by building materials company CEMEX, has replaced 100% of the fuel used to heat its cement kiln with fuels made from wastes. South Ferriby’s achievement is likely to be a new record in the UK, where substitute fuels now represent 35% of all kiln fuels burned in cement kilns.

South Ferriby plant now also leads the way in Europe and within CEMEX’s global network of more than 60 cement plants worldwide. Further good news is that emissions, such as oxides of nitrogen and sulphur, have declined by 20% and 43% respectively since alternative fuels were introduced in 2002. Plant Director, Philip Baynes-Clarke, explained: “I am immensely proud that this record has been set using a kiln that was commissioned in 1973. It proves that with the right team, skills and capital investment, plants like ours in South Ferriby can have a long and healthy shelf life, and advance our manufacturing heritage. The use of alternative fuels at South Ferriby is key to improving the environmental performance of cement making. It helps to reduce our carbon footprint, but it also drives down other key emissions. Our 100% record was set over a three day period in March, with the kiln remaining stable and producing good quality cement clinker. The challenge is now to exceed our 90% weekly average record and use 100% over a more sustained period.”

Cement-making is energy intensive and involves heating up kilns to at least 1400 degrees Celsius. Increasing the use of alternative fuels made from waste is therefore key to saving fossil fuels for future generations. The alternative fuels used at South Ferriby are Secondary Liquid Fuels (SLF); made from industrial liquid wastes that cannot be recycled, such as paint, thinners, inks and varnishes, and Climafuel®; which is made from household residual and commercial waste that would otherwise go to landfill. The Climafuel used at South Ferriby is sourced from local suppliers. Last year, more than 36,000 tonnes of waste that would otherwise be landfilled have been used to make cement in South Ferriby. Based on the biomass content in alternative fuels, the plant has so far this year also saved the equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions that 11,000 cars produce in a year.

UK: Cement and aggregates sales surge in first quarter

Sales of aggregates and cement grew during the first quarter of 2011 casting further doubts on dismal official construction figures.

Materials sales were up on the same period of the previous year and also the final quarter of 2010.

Aggregates sales volumes in total were 6% up in the first quarter compared with the first quarter of 2010, while cement, ready mixed concrete and asphalt sales were 16%, 19% and 10% up respectively.

The improvement was due to a shifting of sales from the poor weather-affected final quarter of 2010, and improved demand for concrete in London and the South East and asphalt nationwide for road maintenance work to fill potholes.

Mineral Products Association Chief Economist, Jerry McLaughlin, said: “The first quarter was stronger than we expected, which is partly due to some underlying improvements in construction activity such as office development in Central London and partly due to a catch up from the weather-affected end of 2010.

“In overall terms market performance has been relatively flat over the past six months and we do not expect sustained growth until 2013.

“We would not expect the first quarter growth trend to be sustained throughout the year because we have yet to see the full impact of the planned cuts in public investment.

“We are particularly concerned about the lack of funding to repair our local road network, in spite of the £200 million of emergency funding announced this year, and the prospects for recovery in commercial and housing markets outside the South East are patchy at best.”

Recent Government figures indicated a 4.7% reduction in construction during the first quarter of the year

McLaughlin said: “While we would not expect a precise correlation between our data and construction output figures, we think that there is sufficient evidence to suggest that the official figures underestimate both the decline in construction activity in the final quarter of 2010 and the recovery of work in the first quarter of 2011.

“This is an issue of wider significance because if, for example, construction output actually grew rather than fell by 4.7% in the first quarter, the GDP growth would have been a much more positive 1.1%.”

UK: Putting the cement industry in the calcium loop

Scientists in the UK have shown that two major industrial processes that generate large amounts of carbon dioxide could usefully be linked together to deliver significant savings in energy and CO2 emissions.

For several years researchers have investigated ways of capturing and concentrating CO2 from fossil fuel power stations so that it can be trapped, possibly in underground rock formations. One promising method involves reacting the flue gases with calcium oxide. The CO2 in the exhaust gas combines with CaO to form calcium carbonate, CaCO3. This can then be heated to drive off the CO2 at a much higher concentration. The process regenerates CaO, which can be used for further cycles. Typically flue gases contain around 15 per cent CO2, which can be concentrated to around 95 per cent through this 'calcium looping' process.

After repeated cycles the CaO undergoes morphological changes which reduce its efficiency for producing CaCO3. It has been suggested that this spent CaO could be used as a feedstock for the production of cement. The cement industry requires a large amount of CaO, which is produced by heating calcium carbonate in the form of limestone, which in turn produces significant CO2 emissions.

Carbon dioxide emissions from cement manufacture can be greatly reduced using calcium looping technology

However, it has not been clear if the CaO derived from the calcium looping cycle would be suitable for cement manufacture. Now, Charles Dean, Denis Dugwell and Paul Fennell, from Imperial College London, have carried out laboratory scale tests that suggest that spent CaO sorbent from CO2 capture retains the appropriate chemistry for its inclusion in cement, with no detrimental properties to the final product.

'If you take off a purge stream of calcium oxide from the calcium looping cycle, it should be possible to feed this directly into the cement works,' says Fennell. 'This would save about 50 per cent of the CO2 produced in production.' The requirement for less energy to generate the CaO from limestone would also create significant cost savings. 'We have shown for the first time that cement can be successfully produced from CaO previously used in the calcium looping cycle, thereby confirming a positive synergy between the two processes,' says Fennell. 

Hannah Chalmers of the University of Edinburgh in the UK is a member of the Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage research group. She says successful application of CO2 capture to cement manufacture could be an important part of global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 'This work includes important information for developing an understanding of the economic and environmental performance of CO2 capture from cement manufacture, which could be vital for successful development and deployment of this technology.'

UK: Lafarge and Anglo American to create a leading UK construction materials company

Lafarge SA and Anglo American plc announce their agreement to combine their cement, aggregates, ready-mixed concrete, asphalt and contracting businesses in the United Kingdom, comprising Lafarge Cement UK, Lafarge Aggregates and Concrete UK, ("Lafarge UK") and Tarmac Limited ("Tarmac UK").

The transaction will form a 50:50 joint-venture and will create a leading UK construction materials company with a portfolio of high quality assets drawing on the complementary geographical distribution of operations and assets, the skills of two experienced teams and a portfolio of well-known & innovative brands. The 2010 combined sales of these two businesses amount to £1.8 billion with combined EBITDA of £210 million.

This combination is expected to deliver substantial recurring synergies of at least £60 million per annum. Such synergies are expected to be generated by increased operational efficiencies, improved logistics, and the introduction of value-added products across a wider geographic reach.

The joint-venture's complementary geographical and product portfolios are also expected to create a business optimally positioned to benefit from the economic recovery.

Bruno Lafont, Chairman and Chief Executive of Lafarge, said: "This new leading construction materials company, built on the strengths and proud histories of two great teams, will create more value to customers, with an enhanced and larger offer of products and services. For Lafarge this deal is cash neutral, is accretive to Lafarge's shareholders and illustrates our strong commitment to the UK market."

Cynthia Carroll, Chief Executive of Anglo American, said: "We are excited to be bringing together two high quality and complementary UK businesses to create a compelling new industry proposition through which we expect to unlock significant value. While Anglo American's objective remains to divest its interests in the joint venture over time, this transaction positions us well to maximise value."

The joint-venture will operate with its own Board of Directors led by an independent Chairman and executive management teams drawn from both businesses.

Completion of the transaction is conditional upon regulatory approvals. Both Lafarge UK and Tarmac UK operations will continue to operate independently until obtaining such approvals.

UK: Hanson Cement, Padeswood, could face action over dust

The Environment Agency is considering whether to take further action against a Flintshire cement plant after residents reported being affected by dust.

An agency spokesperson said it had identified the cause at the Padeswood factory and Hanson Cement had taken action to rectify the problem.

It said it was now investigating whether the company had breached its environmental permits.

Hanson has been asked to comment.

The Environment Agency said it received complaints last month.

A spokesperson added: "We have received complaints of dust in Padeswood and have investigated and identified what has caused it.

"Action has been taken by Hanson Cement to rectify the problem.

"Our officers are now collecting evidence to see if there have been any breaches of the conditions in their environmental permit. We will then consider what further action needs to be taken.

"Environmental permits are there to protect local people and the environment. Any breaches are a serious matter which will not be tolerated."

In 2009, the Environment Agency investigated after a dust cloud leaked from the plant and more than 30 members of the public complained.

The company arranged for villagers affected by the dust cloud to have their cars cleaned.

In 2007, the cement works' previous owners, Castle Cement, paid for professional car valets to clean the vehicles of nearby residents caught in two separate outpourings of dust from its chimney.

UK: New Cement Production Technology Absorbs Carbon Dioxide, Receives Award

ement is one of the most important CO2 emitters, accounting for 5% of the world's total man-made emissions. Producing 1 ton of Portland cement, for example, outputs 800 kilograms of carbon dioxide, and that is because of the material used in the fabrication process: calcium carbonate.

novacem concrete

Novacem, a London-based company, has recently received an award for a new type of cement that not only doesn't emit carbon dioxide, but absorbs it. The award came from Material ConneXion, a global materials consultancy firm.

The innovative cement is made using a magnesium silicate mixture, and the entire production process absorbs carbon dioxide, hence the "carbon negative" nickname it got.

The cement will be released commercially starting 2014, but not by Novacem. Instead, they will sell the patent rights to producing companies, who will (hopefully) commercialize it at competitive prices.

UK: Lafarge goes green for flood solution.

Construction materials giant Lafarge has gone for the green option to help solve flooding problems on restored quarry land.

The company has installed a Poldaw Windpump at Finningley, a former sand and gravel excavation site in Nottinghamshire now returned to agricultural land.

The pump harnesses the power of the wind to empty a lake prone to flooding and expansion during excessively wet periods.

It means valuable arable land remains available for use by the landowning farmer.

Dave McCormack, site manager for Finningley and Rampton explained:

"When we had the major floods back in 2008 we realised the excavated lake was not draining as we expected.

It kept getting bigger and bigger without draining away which meant it was taking up farmland and backing up our drainage pipes. We needed a solution which would be effective but also practicable, low maintenance and low cost in the long term as eventually we will be handing responsibility for the land back to the farmer."

Traditional pumping systems are energy hungry, accounting for nearly 20 per cent of global and 32 per cent of UK electrical energy demand.

Concerned about excessive energy usage and the consequent carbon emissions Lafarge restoration manager, David Park investigated a more environmentally friendly option.

He said:

"The wind pump seemed the obvious choice. It's advantages were that as well as emitting no greenhouse gases it was extremely low maintenance and the running costs were minimal.Research showed the area had very few days without wind so it was clear the windpump would be in action almost continuously."

Now installed, following a lengthy planning process, the 11m high unit works on a float system, pumping water from the lake into new drainage dykes when the level is excessive and keeping water circulating when levels are acceptable.

As an added bonus work on the dykes has involved creating ledges to encourage more water vole activity.

David Park said:

"Overall it is a great sustainable solution which the farmer is really happy with and which does the job without impacting on the environment."

UK: Strong UK sales cement 'encouraging' profit trend at Grafton Group

GRAFTON Group, the building materials supplier that owns outlets such as Woodies DIY and Atlantic Homecare, said its profitability was "well ahead" in the third quarter compared to the corresponding period last year, as sales in the UK strengthened.

Releasing an interim management statement yesterday, Grafton said sales for the quarter to the end of October were up 4.5pc to €546m compared to €522m in the third quarter last year.

The increase followed a comparative rise recorded by the group in the second quarter, when sales climbed to €535m from €520m year on year. In the first quarter of the current year, revenue had fallen 5.5pc year on year to €444m.

Total revenue in the period to the end of October was €1.7bn, up slightly from €1.69bn in the first 10 months of 2009.

Improving trend

The trend of an improvement in profitability has continued into the current quarter.

Grafton's UK merchanting sales for the year to the end of October were up 6pc, compared to a 5pc rise by the end of June. It added that while Irish merchanting sales continue to fall, the rate of decline continued to ease as the year progressed.

Sales in Grafton's retail business in Ireland fell 7pc in the year to the end of October, similar to the performance in the first half of the year, it said.

Group manufacturing sales were 3pc lower in the year to the end of October compared to a 7pc decline in the first six months of 2010. The company added that its Irish merchanting arm has returned to a break-even position.

In the UK, Grafton owns building materials outlets trading under brands such as Plumbase, Buildbase and Jackson, while in Ireland it also operates the Chadwicks and Heiton Buckley outlets.

NCB is forecasting that Grafton's full-year sales will grow 2pc to almost €2.02bn, with UK merchanting sales forecast to advance 7.6pc to €1.4bn.

Davy analyst Flor O'Donoghue said the year-on-year growth in the third quarter was slightly behind the 6pc top-line growth he's expecting for the second half. However, he said the trend is "encouraging".