Lehigh Hanson Inc. parent company HeidelbergCement AG announced late last month an agreement to take a 45 percent stake in Command Alkon, the global leader in software and information technology services for heavy building materials. San Francisco-based investor Thoma Bravo, which acquired Command Alkon in early 2020, will retain a 55 percent interest. The agreement is subject to regulatory approvals,…
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Holcim to cut water consumption in concrete, upstream operations
Holcim AG aims to reduce cement, aggregates and ready mixed concrete operations’ respective water intensities by 33 percent, 20 percent and 15 percent through 2030. Applicable to namesake, Lafarge, Aggregate Industries, Lattimore Materials and other North America or overseas brands, the targets are part of a global strategy to become nature-positive by restoring and preserving water and biodiversity, while…
Read MorePayload gaming app tests concrete, materials dispatching competence
Sources: Inform Software Corp., Atlanta; CP staff A free gaming app allows industry dispatchers to assign trucks to orders with a simple drag and drop move, then test their skills at optimizing dump, tanker or mixer fleet assets and driver schedules. PayloadTheGame has debuted at the Apple App Store for iPhone and Apple devices, and will soon be available for…
Read More‘Made for Now’ vibe drives Command Alkon conference
Sources: Command Alkon, Birmingham, Ala.; CP staff
Heavy building materials innovators who leverage technology advancements to make smarter decisions faster, achieve break-through performance and deliver differentiated experiences inform a “Made for Now” theme for Command Alkon’s 2019 Elevate Conference & Expo, November 3-6 in Chicago.
Read MoreReport chips away at wood industry’s low carbon building narrative
Sources: International Institute for Sustainable Development, Winnipeg, Manitoba; CP staff
A Cement Association of Canada-funded report exposes the limitations of life cycle assessment (LCA) studies whose results have thus far painted a more favorable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions profile of wood versus concrete or steel buildings. As the main tools to measure building products’ carbon footprints at the production, use and end of life phases, LCA studies as presently executed can exaggerate the importance of embodied GHG impacts when they discount or ignore other significant life-cycle emissions, according to “Emission Omissions: Carbon accounting gaps in the built environment.”
Read MoreEagle Materials completes succession plan as Haack replaces CEO Powers
Sources: Eagle Materials Inc., Dallas, Texas; CP staff
Eagle Materials President and Chief Operating Officer Michael Haack will succeed Chief Executive Officer Dave Powers, who will retire July 1 but remain on the board of directors. The move culminates a multiyear succession plan and set of transition preparedness steps the board undertook over the last four years.
Read MoreIvy League professor quantifies high social costs of wood construction fires
Sources: Build with Strength Coalition, Washington, D.C.; CP staff
With special attention to incidents involving Los Angeles multi-family developments, a study from Columbia University Adjunct Assistant Professor Urvashi Kaul offers a cost-benefit analysis showing wood-framed residential building fires’ economic impact on citizens and local governments.
Read MoreCemex digital platform approaches 10,000-user milestone
Sources: Cemex S.A.B. de C.V., Monterrey, Mexico; CP staff
A digital platform programmed to simplify transactions with Cemex cement, aggregate and concrete operations has been adopted by upward of 25 percent of customers in the U.S., Mexico, Colombia, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Read MoreNew Command Alkon branding conveys ‘amazing’ message
Sources: Command Alkon, Birmingham, Ala.; CP staff
A reimagined brand, story and logo establish a new identity for Command Alkon and include a mantra, “Together We Build Amazing,” capturing the essence of “the why” for people across heavy building materials production. The move celebrates what management notes is “the commitment from contractors, concrete producers, raw material suppliers and haulers to drive digital transformation—marking a meaningful moment for the industry, the company, and the people who collectively build our world.”
Read MoreCRH chief measures company’s unique leverage in sustainability movement
Sources: CRH Plc, Dublin; CP staff
“With global population expected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050, the way people interact with buildings, infrastructure and cities will change. CRH is leading the way through innovation to help shape the structures of the future, in collaboration with our valued customers and partners,” notes Albert Manifold, chief executive of the Oldcastle Inc. parent company in “Creating a Sustainable Built Environment – CRH Sustainability Report 2017.”
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