Europe & CIS

Independent UK building materials company, Breedon Group, has acquired Lagan Group in a deal worth £455 million.

The US underpinned a steady year in 2017 for Titan Group, offsetting weak performance elsewhere.

This year looks challenging for UK construction with activity dropping in March on bad weather and the outlook remaining uncertain.

Europe’s leading producer of ground granulated blastfurnace slag, Ecocem, is rebranding to reflect new business opportunities.

Boosted by the full-year integration of Italcementi into its results, HeidelbergCement reported record sales volumes and revenues in 2017.

Using kilns involved in cement production, the company co-processed all types of waste including: solid shredded waste from industrial and municipal origin, spent solvents, used tires, waste oils, contaminated soils, industrial and sewage sludges, as well as demolition waste.

Norcem has released a short film explaining the carbon capture process soon to be launched at its Brevik plant in Norway.

Humboldt Wedag GmbH has increased its field service staff for the Turkish international market.

MPA Cement has published its annual Sustainable Development Report for 2017 discussing air quality improvements and the use of biomass fuels.

Breedon Cement reported EBITDA of £39.85 million in 2017 – the first full-year of results after its acquisition of the Hope cement plant.

A former CEO of Bank of Ireland Group, Richard Boucher, has been appointed non-executive director at CRH.

A significant fall in earnings from its Egyptian business saw French building materials firm, Vicat, report lower year-on-year EBITDA, despite a solid rise in revenues.

Strong results from Eastern Europe and positive signs in large Western European markets saw LafargeHolcim’s European earnings grow 3.7% in 2017.

Cement and clinker sales at Buzzi Unicem were up 4.4% in 2017 on positive market trends in its European businesses, offsetting a weather-affected year in the US.

New LafargeHolcim CEO has launched a new growth strategy, after slipping to a full-year loss in 2017 on the back of a CHF3.83 billion writedown.