Cement News tagged under: Switzerland
Holcim completes three European acquistions15 January 2024, Published under Cement NewsHolcim has completed three bolt-on acquisitions in Europe, expanding its Solutions & Products portfolio for green growth. In Spain it has acquired a majority stake in Artepref SA, a fast-growing leader in innovative precast concrete solutions. In Greece Holcim has bought WATT Recycling, a leading waste management company that produces alternative fuels. Meanwhile, in the UK Holcim has entered the advanced mortar solutions market through its acquisition of Eco-Readymix Ltd. According to... |
Swiss cement market contracts 10% in 202311 January 2024, Published under Cement NewsCement deliveries in Switzerland, including Liechtenstein, fell by 10 per cent to 875,146t in the 4Q23 from 971,994t in the equivalent period of the previous year, reports cemsuisse, the Swiss cement association. The final quarter of 2023 closed a year of uncertainty for the Swiss construction industry, which found planning construction projects challenging in view of unstable interest and inflation rates. In addition, the supply chains for energy and internationally-sourced materials remain... |
Lafarge faces new terrorism lawsuit20 December 2023, Published under Cement NewsHundreds of Yazidi Americans have launched a lawsuit against Lafarge, accusing it of supporting violence carried out by ISIL (ISIS). According to Aljazeera news, the cement producer is accused of abetting violence and terrorism by providing supplies for the construction of tunnels and prisons. The lawsuit was filed in New York on 14 December, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad. The lawsuit reportedly states that Lafarge “aided and abetted ISIS’s acts of international terrorism a... |
Holcim launches Phoenix, 3D-printed bridge19 December 2023, Published under Cement NewsHolcim has launched Phoenix, the first-of-its-kind 3D-printed concrete masonry bridge built using 10t of recycled materials, at its Innovation Hub in Europe. Using its proprietary ECOCycle® circular technology, Holcim developed a custom concrete ink for Phoenix with recycled materials inside. Phoenix demonstrates how circular construction combined with 3D concrete printing can enable low-carbon infrastructure applications. Circular construction, using computational design and 3D print... |
Sika opens new technology centre in China19 December 2023, Published under Cement NewsSika has significantly expanded its research and development capacities in the Asia/Pacific region and opened a new, state-of-the-art technology centre in Suzhou, China. According to the company, although the facilities at the new Technology Center comprise cutting-edge laboratories for the development of adhesives and sealants, research infrastructure has also been established for concrete admixtures and CO 2 reducing cement technologies. The centre will also focus on research into mate... |
Holcim's CCUS project scoops COP28 awards14 December 2023, Published under Cement NewsHolcim has received two awards at COP28 in Dubai for its Carbon2Business project in Lägerdorf, Germany, in recognition of the scalability and breakthrough innovation of its carbon capture technologies. The first saw Holcim named by the COP28 Presidency as an 'Energy Transition Changemaker' - a title awarded to companies with game-changing innovative solutions that can be scaled to accelerate decarbonisation. For the second, Carbon2Business was selected as Germany’s 'outstanding project' in... |
Cement-free mineral foams for 3D printing05 December 2023, Published under Cement NewsETH Zurich has launched a project known as Airlements, which pioneers the use of cement-free mineral foams derived from recycled industrial waste, including fly ash from industrial blastfurnaces, to produce 3D printed building components. Spearheaded by doctoral researcher Patrick Bedarf from Professor Benjamin Dillenburger’s Digital Building Technologies group, the technology promises to reduce heating and cooling costs and to revolutionise the efficiency of construction material usage. ... |
Holcim joins Circularity Task Force at COP2804 December 2023, Published under Cement NewsHolcim has become a founding member of the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s (SMI) Circularity Task Force, launched at COP28 in Dubai, to accelerate the world’s shift to a circular economy. The task force aims to close essential material loops to advance climate action, while preserving nature’s resources and planetary boundaries. This commitment adds to Holcim’s leadership in circular construction, a driver of its decarbonisation journey, which includes the goal of recycling more than... |
Swiss team draws on archives to develop low-carbon binders01 December 2023, Published under Cement NewsA team of experts from EPFL (Switzerland), ETH Zurich and a Geneva-based architecture firm has developed a new type of non-reinforced concrete made from stone offcuts. Their method, known as ‘Cyclopean’, draws on ancient technologies uncovered in historical archives to reduce the use of carbon-intensive cement-based binders. In October this year, the team built six load-bearing walls in Lucery-Villars, Switzerland, using recovered stone-quarry waste and fieldstone. The prototype str... |
Aggregate Industries appoints group strategy and commercial growth director23 November 2023, Published under Cement NewsAggregate Industries , part of Holcim , has appointed Kaziwe Kaulule as its new group strategy and commercial growth director. With a career spanning over 19 years with the Holcim Group, Mr Kaulule brings extensive experience to the role, including operations, digital transformation, business development, and mergers and acquisitions. His most recent role was as chief executive officer (CEO) at Lafarge Industries South Africa . He has also served as CEO at Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe and h... |