The Americas

Ash Grove Cement has received a second takeover bid, throwing CRH’s planned acquisition of the company into doubt.

Douglas Ruah will leave Summit Materials at the end of the year. Ruah has served as Executive Vice President and COO since 2013.

Cemex USA has assisted in helping Texas recover after Hurricane Harvey.

USGS’s Mineral Industries Survey indicates an increase in cement shipments in July 2017.

Cemex supplies more concrete to Mexico City’s New International Airport

Argentinian cement production, Cementos Avellaneda, is to invest US$230 million to boost capacity by 1 million tpy by the end of 2019.

US Concrete has outbid rival, Vulcan Materials, to secure the acquisitions of Canadian aggregates producer, Polaris Materials.

Mexican cement major, Cemex, has sold its remaining direct stake in Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua, which operates cement plants in Mexico and the US.

CEMEX USA has picked up 24 awards for environmental and safety excellence from the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association.

S&P Global Ratings has upgraded Cemex’s credit rating for the second time in 2017.

Martin Engineering has announced a new programme in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

LafargeHolcim has officially completed the Ravena cement plant upgrade project in New York, as the local construction sector booms.

Vulcan Materials take-over of Polaris Materials is now in doubt, after receiving a higher bid from an unnamed US building materials company.

Irish building materials giant, CRH, is to buy US cement market, Ash Grove Cement, in a deal worth US$3.5 billion, in the latest in a spate of acquisitions within the sector.

Adverse markets in Brazil, Egypt and Mozambique more than offset positive news from Portugal, Argentina and Paraguay, bringing down Cimpor’s year-on-year volumes in 1H17.