Aggregates Business is a go-to source for up-to-date news and views on the European, American, Asian, African and Middle Eastern aggregates and building materials sectors. Our wide-ranging features line-up includes in-depth articles on the latest crushing and screening, loading and hauling machines.
Features
Impressive growth by an industry
All the key events in the quarrying and aggregates world.
An in-depth look at the Middle East–North Africa – MENA
How Pacesetter Quarry is helping shape the construction sector in Oyo,
Kenya’s clinker industry is growing due to the increasing local demand for the material.
The latest news from around the international aggregates industry.
Metso CEO Sami Takaluoma on his vision for the company’s future as he takes on the top job.
Key OEMs have invested in innovating within the crushing sector to better support customers.
Hitatchi’s wheeled loader has lifted e ciency for an Italian construction firm.
Rokbak’s latest hauler has made an impression in Northern Ireland.
Epiroc’s new DTH 5 hammers are becoming a sought-after option for their versatility.
Why dust suppression is becoming increasingly important in the
Acquisitions and several product introductions have created a lively global screening media market.
Premium aggregate and recycling wash plant solutions are providing significant gains for customers.
Weighing tools continue to
the industry’s continuing embrace of
Technical writer and
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GUY WOODFORDEDITOR
The impressive growth of an industry TITAN
While editing this magazine for over a decade, an interesting thing to observe has been European building materials groups’ growth in Asian, African and Middle Eastern markets. Built on 120 years of industry experience and driven by its commitment to sustainable growth, TITAN Group, which has headquarters in Athens, Greece, is rmly established as an international cement and building materials producer, employing around 5400 people globally. TITAN’s website states that, through a network of 14 integrated cement plants and three cement grinding plants, it serves customers in more than 25 countries. It also operates quarries, ready-mix plants, terminals, and other production and distribution facilities.
TITAN collaborates with international organisations to address sustainability challenges within the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 framework. It also participates in the UN Global Compact and is a member of CSR Europe and the Global Cement and Concrete Association.
In February 2025, TITAN announced its entry into the South Asian market through a new joint venture (JV) in India focused on low-carbon building materials. Formed in collaboration with JAYCEE, a prominent Indian player in supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), the JV will operate under the newly established entity Atlas EcoSolutions Private Limited, with TITAN Group holding a majority stake.
The initiative enhances TITAN’s geographical footprint and aligns with its strategic priority to expand its green product portfolio toward net-zero.
The JV will focus on sourcing, processing, marketing and SCMs to the global markets. By providing sustainable alternatives to clinkerbased cement, the TITAN–JAYCEE JV aims to help customers build sustainable construction projects.
Building on previous SCM initiatives, including partnerships with Aegean Perlites in Greece, Vezirhan Pozzolan in Türkiye, and Ecocem to develop innovative low-carbon cements in Europe, TITAN continues to deploy its Green Growth Strategic Directions 2026 programme.
TITAN aims to expand its presence in what it describes as the “promising” South Asian market and neighbouring regions while introducing new materials and advanced technologies.
The location of the TITAN–JAYCEE JV creates opportunities to meet domestic and global demand for low-carbon building materials. TITAN said it also leverages India’s “abundant resources for a cost-effective and reliable supply chain supported by robust logistical infrastructure”.
Jean-Philippe Benard, TITAN Group head of supply chain and energy development and group executive committee member overseeing trading and cementitious development, said the JV aligns with the company’s strategy to stay at the forefront of low-carbon materials and highlights its “unwavering commitment” to sustainability.
“Entering the South Asian market positions us in a region with vast potential in market demand and sustainability impact,” he said. “Securing longterm access to SCMs provides TITAN Group with a key alternative for strategically diversifying its portfolio with new low-carbon cements.”
JAYCEE managing director Rishit Dalal said his company is proud TITAN has chosen India for its move into South Asia.
“This strategic partnership aligns with India’s sustainability goals and the TITAN Group’s objectives of increasing signi cantly its green product portfolio and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050,” he said. “It will bolster India’s presence in the low-carbon building materials industry.”
It is little surprise that TITAN has targeted South Asia as a driver of growth. India is home to a vibrant infrastructure construction sector, with demand for sustainable materials set to increase as new major projects get underway and existing works gather pace. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are two other South Asia nations spending big on new building-materials-hungry infrastructure.
Aggregates Business International will monitor the JV and looks forward to reporting on the next major European-headquartered building materials group to extend its offer relevant markets. GW guy.woodford@primeglobalpublishing.com
HOLCIM RECOGNITION FOR CLIMATE LEADERSHIP
CDP has recognised Holcim as a global environmental leader, awarding the company an A ranking for climate and an A- for water security. These rankings recognise Holcim’s impact in achieving its climate targets and preserving nature and water across its operations while leading the disclosure of high-quality, actionable environmental data.
“Sustainability is everyone’s business at Holcim and is at the core of our strategy, making decarbonisation a driver of profitable growth,” Holcim chief sustainability o cer Nollaig Forrest said.
“Ranking on the A list for the fourth year is a testament to the hard work of our 65,000 people worldwide as we focus on accelerating the shift to sustainable building at scale.”
Taking a rigorous sciencebased approach, Holcim is focused on delivering against its net-zero 1.5°C-aligned 2030 and 2050 targets, validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. In 2024, the company progressed against all of its sustainability targets – from advancing decarbonisation to scaling up circular construction. Working with the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN), Holcim became one of the first three companies in the world to adopt science-based targets for nature in 2024.
CDP rated more than 20,000 companies around the world in 2024 and provides the leading scoring system for companies, cities, states, and regions taking action on the environment.
The best-performing organisations are awarded a place on CDP’s annual A list to celebrate their work on climate change, deforestation and/or water security.
Accelerating sustainable concrete
The Innovandi Global Cement and Concrete Research Network (GCCRN) convened its Spring Week in Panama City from March 17–21, uniting hundreds of delegates from over 40 academic institutions and more than 30 industrial members worldwide to advance research and innovation in sustainable cement and concrete technologies.
The focus of the gathering was to foster actionable research aimed at driving decarbonisation in the cement and concrete industry to achieve net-zero concrete by 2050.
GCCRN industrial chair and Cemex vice president of global research development Davide Zampini, emphasised the necessity of collective action.
“To achieve net-zero concrete by 2050, collaboration beyond our industry is essential,” he said. “Spring Week serves as a crucial platform for exploring and harnessing innovative solutions.”
Innovandi GCCRN is a worldclass industrial academic research network that connects the cement and concrete industry with scienti c institutions. Its mission is to drive and support global innovation through actionable pre-competitive research, focusing on reducing the concrete industry’s carbon footprint.
The network engages over 450 scientists and invests approximately €10 million annually in research,
New Volvo excavator for Indonesia
including around €1.2 million for carbon-reduction initiatives.
“This year’s Spring Week marks a signi cant milestone in our journey toward net-zero research, bringing together diverse perspectives to drive meaningful progress,” GCCRN scienti c chair, and professor and director of the laboratory of construction materials at the EPFL in Lausanne Karen Scrivener said.
Construction Equipment
and its local dealer PT
“At PT Indotruck Utama, we are con dent that the new generation EC210 is the ideal solution for Indonesia’s diverse industries,” PT Indotruck Utama president director Bambang Prijono said.
“With its superior ef ciency, durability and ease of maintenance, this excavator is engineered to meet the evolving demands of our customers, whether in construction, mining, or infrastructure development.
The new generation EC210 is built to tackle the toughest job site conditions with precision and power.”
A 20-ton crawler excavator that simpli es operations and maintenance, the recent EC210 launch welcomed more than 100 customers from various industries to get a detailed look at the machine’s robust design, advanced technology, and ability to offer exceptional returns on investment.
The new generation EC210 has a Volvo engine that provides increased power and torque, and features 10 work modes with optimised hydraulics for faster cycle times and better productivity. The heavyduty design ensures long-term performance in any application, while safety is enhanced with three-point side access, emergency shutdown, a rearview camera, and anti-slip plates. Operator comfort is improved with a rollover protection system cab and ergonomic controls.
“The EC210 represents Volvo’s commitment to delivering innovative, high-performance machines that meet the evolving needs of customers in Indonesia,” Volvo CE region Asia president Tomas Kuta said. “Combining cultural heritage with cutting-edge technology, the Pandawa event brought the spirit of the new generation EC210 to life.”
Volvo
(Volvo CE)
Indotruck Utama have introduced the new generation Volvo EC210 excavator in Indonesia.
Volvo CE and PT Indotruck Utama representatives at the EC210 excavator launch event.
GCCRN industrial chair and Cemex vice president of global research development Davide Zampini at Innovandi GCCRN Spring Week.
Image: Holcim
Image:
VolvoCE
Image: GCCA
Holcim chief sustainability o cer Nollaig Forrest.
Largest Pilot Crushtec modular plant in the DRC
In a milestone project, Pilot Crushtec International has commissioned its largestever Pilot Modular plant.
Supplied to produce five aggregate sizes for an existing customer in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the plant is designed to produce 350 tonnes per hour (tph), with a peak design capacity of 440tph to account for peaks and troughs in day-today production.
Having long operated a Pilot Modular plant, a major aggregates producer in the DRC looked no further than Pilot Crushtec when it was time to invest in another greenfields plant to meet the country’s rising demand for aggregates. This comes on the back of ongoing private mine expansion projects, coupled with government infrastructure development projects aimed at closing the infrastructure gap in the country.
According to Pilot Crushtec sales manager Africa Wayne Warren, the customer was aware from the onset of the benefits of the Pilot Modular solution, ranging from lower capital and operational costs compared with bespoke plants to shorter
lead times and flexibility to operational changes. Pilot Modular systems are readily available modules that can be deployed to sites rapidly and operational quickly.
“To provide context, this particular plant was delivered within about four-and-a-half months of its order, while the erection, assembly and commissioning took a further three months, highlighting the short lead times for which the Pilot Modular concept is renowned,” Warren said.
For this plant, Warren said Pilot Crushtec did not ‘reinvent the wheel’, largely using othe-shelf Pilot Modular products.
The primary crusher is a Metso C120 jaw crusher, which takes a maximum feed size of 700mm.
From the jaw, the material goes into the TKG 16 modular scalping screen. Incorporating the TKG 16 modular scalping screen helps to maximise the e ciency of the secondary crusher’s capacity by taking out fines just after the jaw crusher, especially considering that the environment is notorious for having a lot of fine material in the feed.
Oversize material (90mm or greater) from the TKG 16 modular scalping screen is sent directly to the secondary cone crusher, a Metso HP300. This high-capacity machine is known for its ability to take large feed sizes and its large throw, which provides for a decent material shape at the secondary stage of crushing.
“This project is testimony that the Pilot Modular concept works well for the African environment, where large infrastructure projects are on the go and suppliers need their crushing and screening solutions as a matter of urgency,” Pilot Crushtec sales and marketing director Francois Marais said.
“The Pilot Modular solution is quick to deploy and set up, while it does not need a whole lot of civil works and extensive infrastructure to set up.”
Image:Pilot Crushtec
The Pilot Modular Nordberg HP300 cone crusher module.
Observing production at Al Tawyeen quarry, Fujairah, UAE.
Building better in MENA
The Middle East–North Africa – MENA – construction sector has witnessed steady growth in recent years, especially in the oil-rich countries in the Gulf Cooperative Council region.
Rising oil prices are not the only factor stimulating growth across the Middle East–North Africa (MENA) construction industry and its linked building materials sector.
Rapid urbanisation is driving demand for residential, commercial and industrial infrastructure, while regional governments’ economic diversi cation programmes continue to invest heavily in construction to reduce dependence on hydrocarbon revenues. MENA’s population is also partly increasing thanks to more expats arriving to participate in government and private sector infrastructure projects. Furthermore, the tourism industry is witnessing a boom,
especially in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as scores of new hotels open yearly.
Saudi Arabia is leading the Middle East’s construction gold rush with massive projects valued at around US$1.3 trillion. These include the futuristic city NEOM (US$500 billion), the 170km linear smart city ‘The Line’ (around US$300 billion), and the Red Sea Global, a tourist resort where dozens of new star hotels are coming up.
In addition, Saudi Arabia is set to host major events such as the 2027 Asian AFC Cup, the Asian Winter Games in 2029, the Riyadh Expo in 2030, and the 2034 FIFA World Cup. It is also said to be eyeing
hosting the Olympics in the next decade and putting in place infrastructure projects like new international airports, seaports, and industrial, commercial and housing complexes to support the success of these events.
According to research by real estate consultancy rm Knight Frank MENA, Saudi Arabia needs to construct 115,000 homes annually by 2030 to address the housing demand of its growing population. This substantial increase aims to ful l Saudi Arabia’s target of 70 per cent home ownership by 2030, up from 63.7 per cent at the end of 2023. However, a steep hike in borrowing costs is proving to be a deterrent for many rst-time Saudi buyers, particularly low- and middle-income groups.
“The crux of the issue has been the misalignment between buyer expectations
and the current pricing or the market realities,” Knight Frank head of Middle East research Faisal Durrani said.
The UAE invests large sums in infrastructure development, including a highspeed rail network connecting the country’s major cities.
Bahrain is another country investing in sustainable infrastructure, with developments like the Bahrain Bay project. Kuwait is also focused on developing new transport infrastructure and housing projects.
Oman and Egypt
Several new projects are sanctioned and executed rapidly in these two nations.
According to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), the country’s average construction production index grew by 5.8 per cent in the rst 10 months of 2024, preceded by an annual decline of 10.9 per cent in 2023. The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) authorities said it secured 251 projects valued at around US$6.2 billion from August 2022 to January 2025.
The Omani construction industry will expand at an annual average growth rate of 4.2 per cent from 2025 to 2028, with its growth to be supported by rising government investments in renewable energy, transport infrastructure, and the housing sector as part of the Oman Vision 2040 Plan. Major infrastructure projects for 2025 include expansions of the Muscat Expressway, the Khasab-Daba-Lima Road, and the Al Sharqiyah Expressway.
According to market research and consulting rm 6Wresearch, the Middle East construction materials market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of eight per cent between 2025 and 2031, which is attributed to several factors. The research said increasing demand for green and sustainable construction materials is another major sector and market growth driver.
However, the construction materials industry faces hurdles, including changing raw material prices, currency uctuations, rigorous regulations, labour shortages, and competition from imports.
An important development in the market is the increasing demand for prefabricated construction materials, a trend driven by the need for faster and more ef cient construction methods, according to 6Wresearch.
Saudi plans for aggregates
Doug McGillivray is managing director, Southern Gulf at Currie & Brown, a leading provider of project management, cost management and advisory services.
1. Rapid urbanisation in the region is driving demand for residential, commercial and industrial infrastructure.
3. Faisal Durrani, Knight Frank head of Middle East research.
4. A sandstone quarry in the Middle East.
4
He said that Saudi Arabia is securing longterm supply chain agreements to ensure the availability of construction materials for its mega projects.
The Middle East’s biggest economy has invested heavily in the metals and mining sector, collaborating with international companies to establish copper facilities, zinc smelters and lithium carbonate plants. These strategic partnerships, McGillivray said, aim to bolster the kingdom’s domestic production capabilities, reduce import reliance, and stabilise material costs.
“We expect this investment to reduce material costs in the long term, although there will be short-term volatility during ramp-up phases, as there may be inef ciencies, bottlenecks or supply chain issues causing price uctuations,” he said.
“The region can now consider securing supply chain agreements, investing in sustainable production and enhancing infrastructure and logistics for transportation through ports, rail and road.”
According to McGillivray, huge infrastructure projects, such as the expansion of the Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai and the King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries and Services in Saudi Arabia, have put immense pressure on the supply chain and resources. This is against a backdrop of a huge pipeline of projects in other sectors, such as residential property and hospitality.
“Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 Giga projects and landmark events such as Expo 2030 and the FIFA World Cup 2034 will continue to add to the challenge,” McGillivray said.
“The competition for labour and materials is pushing up prices in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia.”
Careful planning, investment in local production, and the creation of more stable supply chains will help alleviate the situation. Similarly, when it comes to labour availability, strategic planning and investment in training will help reduce project delays and disruption, McGillivray said.
Resources management
The UK-based CDE, a leader in designing and engineering wet processing solutions for the waste recycling and natural minerals processing sectors, has achieved a major milestone in the Gulf region’s commitment to sustainable waste management by signing a new deal with Advanced Technology Recycling (ATR) in December last year.
ATR is the rst company in the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) region to invest in wet processing technology for construction and demolition waste, setting a new standard for environmental responsibility in Qatar. The agreement will see CDE supply cuttingedge equipment that will enable ATR to ef ciently recover valuable resources from waste materials.
Emphasising ATR’s mission to make recycling more accessible and reduce waste for future generations, the company’s executive director Ali Al-Maadid said the partnership aligned perfectly with CDE’s
commitment to tackling global waste challenges through innovation.
“CDE continues to push the boundaries of sustainable recycling by delivering advanced wet processing solutions, helping Qatar take a signi cant step forward in its environmental ambitions,” Al-Maadid added.
CDE allows operators to increase their production of high-quality sand and aggregates by recovering and treating materials that are no longer waste but saleable products, diverting up to 90 per cent more from land lls.
Signi cant transformation
CDE Group head of operations in the Middle East and Africa Bassem Idriss said the construction sector in the region is experiencing signi cant transformation, driven by ambitious national development plans, technological advancements, and a strong emphasis on sustainability.
When supported with the appropriate processing practices and technology, sand and stone resources recovered from construction and demolition activities can be utilised for high-value construction and infrastructure projects.
Idriss pointed out that legislation in the region has been increasing to reduce the volume of waste destined for land lls. New laws outline the requirements for recycling concrete and gravel into new high-value materials for projects, including road surfacing. Water management is always a key priority for the region, and CDE’s modular wet processing equipment can support these efforts.
Advanced Technology Recycling is the first Gulf region company to invest in wet processing technology for construction and demolition waste.
CDE AquaCycle thickener primary stage water management.
According to Idriss, CDE’s AquaCycle thickener, a single, compact and user-friendly unit, is a highly ef cient water management solution that minimises consumption by recycling up to 90 per cent of the process water for immediate recirculation.
In turn, this reduces the requirement for settling ponds. With the addition of a lter press for sludge and tailings management, the need for a pond system on site is eliminated. Combined with a CDE ProPress lter press, this gure increases to 95 per cent, removing the need for settling ponds altogether.
Demand for aggregates
The region, according to Idriss, is witnessing a substantial surge in construction activities, particularly in countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE. This boom is primarily driven by ambitious projects under initiatives such as Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which includes mega-developments and increased urbanisation.
These large-scale endeavours have signi cantly increased the demand for construction materials across the region and are integrating environmental and energyef cient designs into urban development.
Idriss added that progress has been made across the region in waste recycling, which is promoting the circular economy by utilising the abundant incoming construction and demolition waste stream to combat depleting natural sand and aggregate resources.
McGillivray also said that robust growth in the GCC construction sector has led to a signi cant increase in demand for
construction materials, notably steel, cement and advanced building materials designed to enhance building ef ciency, sustainability and performance.
“We expect these materials to experience faster-than-average cost in ation over the next two to ve years,” he said. “We recommend carefully planning projects, particularly for materials in high demand.
“Project planning will need to incorporate greater exibility, and clients will need to be willing to invest in new approaches to circumvent possible bottlenecks. For example, adopting advanced procurement practices, investing in local production and improved supply chains to alleviate the longterm impact of this higher demand.
“If local manufacturing capacity expands over the next couple of years, and supply chains adapt, we may see some cost stabilisation in materials.”
While the ongoing Israel–Hamas con ict and the Russia–Ukraine war have disrupted supply chains, most megaprojects in the Middle East remain on track. Governments and developers have contingency plans, and strong economic commitments to these projects reduce the likelihood of signi cant disruptions.
However, McGillivray believes material costs and logistics could be affected if there is prolonged instability.
One major factor in uencing projects and the supply chain is oil price, which are likely to rise if regional con icts disrupt oil ow – a situation that people, transport and manufacturing across all industries.
According to CDE’s Idriss, companies might need to adapt by diversifying supply chains, investing in local material production, shifting away from extracting virgin quarried materials and turning construction and demolition waste into highvalue construction products. Producing the materials locally also provides an advantage if shipping routes or global transport networks are affected. AB
Bassem Idriss, CDE Group head of operations in the Middle East and Africa.
PACESETTER FOR QUARRY AND ASPHALT PLANT REVIVAL
Pacesetter is a major potential aggregate producer for Nigeria.
Images: Oyo State Government
After overcoming its challenging past, a major Nigerian quarry and asphalt plant operation is well-placed for a productive future.
The Pacesetter quarry and asphalt plant in the Nigerian state of Oyo, a major potential aggregate producer with the capacity to also supply neighbouring states in the country, was launched in 2003 by the then governor Rashidi Ladoja of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), a political party that lost to the Action Congress of Nigeria’s Abiola Ajimobi in 2011. It was around this time that Pacesetter’s woes started.
However, during the 2019 governorship election campaigns in Oyo, which saw victory for the incumbent governor Seyi Makinde, a pledge was made to revive the quarry and asphalt plant to cut down on the cost of construction materials.
“This previously moribund quarry and asphalt plant, which we visited on July 3 2019, will now generate funds for the government and the concessionaire, create jobs for our people and also produce the asphalt we need for road projects in the state,” Makinde said in May 2020 while handing over the plant to Carboncor Road Technology, a new concessionaire picked to operate the facility under Oyo’s public–private partnership programme.
“With this project, we were able to bring down the cost of asphalt for the roads.”
This desire to address the high cost of construction materials and fast-track delayed projects, especially in the transportation and housing sector, pushed the current Oyo Government to revive and modernise the Pacesetter quarry and asphalt plant – located in Ijayi, Ibadan – as the regional government seeks to increase investment in its solid minerals that currently generate an estimated US$3.8 million in annual revenue.
Oyo is home to an estimated 20 granite quarries and clay bricks quarrying companies.
“Oyo state is open to establishing public–private partnership arrangements with mineral exploration and mining companies,” a May 2023 government report stated.
“The state is also willing to offer guidance to potential investors towards obtaining mining licenses and permits.”
According to Sulaimon Olanrewaju, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde’s chief press secretary, Pacesetter quarry’s main product is granite aggregate for construction works, with material sizes ranging from 3/4 (0.75in) to 1/2 (0.5in) to 3/8 (0.375in) and dust 5mm. He said the quarry operator utilises the blasting and drilling method to extract the aggregate.
The company prefers the use of explosives for blasting in compliance with the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Regulations 2011, the Nigerian Minerals Act 2007, the Explosives Act 1964, and the Explosives Regulation 1967, all of which require explosive users such as quarry operators to provide adequate public disclosure for transparency.
“All the products from Pacesetter quarry can be used for the production of asphalt laying, except 3/4 aggregate materials, which can be used for casting, while dust can also be used for block making,” Olanrewaju said.
The quarry’s daily mining procedures follow the conventional operational phases, including drilling, blasting and transporting materials to the crushing plant.
“Normally, at the crushing plant, primary and secondary crushing and screening are procedures for separating the materials into different sizes,” Olanrewaju said.
“This previously moribund quarry and asphalt plant ... will now generate funds for the government and the concessionaire, create jobs for our people and also produce the asphalt we need for road projects in the state.”
Seyi Makinde
Re-launching Pacesetter has also opened opportunities for suppliers of heavy construction equipment.
Diverse machinery and equipment is used at the quarry for loading, hauling, crushing, screening, washing and recycling.
“But we also have drilling machines, blasting equipment, excavators and dumpers that operate for at least eight hours every day,” Olanrewaju said.
Recent years have seen the quarry make a number of improvements in technology, particularly the acquisition of modern equipment in areas such as transportation and crushing, which has improved the ease of operations and ensured the quality of the aggregate products.
“The improved technology has led to the increase in the production capacity and better turnaround time,” Olanrewaju said.
For example, the quarry operator recently introduced a new primary crusher with a higher output capacity of 300 tons per hour, an upgrade from a previous machine’s hourly capacity of 100 tons.
Drilling for material at the quarry goes 6–13m “for maximum scoop of the stone for the aggregate”.
“In terms of tons of material produced, the volume produced annually is estimated at 500,000 to 800,000 tons,” Olanrewaju said.
According to Olanrewaju, there is every likelihood aggregate output at the quarry, whose mineral resource life is estimated at 30–50 years, could grow, supported by continuous technology improvement and anticipated high aggregate consumption volumes within Oyo state.
“As of now, Pacesetter quarry production is not meant for the export market, as all the output is consumed within Oyo state, where the market is still quite huge,” he said.
With a permanent workforce of at least 40 people, Pacesetter is currently staffed with
experts in various elds, while the quarry is managed by mining engineers who are responsible for activities such as blasting, drilling, transportation to the point of crushing, and end user.
Pacesetter’s sustainability credentials are bolstered by its compliance with environmental protection regulations during day-to-day work, including control of dust and noise.
“The quarry area or blasting areas is sited far away from human settlement while safety procedure or protection are being given to the workers such as safety boot, head helmet, etcetera, to protect them from noise, dust and other forms of hazard,” Olanrewaju said.
The Oyo Government has identi ed several infrastructure projects, some already in progress, that would substantially increase the demand for construction aggregates. Makinde’s drive to achieve “zero potholes in Oyo” is expected to be a key driver in the state’s aggregates consumption, with emphasis on the transportation sector.
“Oyo state has an extensive road network, including a network of federal roads that connect the state to other parts of Nigeria,” the Oyo Government stated in a recent investment report.
Elsewhere, the state has approved the construction of 1000 km of rural access roads in the 33 local government areas through the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project, boosting economic development.
“The Oyo State Government is investing heavily in road infrastructure, and there are opportunities for investors to participate in the development of new roads, bridges and highways,” according to a report released during the May 2023 Oyo State International Business Summit held in London.
Some of the infrastructure expected to rely on Pacesetter quarry for construction material includes the Iluntuntu Business District project, which is meant to accommodate new commercial of ce buildings, a ve-star hotel, high-end retail shopping malls and an industrial park.
Oyo is also developing the Ibadan Inland dry port to help address Nigeria’s cargo processing constraints, especially easing the pressure on the Apapa and Tincan seaports and the perennial gridlock on the Oshodi–Apapa expressway.
The Oyo Government is supporting the expansion of Ibadan Airport to accommodate larger aircraft with a new runway.
More aggregates are also expected to be used during the implementation of Oyo’s affordable housing programme to meet demand from the increasing population, in turn “creating a potentially lucrative market for investors”.
Demand for quality construction materials is expected to increase across Nigeria, and the country’s construction market is projected to grow at an average rate of 3.2 per cent between 2022 and 2026.
The re-launching of the Pacesetter quarry and asphalt plant has also opened new opportunities for suppliers of heavy construction equipment. Dump trucks, excavators, dredgers, generators and graders are in demand from to numerous ongoing projects.
“With a growing population of over eight million people and a city with the second largest growing economy in Nigeria, Oyo state has a strong demand for diverse infrastructure requirements,” the Oyo Government said. AB
The stalled Pacesetter asphalt plant before its revival.
Flexible. In performance and applications.
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Inside Kenya’s push for clinker production
Urbanisation and population growth have seen East Africa’s demand for clinker – a key component in cement production –reach unprecedented levels.
Clinker
In Kenya, East Africa’s commercial hub, cement manufacturers are working to put up their own clinker production units amid a competitive market that has recently witnessed several acquisitions and buyouts of major rms. This follows the enactment of the Exports and Investment Levy, which was introduced by the Finance Act 2023
The levy will see importers pay 17.5 per cent on clinker and is expected to encourage local production and reduce reliance on imports, a move designed to signi cantly reduce foreign exchange spending and bridge Kenya’s clinker shortage gap of around 3.3 million tonnes.
Kenya has long relied on clinker imports from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and India.
While the levy initially faced opposition from cement manufacturers who rely on imported clinker, as well as other industry players and stakeholders, the Kenyan Government upheld its implementation after a parliamentary committee on nance and national planning gave it a clean bill of health.
Since the levy came into effect in 2024, several Kenyan cement producers who have historically relied on imported clinker have made signi cant investments in expanding existing facilities, while also creating new ones to meet growing cement demand, with some companies targeting the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan markets.
With Kenya’s cement demand forecast to increase at an annual average rate of almost six per cent, reaching nearly 14 million
tonnes by 2028, supported by sustained infrastructure investment, companies such as National Cement Company Limited (NCCL), East Africa Portland Cement Company (EAPCC), Mombasa Cement and Savannah Cement have established new plants, while others have raised funds to build their own.
EAPCC, in particular, has realised signi cant new milestones in clinker production, with a capacity of 5000 tonnes per day (tpd) at its new facility in Kajiado County.
“An increase in clinker capacity, both domestically and regionally, means heightened competition and potential cost uctuations as more players enter the market,” EAPCC chairman Richard Mbithi said during the release of the company’s 2023–24 nancial year results.
“Nevertheless, we at [EAPCC] remain committed to our strategic goals, pursuing a
Cement is critical for Kenya’s infrastructure.
East Africa Portland Cement Company clinker and grinding plant in Kajiado County.
market share of at least 20 per cent through proactive market regeneration and strategic brand positioning initiatives.”
Mbithi said the company has made considerable achievements amid a challenging environment.
“We successfully completed the rst phase of our comprehensive plant refurbishment program, with the commissioning of our refurbished clinkering unit,” he said. “This milestone has been pivotal in improving both clinker and cement production, enabling us to meet increased demand with a reliable, high-quality supply.
“Revenue increased by a notable 11 per cent, re ecting both enhanced plant ef ciency and production.”
EAPCC managing director Mohamed Adan said expansion of the new clinker plant will give the company a competitive edge.
“We are con dent that our production levels will consistently approach full capacity,” he said. “We conducted a rigorous plant audit [and] this exercise has equipped us with a strategic roadmap for reinvesting proceeds from assets sale to expand our clinker production capacity by approximately 50 per cent.
“Once implemented, this will allow our total cement production to reach new levels positioning us to better meet the markets demand and strengthen our competitive standing.”
Another company that has made heavy investments in production is Savannah Clinker Limited, an af liate of Savannah Cement. The company has raised US$500 million through a privately placed debt arrangement to fund the construction
of a clinker plant in Kitui County, east of the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, which is being constructed by China-based Sinoma International Engineering.
Savannah Cement chairman Benson Ndeta said the company is developing a limestone extraction and clinker processing plant with a capacity of 2.92 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) and a grinding unit with capacity to produce 900,000tpa.
“I’m extremely proud to have the support of a major international investor who shares our visions and beliefs of what is required to deliver the growth and development of our infrastructure,” Ndeta said.
Another player in the clinker race is Simba Cement, a subsidiary of Devki Group that recently launched a clinker plant at the
Sebit limestone mines in West Pokot County, which has capacity to produce 6000tpd, or 2Mtpa. Simba is also seeking approval from the National Environment Management Authority to construct a 5500-tonne operation in Kitui County.
With additional planned clinker plants from several companies across the country, Kenya’s capacity is expected to increase signi cantly and is projected to reach a total of 4.4Mtpa by the end of 2025. So many signi cant investments will allow cement manufacturers to supply clinker to regional markets such as Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and the DRC. AB
Kenya has previously relied on imported clinker like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan and India.
More clinker plants across Kenya are expected to boost capacity to 4.4Mtpa by the end of 2025.
Image: Mombasa Cement
It’s about profit, people and the planet
When Aggregates Business sat down with Jeremy Harsin from Cummins and Michael Gomes from Topcon for a recent roundtable conversation, they discussed making planning, workflows, contract tenders and sites as sustainable as possible.
To say our two roundtable interviewees are experts in their eld is de nitely something of an understatement.
Jeremy Harsin is senior director off highway powertrain engineering at Cummins, while Michael Gomes is vice president of sustainability and global CSR at Topcon Positioning Systems.
These men, it’s safe to say, know what they are talking about when it comes to making planning, work ows, contract tenders and sites more sustainable.
“Sustainability is really about pro t, people and the planet,” they said. “Being able to drive that is the work that matters.”
How can you set and maintain sustainable standards and ensure you are buying from sustainable primary, secondary and tertiary suppliers?
MICHAEL: Once you engage in that sustainability process, one of the most important things is looking at your Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, then engage with your supply chain. That starts with an
understanding of where you are, as well as where you want to go, engaging in the process and getting some basic metrics right.
The most important thing is starting the dialogue, because it will take at least six to 12 months to engage with your supply chain and help get them up to speed. At Topcon, we’re just beginning that process.
How do you start the dialogue?
MICHAEL: It might start with a survey, so we know where everybody is on the sustainability journey.
A benchmarking survey will show where you are and the most important issues to you. It might be human rights, it might be materials and sourcing, or the treatment of people or the extended supply chain and the
Cummins senior director o highway powertrain engineering Jeremy Harsin.
Topcon Positioning Systems vice president of sustainability and global CSR Michael Gomes.
Image: Topcon
Image: Cummins
supplier interface. It could be about water or environmental risk for different locations.
JEREMY: We produce engines and powertrains. We are very focused on emissions from our equipment and how our products are used in the eld. The key is that the standards are practical and realistic to implement, and widely applicable.
We see pocketed things which are really hard to navigate. Not to say that we sit still, but we want to ensure that we have got the right things to work on in the right timeframes. Previously, we’ve talked about scale, particularly how hard it is to build in an off-highway world where the volumes are not on-highway. Being able to build scale on solutions and being able to manage those is a
problem, not just for us but for OEM [original equipment manufacturer] partners as they think about chassis proliferation, etcetera. It comes down to good collaboration between the regulators, suppliers like ourselves, the rest of the industry, and trade associations. Through those conversations you tend to pick up a lot more detail concerning infrastructure, how we make sure that we’re covering all the challenges of this diverse market while we’re getting work done.
How crucial is having a relationship with regulators moving forward on sustainable work ows?
MICHAEL: Very important. We’re here in the state of California, which has in many cases, for better or worse, led some of those
initiatives; for example, with the Tier 4 and Tier 5 emissions standards and the California Air Resources Board.
Topcon has been engaged in elements of those conversations as a member of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, as well as with the [Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation] and we’re really working to align with elements of adopted standards.
One of the biggest things when interfacing with the regulators is providing information. One of the biggest challenges is that you don’t know what you don’t know and a lot of this stuff can become very technical.
We really work on transparency, to be able to share information. As an industry, each of us has a voice but together that
choir can really sing and make music if we’re coordinated in our approach. Once we establish some basics of vocabulary, that really helps.
I don’t want to use the word ‘lead’ but I’ll use the word ‘in uence’. If we provide information to regulators and other stakeholders, then we begin to frame where we are as a company.
How can you help customers reduce Scope 3 supply-chain carbon emissions?
JEREMY: We work with OEMs, we don’t deal directly. We work through OEMs who move earth or transport goods, depending on the market, and that’s true for both on- and off-highway. We’re making sure we partner with them as we head towards reduced emissions.
We’ve talked previously about intermediate steps making a big difference now, while we’re focusing on that long-term realistic approach about how we’re going to get from A to B.
Current engine systems are much cleaner than those from a decade ago. We’ve used an example in our communications comparing the current US spec to a Tier 1 machine. It’s something like 25:1 from an emissions perspective – a bit extreme because there’s not a lot of Tier 1 out there but there probably is still a lot of Tier 3 equipment out there.
Beyond the engine system, another big focus for us is this integrated powertrain mindset. The more integrated – and that doesn’t necessarily have to mean hardware but could include electronics features –collaboration with customers and other powertrain producers, the more ef cient and productive we can be.
You probably need look no further than our Meritor acquisition a couple of years ago. We are trying to expand from just an engine and an after-treatment to other components. The more pieces you put together, the more optimised you can get the system. The Cummins Meritor portfolio is going to serve customers globally. It could be a combustionbased powertrain, or it could be electri ed powertrains. We’re spreading that investment around and covering many different scenarios, depending on the use case.
How can Topcon help customers reduce transport costs?
MICHAEL: Our business is fundamentally different from Jeremy’s. When customers head down the sustainability journey, one of the rst things you look at is your Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
For people who construct buildings and surfaces, move dirt or grow crops, there are a lot of issues about what you burn and where you start with inputs. That can be, for example, the difference between hot-mix and warm-mix asphalt. In many cases, it starts with elements of the inputs because that is the low-hanging fruit. It’s ‘what is the carbon footprint of those materials?’
Topcon sensors and technology can be used to create those digital data layers,
Watch the full interview here
whether that is understanding vehicle tracking of what you moved and didn’t move, or showing how you moved less. It’s showing how you did the job right. It’s the proof of placement.
As more people go to warm-mix on the front end, that really ampli es the need for things like intelligent compaction and smoothness standards to make sure you are getting the longevity and Scope 3 emissions out of the life of that structure. We work with clients to understand how the digital data layers can be captured within the work ow. Then those digital data layers serve as proof of practice for what they’re doing.
How do you make the best possible use of renewable energy, and how do you help customers capture some of those sustainability gains?
JEREMY: Somebody once said the greenest energy is the one you don’t use. For an engine system or a manufacturing facility, the goal is to make it more effective ... to use less. It’s about an increase in ef ciency.
Once you’ve got that ef ciency optimised, you can focus on how you pivot over to making sure that energy is coming from a renewable source. We obviously have very speci c business and sustainability targets for the manufacturing sites. In 2023, the company invested a little over $40 million on energy waste and water-reduction projects. With manufacturing facilities, a lot of the power comes from solar, so we’ve continued to expand solar capability at the sites. I believe we’re up to 66 locations that have some form of solar array on-site for power generation. Where we can’t do that, we look for other ways to make a difference.
In northern Indiana there is the Meadow Lake wind farm. Since 2017, Cummins has worked as part of a virtual-power purchase agreement to make sure we’re helping to expand that and offset the energy that we use in other facilities. There are a lot of different ways you can go about it.
For the 2030 goals, it’s going to require action across the company. We publish a sustainability report every year. The key part for corporations is coming up with goals based on science, articulating what those are and focusing on their execution.
It’s one thing to say it, it’s another thing to put the proof down and put the work in. That’s what we’re striving to do.
How is Topcon embracing the idea of renewable energy and helping customers?
MICHAEL: Like Cummins, for many years we have published an integrated report that includes sustainability metrics. This year, our report includes Scope 1 and 2 from all our manufacturing facilities, as well as Scope 3 on the input side from our Japanese manufacturing facilities. We’re expanding that to include 45, if not all 81, Topcon locations worldwide.
One of the rst things you begin to understand is where you are. It was a pleasant surprise to nd that about four per cent of our electricity came from renewable sources.
We’ve added solar at a number of facilities. Looking at our Scope 1 and 2, that number of our inputs coming from renewable sources increases to about seven per cent because, in many cases, our facilities, for example in the Netherlands, are all powered by wind.
Our Finland facility is 100 per cent renewable through local initiatives. It uses wind as well as hydroelectric power, and even heat from the earth and from the local utility sanitation area. We’re increasingly nding those proof points as we continue down our sustainable journey.
Once you understand where your Scope 1 and 2 is, it helps you do a better job to help your clients understand where they are on the sustainability journey. We’ve found that helpful as well as educational.
What is Cummins working on in sustainability in terms of new developments, technologies, software solutions, and with your recent acquisition Meritor, and new brand Accelera?
JEREMY: It’s a long list. We continue with record levels of investment in combustion technology. I would be doing a disservice if I didn’t mention that.
We believe wholeheartedly that technology has a long runway still, on-highway and off-highway, but much more so on off-highway. If you look at off-highway historically, we have always bene ted from the activity in the on-highway space, from product learning as well as from a technology perspective. As on-highway markets continue to evolve and bring new platforms or requirements that drive new platforms, that opens up a lot of opportunity for companies like Cummins to bring new things into the off-highway world that, even if they are still combustion engines at the same emissions, are going to get the jobs done more ef ciently than their counterparts and predecessors.
We launched the Next Gen X15 for Stage 5 and Tier 4 markets at Intermat last year. That’s coming to production, I believe,
We’re not going to stop at engine systems so, again, it’s great to have an engine and an after-treatment solution that meets emissions targets and does the job. If you think powertrain, think a little bit more broadly –hybrid activity is on the rise.
We have a lot of projects right now, but there’s also a lot of applications you could
buy today. You don’t have to look too hard to nd them. There are de nitely options that are starting to emerge in the market. Those don’t necessarily show up from a government’s perspective. They probably would show up from an end-user perspective on fuel consumed.
It starts with an engine system that people want. Once you get that, you start thinking beyond that and about what control feature sets, etcetera, we can integrate to make that equipment more ef cient, more productive and more enjoyable to operate.
There are things out there that are not necessarily new. We’ve talked about it before but even just digital connectivity. I’m sure my co-panellist would con rm that data is power. The more data we get, the more intelligent a decision we can make and, from our perspective, the better we can integrate because we get insights on how people are using the equipment and where we can really
make an impact.
Can we talk about hydrogen, which is very much part of Cummins’ sustainability path?
We’ve talked about our electrolyser business and our Accelera by Cummins division. Work continues on fuel cells, although these are farther out for a lot of markets.
More near term, we’ve launched what we call the HELM platform, which is a base engine system. You can swap some key parts out on assembly line and burn different fuels in them so hydrogen is a combustion engine solution – something a little bit more near term for some markets. It’s a big part of the plan moving forward.
Topcon sensors and technology can be used to create digital data layers, such as understanding vehicle tracking.
Cummins launched the Next Gen X15 for O Highway engine at Intermat last year.
Image: Cummins
From Topcon’s perspective, what are the up-and-coming technologies and development solutions helping customers on the sustainability side?
MICHAEL: It starts with the data from the machine, being able to use basic systems like telematics, etcetera, to get data off the machine, as well as feed data to the machine.
Once you get those data layers off the machine, that data serves as proof of practice and then it comes down to what software system you are working with. Then you can share the data with your stakeholders or use it for your governmental reporting processes.
We are working on getting the data layers from the machine to the software platforms, focusing on the interoperability and the sharing ability within those software platforms as a recording system for proof of practice.
On the Topcon side, for civil engineering it’s our ClearEdge3D for measuring and using data to understand how I use, for example, concrete versus green concrete and how that reduced my carbon footprint.
On the construction side, it’s our Aptix platform, where we can track how we move less dirt, burn less fuel and are on target.
On the agricultural side, it’s our TAP platform, where we can make the choice between formulated fertilisers or organic fertilisers and show how that is re ected as best management practice in the carbon footprint of the crop’s eventual output.
How optimistic are you about a carbonneutral construction and off-highway equipment industry? What is a realistic timeframe – 2030, 2050?
JEREMY: I would say, long-term, optimistic, but with a timeframe quali er put around that.
From our off-highway perspective, a combustion engine runway is a long one. This is de nitely the case when you get outside of markets like the US and Europe, so we tend to focus on those. What we don’t always talk about is markets like Africa, South America and Southeast Asia, where it’s going to be a lot longer.
It’s hard to give data and it’s going to vary by which plot of land you’re on. Often, you’re doing construction because the area needs developing, but from an infrastructure perspective the power isn’t there and the fuel has to be brought to the equipment. It’s not like a truck, where it pulls into the station. The power density on this equipment is very high. We continue to stress pragmatism.
The best thing we can do is continue to invest, make solutions available and continue to expand into a powertrain supplier, and be able to drive further reductions. As far as 2030, 2040, 2050, that’s hard to say. It’s probably no problem in the US and Europe markets – there are some challenges but we’ve all got a common mission. Elsewhere in the world, where a lot of the construction happens, it’s going to take longer.
Crucially, it’s about helping contractors when they’re bidding for work.
JEREMY: How it shows up in bids is interesting. In a job bid you could probably spec out an equipment-emissions level. That’s an easy rst step.
Fast forward a few years, if somebody wanted to go as far as to spec out that it had to be a hybrid, it’s probably okay in some cases. My guess is you limit what OEMs or contractors are going to be able to do in that job. There may or may not be a solution at that time.
Flexibility has got to be part of it. We’re all working toward lowering emissions and eventually BEVs [battery-electric vehicles] and fuel cells, etcetera, are going to come, but it’s got to be phased in. What you’re asking for at any given time needs to be matched with what the market has to offer.
How optimistic is Topcon that the construction industry will hit net-zero targets?
MICHAEL: We’re very bullish in the long term. We believe in where this is headed.
We realise that different parts of the world move at different paces. In many cases, the developing world might even be adopting or moving faster than the developed world because they have fewer
The Topcon GTL-1000 robotic scanning solution.
standards and they can jump straight to the newest, latest, greatest technology. They are not handcuffed.
Can you give examples?
MICHAEL: Japan is very climate-sensitive. In Europe, and speci cally northern Europe, we’ve seen it with a project in Norway that we have been working on 2017–2020. It’s a case of being able to provide those proof points.
It comes down to being able to use those data layers as proof of practice as they begin to frame into that context.
The pace of adoption moves at the speed at which incentives are provided because sustainability starts with pro tability. Often, sustainability represents a cost reduction.
Being able to show best management practices so that you can prove you are reducing cost, as well as improving social sustainability from the social side and worker safety from the environmental side, and reducing your footprint, or either from the governance side, you then show how your process is beginning to t into that.
Using those digital data layers as proof of practice towards objectives that are being driven with incentives by the various stakeholders is absolutely where we see it. We’re very positive on that.
So you’re helping customers meet regulations and win contracts by showing them how sustainable your technology is?
MICHAEL: It’s being able to use those data layers as proof of practice. That could be what emissions are speci c to your engine or your powertrain, or the distance travelled or what you’re moving, and then showing that you are doing the right things and using those industry practices that truly represent the best, most innovative aspects of how technology is being used.
Is there anything to add on sustainable workforces?
JEREMY: For off-highway and on-highway, there’s not going to be one solution. We’re going to nd avenues and opportunities to nd scale and build and that will dictate how we’re able to execute.
We looked at some quotes from our CEO. I won’t put them as well as she did but some of the key points are that customers need options and Cummins is here to provide them. Even within a given application, you’ve got a wide spread of size. Even within a common size, you’ve got a wide spread of use cases so there isn’t going to be just one solution for a 20-tonne excavator. You’re going to see multiples and all of them are probably going to make sense.
For the path to zero, the big part is the commitment to decarbonise and a big part of that commitment is going to be making choices and exibility for OEMs who are going to, in turn, make that exibility available to the end users actually doing the work.
Pro tability being a big part of it is a good comment. It’s easy to have nice solutions that are very advanced, but if the person buying that equipment can’t make a living, we have a problem. We all have to bear that in mind.
MICHAEL: One of the biggest pieces is social sustainability – the idea of quality work, whether that is now safer or higher value. Is it reducing operator fatigue and increasing wages for decision-based quality?
It’s those pieces of the puzzle, then being able to have the proof points around that social sustainability.
The second thing is, it’s elements of the work that matter. Sustainability and digitisation are intimately linked. It’s the elements of those digital data layers and how they t into a work ow, how they can be used as proof of practice that you are doing the right things, not just for pro t but also for the people, for the planet. It’s validating that triple win and aligning it with incentives to deliver value.
Our tools and technologies are used as pieces that help customers validate and tell that story about what they are doing and how they’re doing it. That’s where we t into the puzzle.
How would you sum up what sustainability means to Cummins?
JEREMY: We’ve been at this for a long time. We’re 105 years old now and we would like to be at it for a long time to come. We are committed to delivering power solutions, not
just one but a diverse portfolio, and that is core to our destination zero strategy. That exibility is, again, how we get from A to B.
Our product range is going to span the core engine business – what we’ve done well for a long time. It goes all the way to the other end, to our Accelera business where we have our zeroemissions technologies.
You’ve got the components and other business units in between. A lot of opportunity and optionality is there for customers and, again, with that push further into the powertrain strategy our destination-zero approach is going to meet diverse market needs. We’re going to bring real world greenhouse gas reductions. Independent of how fast BEV adoption comes, there are things we can and will do.
We continue to make signi cant investment; I think, tagline numbers, US$1.4 billion in R&D [research and development] in 2023 – $250 million of that, I think, was Europe alone and I don’t see that slowing down for quite a while. We’re committed, we’re engaged and we’re going to be here all the way through the journey.
Can you sum up Topcon’s sustainability approach?
MICHAEL: From my perspective, it’s really around pro t and being able to prove you are ‘doing more with less’. Sustainability is about the intricate balance of pro t, people and the planet. Being able to drive that is the work that matters. AB
Cummins’ B6.7 hydrogen engine.
Image: Cummins
SAMI TAKALUOMA
Pursuing a new era of Metso success
New Metso chief executive o cer Sami Takaluoma shares his plans to build on the company’s market position and sustainability goals while continuing a culture of innovation.
Sami Takaluoma became Metso's president and CEO on November 1 2024 after leading the company’s services business area since 2021.
Many have spoken of how the rst 100 days in of ce can de ne a government.
After taking up the leadership role of president and chief executive of cer (CEO) of Metso, Sami Takaluoma was keen to show that the sentiment was just as valid in the world of aggregates and mining products and services.
“We all knew that Pekka [Vauramo] was nishing at the end of 2024, and I wanted people to focus on their work and get energised about the future. With that in mind, I established our new leadership team on my second day as president and CEO,” Takaluoma told Aggregates Business
“I also spent a lot of time in November and December [2024] with our investor community so they could meet me and understand that the company would be in good hands. After the Christmas break, we started a strategic review of our aggregates and minerals [mining] business segments and laid out what the next three to ve years for Metso will look like.
Metso’s significant global services expertise includes 3700 field service professionals and technical support experts.
“I think construction will come back. There are still a lot of developing countries that need aggregates to realise their growth ambitions.
Metso is a global business staffed by more than 17,000 employees from over 100 nationalities. Aggregates-related business accounts for 25 per cent of its annual revenues, with mining-related trading accounting for 75 per cent. Combined (aggregates and mining) equipment and solutions sales represented 42 per cent of total sales, with 58 per cent being (aggregates and mining) services sales.
In 2024, Metso achieved total business sales valued at €4.9 billion, including €1.3 billion Metso Plus sales. The latter sustainability-focused sales included, among others, optimised spare and wear parts for more ef cient processes, repairs and upgrades extending the lifetime of customer assets for reduced waste, Metso Truck Body units for offering more payload and less fuel burn per hauled tonne, and energy-ef cient modular in-pit crush and conveying.
“That work will continue until the summer, and then there will be a capital market day in early October where we will explain the full strategy. As I come from inside the company, I know where to look and what questions to ask to gain some improvements.”
Takaluoma said Metso is focused on the current global demand its products and services in several key markets.
“[The year] 2024 was a low capital investment year in the global aggregates and minerals industries,” he said. “We know that the aggregates market is cyclical and is driven by site operators’ trust that there will be demand in the future. The drivers in this market are also more regional. Europe has its [growth] drivers, as does the US, China, South America and Africa.
“Whatever macro-level indicators you look at, there is still a need to do a great deal worldwide on infrastructure, like building and maintaining roads.
“There are many roadwork project opportunities, and I want to ensure we are fully equipped to go after them. I am looking at how processes ow when we are serving customers. For instance, are we getting all the bene ts from our acquired data to best support them?”
Having been a member of Metso’s leadership team since 2017, Takaluoma became president and CEO after leading the company’s services business area from 2021 until his appointment to the top job.
Under his leadership, the services business grew and added signi cant value, partly through Metso’s July 2020 merger with Outotec, a Finnish-headquartered global provider of process technologies and services for the world’s metals and mining, industrial water treatment, and chemical industries.
After nearly three years of trading as Metso Outotec, Metso Corporation (Metso) was born in May 2023, re ecting the successful integration of Metso and Outotec into a single company.
Geographically, 24 per cent of Metso’s sales (mining and aggregates segment) were in Asia Paci c, 22 per cent were in North and Central America, 21 per cent were in South America, 18 per cent were in Europe, and 15 per cent were in Africa, the Middle East and India.
“Metso bene ts from being a truly global business – as two slowing market regions are balanced by two or three others seeing far stronger demand for aggregates and minerals products and services,” Takaluoma said.
Metso’s new president and CEO said the ‘green’ evolution of the Chinese quarrying industry has created attractive new business opportunities in the world’s biggest aggregates market.
Fuelled by the Chinese Government’s focus on carbon reduction and key industries’ sustainability, China’s extraction sites are down from 56,000 a decade ago to around 13,000. While this has seen production drop from nearly 20 billion tonnes in 2020 to around 16.8 billion last year, a sizeable number of the remaining extraction sites –dubbed ‘super quarries’ – produce around 100 million tonnes of aggregates annually.
“The super quarries in China want the best production plants and technologies. Some of these producers hadn’t been in quarrying before. They have said they need the best equipment to produce the best nal aggregate products,” Takaluoma said.
Metso NW Rapid plants at a Veidekke quarry in Norway.
“When working your site 24–7, 365 days a year, having the best and most reliable plants and machines makes sense.
“They also appreciate our comprehensive after-market services and solutions offered through Metso Life Cycle Services. Some Chinese quarries can lack some of the technical competencies required to get the best out of their operations, and we can help supply that.
“We have bene ted from the super quarries being, in effect, ‘mini mines’. We could take the service support we offer to our mining customers and offer something similar to our aggregates customers.
“We have also invested in our service workshops and spare parts warehousing in China, and recently we announced an agreement to acquire the screening solutions business and operations of Selm (Beijing) Technology Company. It is renowned for its heavy-duty industrial screens and will further enhance our offering to Chinese mining and aggregates customers.
“China will be a very important market for us in the future.”
Metso’s comprehensive global services expertise includes 3700 eld service professionals and technical support experts, 140 service locations and repair centres, three performance centres, six own foundries and selected partner foundries, seven rubber and poly-met part factories, and ve aggregates equipment factories for the Metso brand and ve for other brands.
Metso has invested big numbers regarding its innovation and research and development (R&D) capacity.
The company invested €103 million in R&D in 2024, has 40 locations around the world with R&D, testing or laboratory capabilities, and has secured 7900 patents.
Furthermore, 24 Metso Plus-inclusive products were launched last year (now totalling over 100).
Metso Plus helps customers cut their CO2 emissions and achieve their other sustainability priorities, such as water and energy ef ciencies, by operating Metso’s
Metso Plus-inclusive products. In addition to direct emissions reductions, Metso Plus products can decrease the carbon emitted in manufacturing and delivering products and offer the potential for recycling materials.
Metso has invested signi cantly in its aggregates segment offer in recent years by acquiring McCloskey International, McCloskey Environmental, MWS Equipment, Lippmann, Jonsson, Tesab Engineering, Screen Machine Industries, Diamond Z, SR Heavy, and Tedd Engineering.
“These brands are performing well within the Metso family, and each has a business development plan,” Takaluoma said.
“We are not the kind of company that acquires another company and says, ‘Right, over to you to get on with it’,.”
A consistent annual global aggregates demand of around 45 billion tonnes creates many commercial opportunities for Metso and its aggregates segment brands.
“The election of Donald Trump as US president will likely see the return of investments in federal and state infrastructure. This means that 2025 should be a year of growth for us in America,” Takaluoma said.
“I would love to say the same about Europe; much of it depends on the situation in Ukraine.
“If a rm enough resolution and peace are achieved, it would lead to renewed infrastructure investment across Europe, with aggregate producers feeling con dent about investing in new plants and services.”
South America is another big business portfolio growth region for Metso.
“It’s a hot spot for green eld mining development, and there’s a lot of infrastructure work needed to build roads and rail links for these mines – which creates great need for aggregates,” Takaluoma said.
“Like in China, we have developed our services network and improved our wear
parts distribution capabilities to meet growing customer needs.”
In addition to being a big hit among Chinese super quarry operators, Metso’s Life Cycle Services (LCS) packages are becoming increasingly sought after in other big regional aggregates and mining markets.
In 2024, Metso secured over 100 new LCS contracts with global and regional mining companies, large quarries and aggregate contractors.
LCS encompass Metso’s after-market portfolio, from spares and wears to advanced maintenance, remote monitoring, and other expert services. The company assists customers in enhancing safety and environmental standards, boosting reliability and production for greater resource ef ciency, and optimising the overall cost of ownership.
Takaluoma said that Metso’s aggregates business segment customers now account for around a third of the over 550 active Metso LCS contracts.
“Through Metso LCS, we are increasing equipment lifetime by taking good care of it,” he said.
“It is good for sustainability, as the customer does not need to replace their equipment earlier than before, and it is good economically, as the customer gets more productivity and ef ciency from wellmaintained equipment.
“We are an [aggregates crushing and screening plant] market leader – in our plants, our wear parts and the services and support we offer our customers. Our Metso Plus offering supports this, helping customers get extraction permits through dust and noise suppression and lower emissions. Our new Lokotrack EC diesel-electric [plant] range is an example of this kind of equipment and wider operating solution.”
Future ambitions
The rst two products of Metso’s new Lokotrack EC Series crushers and screens were launched in the spring of 2024.
The Lokotrack LT400J is a 68-tonne mobile jaw crusher designed for the primary crushing of hard rock and recycled aggregates. The Lokotrack LT350C is a 50-tonne mobile cone crusher for secondary and tertiary crushing.
The LT350C features the new Nordberg HP350e cone crusher for high-capacity production, while the LT400J counts on the proven Nordberg C120 jaw crusher. Both units can be seamlessly combined with the Lokotrack mobile screens to produce highquality aggregates.
The Lokotrack EC range has been developed using new modular architecture, which reduces the number of components and provides scalable solutions that can be adapted for different applications and capacities. The full range will be introduced to the market over the next few years.
“There is great demand for the rst Lokotrack EC Series crushers. Our factories have a good amount of them in
Metso’s Life Cycle Services packages are becoming increasingly sought after.
production,” Takaluoma said. “The feedback has been really good.
“These plants are hitting the sweet spot in helping our quarry operator customers secure their environmental permits.
In 2025, Metso is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its Lokotrack mobile crushers at various industry exhibitions and company events worldwide. At April’s bauma 2025 in Munich, one of the world’s biggest quarrying, mining, construction and recycling machinery exhibitions, Metso showcased its Nordberg HP450e cone crusher, designed to improve performance and ef ciency in tough environments. Another successful product is the HRC8 crusher, which transforms quarry waste streams into valuable, sellable materials such as manufactured sand.
“The HP450e is perfect for European aggregates processing customers, especially when nes are re-crushed with the HRC8. Both are great innovations by Metso, and you can see the energy ef ciency and productivity gains they offer,” Takaluoma said.
Before bauma 2025, Metso displayed its Nordberg HP600e cone crusher and promoted two larger plants from the same series, the HP800e and HP900e, at the AGG-1 exhibition in St Louis, Missouri, in March.
“The Nordberg HP cone crushers are the crushers for the US market. The ‘e’ models ensure less downtime and servicing requirements while offering the best cone crusher productivity worldwide,” Takaluoma said.
“I believe strongly that all the HPe crushers will be a success in America. They are great for large quarries and meet a need for mobile crushers. Our excellent distributor partners in the US are part of why we are strong there. It is a very important market for Metso.”
Takaluoma sees the development of Metso’s screening plant and screening media offering as just as important as the company’s crusher plant and linked technology advances.
“I think we had a scattered screening plant portfolio in the past. Now we have a very clear screening plant offer for mining and aggregates customers. That side of our business is in very good shape,” Takaluoma said. “We offer polyurethane and wire mesh screening media depending on the customer's application. We will continuously
develop our screening offer regarding what we are doing and potentially through further mergers and acquisitions like the recent one we announced in China.”
Takaluoma said Metso has seen a notable increase in its crusher remanufacturing and upgrade retro tting business.
“Around four years ago, we started considering extending our offer in this area,”he said. “We’ve always offered a repair service, but then we did some R&D and engineering work to see how that might work. There is de nitely a market for extending the life of each piece of equipment.
“An upgrade retro t can reduce crusher energy usage or increase production capacity. It’s great news for the customer at a fraction of the cost of purchasing a new crusher.
“An upgrade can also include installing enhanced digital services, ensuring more production optimisation. With our digital services, our experts can offer better advice and support when we can remotely see what is happening with a customer’s production. The remanufacturing or upgrade retro tting option best suits longtime quarry operators running xed sites. It also ts well with our Metso Plus philosophy.”
Metso is investing €150 million in a modern technology centre in Tampere, Finland. The company will gradually move its operations in Hatanpää, Tampere, to a new Lokomotion technology centre built in Tampere’s Lahdesjärvi district.
In the future, Metso will design, test and manufacture technologies, equipment and components for the production of aggregates and sand at the new Lahdesjärvi facility.
Acquired by Metso in 2021, the Lokomotion Technology Centre site covers 23 hectares. It will host over 900 Metso employees. The initial total building area of the centre is about 66,000m², the rst phase of which will be about 34,000m². Construction began in July 2024 and will include assembly and testing facilities for manufacturing mobile crushers and storage facilities for components and materials used in aggregate equipment.
Investment in 2024 is estimated at around €30 million. Production of the Lokotrack track-mounted crushing plants is scheduled to start in Lahdesjärvi during the third quarter of 2027.
According to Metso, the crusher factory, research centre, maintenance workshop and of ce facilities will move from Hatanpää to Lahdesjärvi later. The new technology centre is expected to be fully completed by the mid-2030s.
“R&D is at the core of Metso. We signi cantly invest in it, and we will continue to do so in my time, perhaps investing even more,” Takaluoma said.
“We want state-of-the-art facilities for our R&D teams. We must keep innovating and bringing new technologies to the market to improve our industries. This will lead to more and more energy-ef cient production and less waste.”
Takaluoma said Metso is particularly interested in producing new premium crushing and screening plants that can recycle concrete and building debris into new, sellable aggregate products.
“This area of our business led to the acquisition of Diamond Z, a US company specialising in equipment that crushes debris from natural disasters, like hurricanes, and turns it into reusable building products.
Sustainability is not just a buzzword,” he said. “We need to recycle more, and what better way to do that than to recycle a widely used material like concrete?”
Takaluoma said that a crucial aim of his new leadership role is to simplify life for his leadership team as it navigates Metso’s next chapter.
“There was not a need for a full transformation of the company. We will accelerate certain things and identify areas where we can do even better,” he said.
“The foundation is very strong. My leadership style is about removing obstacles from my executive team’s way. I want to see just how good a business can be. I like a very open team discussion that leads to the execution of our goals.” AB
A Metso Lokotrack ST4.10 high-capacity mobile aggregates screen at work.
The Madrid marvel
Kleemann has given its support to one of Spain’s largest processors of construction waste.
Recicam has earned its reputation as one of Spain’s largest recyclers of construction waste over many years. The family business, located in central Spain, has a daily throughput rate of 4000 tonnes of material and, for its core business, relies on Kleemann plants for its crushing and screening requirements.
“Our collaboration with Kleemann came about through a customer and friend who was working with a Kleemann MOBICAT MC 110 EVO2 at the time,” Recicam managing director Juan Manuel Camacho said.
“We took a look at the plant, and it was an excellent match for our application.”
Recicam’s initial investment in Kleemann saw it purchase two used plants. The recycler was impressed by their performance and product quality, and its employees shared positive feedback on the machine’s handling and design.
Recicam’s management experienced Kleemann’s equipment again at bauma 2022 and decided to invest in the latest Kleemann equipment at the time. Soon after, a MOBICAT MC 120i PRO jaw crusher, a MOBISCREEN MSS 802i EVO coarse material screening plant, and a MOBIREX MR 130i PRO impact crusher were headed to Madrid.
Overall, Recicam has eight Kleemann plants within its machine eet and is supported, like all Spanish Wirtgen Group customers, by Spanish dealer EMSA Maquinaria y Proyectos S.L.
“Of course, the machines are powerful and ef cient. But what really convinced us was the overall package,” Camacho said. “We feel very well looked after locally, it’s easy for us
to get hold of spare parts and, in production, the costs per tonne are unbeatable.
“The plants are intuitive to operate, welldesigned and very robust – key factors when you consider that we process thousands of tonnes of material here every day.”
Depending on Recicam’s requirements, the Kleemann plants can be deployed in different combinations to suit their needs.
Recicam combines the MOBIREX MR 130i PRO impact crusher with the MOBISCREEN MSS 802i EVO coarse material screen for processing contaminated demolition material. The screen can handle 260 tonnes per hour, with one-third directed to the crusher and the remainder used for drainage construction.
For large feed material, Recicam can pair the MOBICAT MC 120i PRO jaw crusher with the MOBIREX MR 130i PRO impact crusher. This combination is utilised to produce nal
grain sizes of 0–20mm and 20–40mm while maintaining a high load as part of Recicam’s daily production of 4000 tonnes.
“These two effortlessly handle materials in sizes of up to 1200mm and deliver an end product of excellent quality. And all that with an impressive output of up to 250 tonnes per hour,” Camacho said.
The Kleemann plants have a range of features, such as magnetic separators and wind sifters, to help remove ferrous foreign materials and light materials like wood and plastic from the nal product. These features help to provide Recicam with greater con dence in product quality.
“The quality of our end product is decisive because, as a supplier of recycled material, we are always in competition with natural stone suppliers,” Camacho said. “Consistent cubicity and purity of the material are our hallmarks.”
“The quality of our end product is decisive because, as a supplier of recycled material, we are always in competition with natural stone suppliers. Consistent cubicity and purity of the material are our hallmarks.”
Juan Manuel Camacho
Kleemann crushing plants are used by Spanish producer Recicam.
Image: Kleeman
All of Kleemann’s crushing plant is equipped with its SPECTIVE CONNECT platform, which enables operators and managers to see key machine data in real-time. Camacho said these features have helped operators easily operate the Kleemann crushing plants.
“Previously, we had to keep going back to the plant to read information. Now we get all the data directly on the display, no matter where we are on the site – production capacity, consumption, everything,” he said.
“This makes a huge difference. We can respond immediately when we notice that something needs to be optimised. This saves a lot of legwork, and is more ef cient and much safer.”
Metso’s mega milestone
Metso has celebrated the 40th anniversary since its Lokotrack mobile crushers were introduced to the global aggregate crushing industry.
The Lokotrack mobile crushers debuted in 1985, and over 11,000 units and more than 300 diesel-electric units have been sold around the world in that time.
When it was known as Lokomo, Metso developed the Loktrack prototype in collaboration with its customer Telamurska, which specialised in crushing contracting. The goal was to create a mobile, trackmounted crusher that would eliminate the need to transport rock to quarries and the nished product back to job sites.
The prototype was enthusiastically received in the aggregates industry, and by 1987 Metso was serially producing Lokotrack crushers.
According to Metso, Lokotrack crushers can be found on every continent on Earth –even Antarctica.
The current Lokotrack range features a portfolio of 23 machines, each with 50 con guration options. Metso launched the Lokotrack EC range last year for businesses looking for low-carbon production options.
ABOVE:
“We are excited to make the 40th anniversary of the iconic Lokotrack line a key highlight at all our events and trade shows throughout 2025, celebrating this milestone with our customers, partners, and industry peers,” Metso track solutions vice president Jarmo Vuorenpää said.
“The latest Lokotrack units feature a new diesel-electric power line, enhanced design and lighting, and improvements for easier, safer use and maintenance. Equipped with cutting-edge crushing technology and digital tools, the EC range ensures high-quality products on time and at the right price.”
Optimised for industry
Superior Industries has launched its new learning platform to support construction aggregate producers. The OptimizeU initiative is a exible, on-demand learning
Metso is celebrating 40 years of Lokotrack crushers.
BELOW: The Lokotrack crusher was launched in 1985.
Image: Kleeman
Image: Metso
Image:
Metso
program for operators who want to study real-world challenges and how they can achieve high production rates.
OptimizeU features crushing, screening, washing and conveying courses to improve technical skills, expand product knowledge and develop best practices. Current courses include Cyclone Fundamentals and Understanding Gradations.
Options are available for beginners through to advanced workers, who can learn everything from troubleshooting to understanding applications without the need to travel or rely on classroom-based training. The current catalogue has 60 training programs, while Superior Industries plans to expand the platform by 50 sessions a year.
“OptimizeU was created to meet the needs of today’s aggregate producers,” Superior
Industries training coordinator Kristen Randall said.
“We understand the value of exible learning in an industry where time and resources are precious, and our goal is to equip producers with the tools they need to succeed at any experience level.”
Powered up in India
Powerscreen has added two new distributors to its global dealer network.
Time Equipment has signed on to be Powerscreen’s new dealer in north India and cover the Delhi NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir territories. Time Equipment will facilitate Powerscreen machine sales and stock genuine spare parts for customers in these territories.
Druk Trading Equipment has been added to Powerscreen’s network as Bhutan's dealer. The agreement furthers Druk Trading’s
portfolio of heavy equipment, which has continued to grow since it was established in 2006. Druk Trading Equipment will offer Powerscreen’s mobile crushing and screening solutions in Bhutan.
“We are delighted to strengthen our Powerscreen coverage in south Asia with the additions of Time Equipment and Druk Trading Equipment, respectively,” Powerscreen sales director Indra Gokhale said. “Both companies have a shared philosophy of providing exceptional customer support, and we look forward to many shared successes.”
Finlay’s nest
Finlay has launched its C-1550+ tracked cone crusher for customers looking for high-capacity crushing in the aggregates industries.
The new model takes over from its predecessor, the C-1550, and features the Terex 1300X cone crusher at its core.
According to Finlay, this crusher can achieve 15 per cent increase in tonnage and production compared to the C-1550.
“At Finlay, we are committed to delivering innovative solutions that drive productivity and pro tability,” Finlay business line director Matt Dickson said.
The C-1550+ is lighter for transportability with a hydraulically folding hopper, which adds to its versatility for owners, operators and contractors. It has a full hydraulic closedside setting (CSS) adjustment with electronic monitoring for precise operator control.
The large hopper/feeder has an automatic reset hydraulic tramp relief system that protects the chamber and minimises downtime if uncrushable material enters the chamber. This system helps to minimise downtime by automatically removing contaminants via the purge chute.
“The C-1550+ combines increased production capacity with features that enable our customers to achieve more with less, all while ensuring safer, more streamlined operations,” Dickson said. AB
Finlay has introduced the C-1550+ tracked cone crusher.
Powerscreen added Time Equipment and Druk Trading Equipment to its dealer network.
Image:
Image: Powerscreen
Loaded in Europe
Hitachi’s wheeled loader solutions are used all around the world, including in Italy, where a construction company has utilised one of these machines to boost its production capabilities.
Italian company CarBa srl has taken on a second Hitachi ZW250-7 wheeled loader at its facility in Soncino. The ZW250-7 was delivered at the end of 2024 by Hitachi authorised dealer SCAI, as CarBa srl looked for a machine to help its concrete and asphalt production.
CarBa has long specialised in roadworks, adding asphalt production to its operations in 2024 to complement its concrete and steel production. This expansion in operations facilitated the need for another wheeled loader as the company, led by chief executive of cer Mauro Carminati, wanted to optimise its supply chain.
CarBa already operated one ZW250-7 wheeled loader, and positive operator feedback led to the purchase of a second model from SCAI.
“This machine will remain exclusively at the Soncino site, managing aggregates for our batching and asphalt plants,” Carminati said. “It’s a vital all-rounder that allows us to keep operations running smoothly and ef ciently.”
CarBa operators were impressed by machine’s user-friendly design, including its multifunction joystick and all-round visibility from the cabin. The ZW250-7 wheeled loader features the Aerial Angle camera system, which provides a 270° bird’s eye view and rear obstacle-detection system.
“With two plants now in operation, internal traf c has increased,” Carminati said. “The obstacle-detection system was a necessary addition to enhance site safety.”
CarBa opted for additional enhancements to its second Hitachi ZW250-7 wheeled loader. The newer model has a larger 3.60m³ bucket and an integrated payload weighing system to provide precise load measurements.
“We knew exactly what we were getting with this machine,” Carminati said.
“The ZW250-7 has already proven its reliability, and these new features make it an even more valuable asset for our operations.”
The next generation
When Caterpillar unveiled the Cat 395 front shovel (FS) large excavator as part of its bauma 2025 showcase, it marked the company’s rst new front shovel con guration in more than a decade.
While it is expected to be of cially launched to the market later this year,
attendees of bauma 2025 in Munich had the opportunity see the new machine up close.
The Cat 395 FS is designed for quarrying and mining operators, delivering better fuel economy and low maintenance costs than previous models.
The new excavator is equipped with a reinforced, extra-durable undercarriage, additional cylinder guards, and long-life fuel and hydraulic oil lters. The cabin is designed with the operator in mind and features include an ergonomic seat, touchscreen display, climate control, noise insulation, and vibration reduction.
“The 395 FS has an of cial target launch of October 2025, but there’s no better place than bauma to showcase the pre-production model and have potential customers ‘see it in the metal’,” Caterpillar product and sales consultant Vincent Migeotte said. “We’re excited to have the 395 FS join the large excavator line-up.
“At the top of the design wish list for the 395 FS were three primary objectives: robust digging and breakout force, lightning-quick loading cycles, and rigorous bucket full.
“Customers repeatedly told us that they need a machine that not only offers peak performance but can operate consistently at those peak levels.
CarBa srl purchased a second ZW250-7 wheeled loader.
Image:
Hitachi
“That’s borne out in the 395 FS, with a maximum ground level digging force up to truck height, matched by a powerful breakout force at the bucket cutting edge that promises superior material penetration and optimal bucket ll factors.”
Expanding in North America
Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) has announced a multi-year agreement with Herc Rentals, expanding its presence in North America.
The new agreement will see several hundred Volvo EC37 compact excavators added to the rental company’s eet across North America and be made available to customers in the region. The rst phase of Herc Rentals’ order was completed earlier this year, and more models are expected to be delivered to branches in the US and Canada throughout 2025.
“This is the culmination of a cooperative effort to build a machine spec that renters will appreciate, and we’re excited for Herc Rentals customers to have such great access to the EC37,” Volvo CE head of national rental accounts Kent Somerville said.
product support and eet operations Matt Gavin said.
“The three-to four-tonne range makes up more than a quarter of the compact excavator market in North America. It’s a competitive market, but the versatility and comfort of the EC37 de nitely make it stand out.”
Volvo CE sought feedback on the EC37 excavator from Herc Rentals technicians, salespeople, and other staff at the Herc Rentals ProExpo in early 2024. This input directly in uenced the nal version of the model, including updates that made it easier to change attachments, a larger cabin with enhanced ergonomic features, and factoryinstalled telematics.
According to Volvo CE’s data, the EC37 excavator provides 10 percent better fuel ef ciency compared to earlier Volvo models.
“Collaborating with Volvo on the EC37 allowed us to incorporate essential features that signi cantly impact our customers’ success,” Herc Rentals vice president for
“Our partnership with Volvo is invaluable. They resonate with our core values and prioritise what truly matters to us, demonstrating their commitment to creating an exceptional customer experience.”
Ready to work
Komatsu Europe has debuted the new WA700-8 wheeled loader after more than a “decade of development”.
Komatsu showcased the WA700-8 in a live demonstration at bauma 2025.
The engineers at Komatsu Europe have revamped the WA700-8 based on customer feedback, emphasising safety and operator wellbeing as essential considerations during the purchasing process.
A new safety package comes as standard in the WA700-8, including emergency push buttons, certi ed anchorage and tie-down points, and battery, starte, and hydraulic lockouts. A new advanced joystick steering system and electronic pilot control levers are designed to make it easier for the operator.
“I'm very excited to introduce our WA700-8 in Europe, which offers a perfect match with our 60-tonne rigid dump truck,” Komatsu Europe deputy general manager of product marketing Jo Monsieur said. “Without any doubt, it will excite any operator with its performance, large cabin and wealth of safety features.
“After more than a decade of development, this reinvented giant is now fully ready to claim its place in quarries across Europe and beyond.”. AB
The WA700-8 was featured in a live demonstration at bauma 2025.
Komatsu Europe has debuted the WA700-8.
Komatsu
Image:
Komatsu
Hauling to the top
Rokbak’s global customer base has been impressed by the manufacturer’s articulated haulers, which are delivering results from Scotland to Spain.
Scottish engineering has become a driving force at Loughran Rock’s quarry in Northern Ireland.
The family-owned Loughran Rock Industries runs its quarrying and aggregates business in County Armagh. The operation, supported by Sleator Plant, recently received a Motherwell-manufactured Rokbak RA30 articulated dump truck (ADT).
“We’ve not only reinforced our quarry operations with the addition of the Rokbak truck, but we believe we’ve also strengthened our position as a trusted supplier in the region,” Loughran Rock quarry manager Colin Loughran said.
Loughran Rock relies on robust equipment to support its operations, which have thrived since 1985. Its concrete production and stone supply facilitate signi cant infrastructure projects.
The Rokbak RA30 articulated hauler has been operational in Cláidigh Bheag, about an hour south-west of Belfast.
Loughran Rock produces 450,000–500,000 tonnes of aggregate each year, supplying it to local contractors, housing developments and farmers. Such a high level of production requires durable equipment, and that is why Loughran approached Sealtor Plant, the authorised dealer of Rokbak trucks in Northern Ireland.
“We proposed the RA30 to Loughran Rock for the truck’s agility, dependability, independent suspension for operator comfort, and the ability to carry lighter products ef ciently,” Sleator Plant general manager Aaron McCaul said.
“We thought the RA30 was the perfect choice for Loughran Rock’s needs, offering reliability, durability and the backing of our responsive aftersales support.”
The RA30 articulated hauler has a 28-tonne maximum payload and a 17.5m3 heaped capacity. Its double wishbone design allows for fully independent suspension and wheel movement.
The RA20 was tailored to Loughran Rock’s requirements with body side extensions to enhance its load capacity. Loughran uses the RA30 to transport stone, sand and rock ll from the quarry to the main crusher and to ll up lorries and block machines.
The Rokbak RA30 has drawn praise from Loughran Rock’s operators, who believe it is suited to the Northern Ireland quarry.
“Visibility is important on any site, especially a big quarry such as this,” Loughran Rock operator Cathal Devlin said.
“The rear vision camera and monitor and heated mirrors makes my life a whole lot easier when I’m reversing into tight spots. When you’re driving around quarries,
you need comfort – I’ve been operating for three years now with trucks of all sizes, and the Rokbak truck is de nitely the com est machine I’ve driven to date.
“I’ve also been impressed by its fuel ef ciency. With our previous truck, we had to ll it up approximately every two days. With the Rokbak, it’s now every three to four.”
Loughran Rock has been supported by Sleator Plant’s engineering team and local presence in Northern Ireland since it took delivery of the RA30. Sleator Plant has been
Loughran Rock has added a Rokbak RA30 articulated dump truck.
Sleator Plant general manager Aaron McCaul.
Image: Rokbak
Image: Rokbak
able to help the construction materials producer with maintenance support and spare parts on its newest articulated hauler.
“The RA30 has been nothing but reliable, with minimal maintenance requirements and prompt support from Sleator Plant when needed,” Loughran said.
“It’s well made and it’s a good, sturdy machine. In the future, I would not hesitate to use Rokbak again.”
A cleaner future
Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) will implement low-carbon emission steel into all of its serially produced haulers manufactured in Braås, Sweden.
The announcement builds on Volvo CE’s previous showcase of a concept hauler, which was built using fossil-free steel in 2021 in partnership with Swedish steel manufacturer SSAB. Volvo CE delivered a construction machine made from fossil-free steel to a customer for operational use in 2022.
“We are proud to lead the way in the industry and move forward towards minimising our climate footprint across the entire lifecycle of our products,” Volvo CE head of lifecycle assessment program Rickard Alm said.
“While emissions from product use represent the vast majority of carbon output in our industry, it is important to also act to cut emissions in the production phase, including materials like steel, in close collaboration with our global supply partners.”
Heidelberg Materials turns to the future Heidelberg Materials has provided a glimpse into the future of its operations after signing an agreement with US-based autonomous technology provider Pronto.
The agreement will see Pronto’s Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) deployed on more than 100 trucks in Heidelberg Materials’ eet worldwide. Pronto’s system is designed to be retro tted onto an existing eet and leverages advanced sensors, cameras and arti cial intelligence (AI) to autonomously operate haul trucks.
“Meeting industry challenges with technological innovation has always been a central part of our target to create a more productive and sustainable future,” Heidelberg Materials managing board chairman Dr Dominik von Achten said.
“As a company leading the way in transforming our sector, we strongly believe in fostering strategic collaborations across industries. This partnership will accelerate the adoption of cutting-edge solutions across our sites and regions, leveraging synergies on a global scale.”
The announcement builds on the previous collaboration between Heidelberg Materials and Pronto, which saw a pilot project in Bridgeport, Texas. The successful pilot program at Heidelberg Materials’ quarry was subsequently deployed on a eet of mixed original equipment manufacturer haul trucks.
The global agreement will roll out the Pronto system to more than a dozen North America, Europe, and Asia Paci c sites.
“By teaming up with Pronto, we will deploy a scalable solution to our eet of haul trucks that will contribute signi cantly towards our production ef ciency, safety and sustainability efforts while also addressing the challenge of recruiting skilled operatives,”
Heidelberg Materials and Pronto have signed a new agreement.
Heidelberg Materials chief technical of cer Axel Conrads said.
Expansion in Germany
Develon Germany has unveiled its new headquarters in Mannheim Friedrichsfeld, Germany, as it looks to expand its presence.
A brand of HD Hyundai Infracore, Develon has set a goal of growing its market presence in the German, Swiss, and Austrian regions (GSA) following the opening of its headquarters. The company has also con rmed it is looking into expanding its rental services for those within the GSA dealership network.
The new German headquarters features 10,650m2 of usable space and houses sales, service, rental and spare parts alongside a training centre, training workshop and test area.
“The new headquarters of Develon Germany is a clear commitment to Germany as a location,” Develon said. AB
Volvo CE has committed to using low-carbon emission steel.
Image: Pronto
Be even better drilled with Epiroc
The cut-open casing of a DTH 5 hammer.
Epiroc’s new DTH 5 hammers are designed to deliver in the face of all drilling requirements.
Epiroc, a global market manufacturer of drill rigs and hydraulic breakers for the mining, quarrying and construction industries, has launched its DTH 5 (down-the-hole) hammers. The Swedish manufacturer describes this as a revolutionary new range designed to maximise ef ciency, boost pro tability, and rede ne versatility in drilling operations.
The Epiroc DTH 5 hammers are said to deliver an exceptional rate of penetration (ROP) and longer service life, setting a new standard for performance and cost-effectiveness.
Designed to excel in all drilling assignments, Epiroc said these hammers are the perfect choice for companies looking to expand their capabilities, take on new lucrative projects, and increase their competitiveness.
Epiroc’s DTH 5 hammers deliver an exceptional penetration rate and longer service life.
Among the key bene ts is versatility, making them ideal for high- and low-impact energy scenarios.
Epiroc stressed that its DTH 5 hammers tackle any rock formation and feature many con gurations in a single system. The new range is said to offer superior performance, boosting productivity with fewer interruptions and quicker task changes. There is also an eco-friendly impact, as with the DTH 5 hammers’ reduced manufacturing and transportation needs contribute to lower CO2 emissions and customer sustainability goals.
“We’ve combined the best of our hardstriking QL and robust COP
Gold hammers to create a product that not only performs but transforms operations,” Epiroc Rock Drilling Tools global product manager DTH Delaney Erickson said.
“The Epiroc DTH 5 hammers truly pack a serious punch, offering our customers the tools they need to take their businesses to the next level.”
Epiroc said the DTH 5 hammers allow operators to drill more metres per shift, rebuild hammers up to three times with its exclusive E-Kits, and enjoy a lower total cost of ownership (TCO). They can t all leading brands of compressors and rigs, representing an ideal opportunity for growth and cost savings.
From rig to bit, the Epiroc DTH 5 hammers are designed to optimise every part of your operation, delivering maximum ef ciency, pro tability and reliability. AB
Images: Epiroc
THE NEXT GENERATION OF MINING
ASIA-PACIFIC’S INTERNATIONAL MINING EXHIBITION
23-25 SEPTEMBER 2025
Adelaide Showground, South Australia
Register to attend AIMEX’s inaugural event in South Australia
Dust busting in quarries and mines
Dust suppression is vital to maintaining site workers’ health and wellbeing, and meeting increasingly tight environmental licensing conditions.
Helping prevent haul road overwatering and underwatering, the new Cat 789D autonomous water truck (AWT) enhances productivity by enabling mine operations to digitally track water consumption and reduce waste.
Fully integrating into a site’s Cat Command autonomous haulage eet to control haul road dust, the market’s rst commercially available AWT is built on the eld-proven 789D mining truck chassis and integrates the truck, tank and Cat water delivery system (WDS), connected with Cat MineStar technology. Featuring Command for hauling, the new 789D AWT offers the same potential for greater utilisation than staffed equipment. The fully autonomous truck reduces shift changes, meal breaks and other operational delays to help improve ef ciency. Complying with watering plans, the truck seamlessly interacts with other autonomous equipment and integrates with customer processes and systems managed by MineStar.
The 789D is the largest Cat water truck product offering, accommodating up to 165,000L, depending on tank con guration. The AWT senses when the water tank is running low and can be programmed to integrate with the re ll station to fully automate the process. The auto-shutoff feature prevents tank over lling.
The flat, controlled spray pattern of the Cat 789D delivers optimal litres-per-square-metre.
“To meet customer requirements for dust control, Caterpillar implemented a MineStarintegrated watering model based on many years of site watering studies and Cat WDS performance data,” Caterpillar, general manager and vice president, technology and global sales support Corey Wurtzbacher said.
“This model allows the truck to monitor traf c, weather and road conditions, prioritise what areas need to be watered, when the areas need to be watered, and how many passes it should take to apply the correct amount of water saturation for the given conditions.
“The integration of Caterpillar’s many years of autonomous truck operations and water delivery development have been combined to make a high-performing autonomous watering solution.”
When Caterpillar set out to develop an autonomous water truck, integration with Cat MineStar Command for hauling and the Cat WDS was key to the integration process. The team began building communication between the truck’s on-board systems and the of ce control console to work with the Cat WDS interface.
To ensure seamless operation and proper communication between the WDS and MineStar, a compatibility check has been implemented in Cat WDS to con rm all truck control systems were running compatible software and reporting any on-board failures to the MineStar system for appropriate corrective action. Fully integrated into the truck’s design, the exclusive Cat WDS varies
water ow based on speed and automatically determines the correct amount of water needed to control dust. Knowing where, when and how much water to dispense, the 789D AWT helps customers conserve water, a scarce resource at many quarrying and mine locations.
When truck speed drops below the minimum watering speed setting, which determined by site operations, the system halts water delivery to help prevent overwatering, poor traction and damage to haul road intersections and other stopping areas. When the minimum watering speed setting is exceeded, the system begins depositing the speci ed amount of water commanded by MineStar.
Cat WDS actively monitors the water level and automatically turns off watering once the tank is empty. To reduce potential damage, the system has multiple safeguards to prevent the pump from running dry, which helps prolong water pump life and extends service intervals.
The automated system’s at, controlled spray pattern delivers optimal litres-persquare-metre (gallons-per-square-foot) coverage across the haul road. Larger, heavier droplets designed to reach the ground help reduce spray loss to wind and evaporation.
Reducing health hazards associated with airborne particles, automated water delivery supports the reduction of dust that limits operator visibility for staffed equipment to enhance overall site safety. Remote tankll control, complete with auto shut-off to prevent over lling, eliminates the need for a worker to be involved in re lling, reducing the potential of slips and falls.
Mines can quickly switch the exible 789D AWT from autonomous to staffed mode for tasks like front water cannon operation. The cannon can distribute up to 2839L/min (759gal/min) and has a spray distance of 60m (200 ft). Even with the staffed operation, auto mode water delivery automates the process to leverage variable water ow and automatically determine the correct amount of water needed to control dust.
Cat Water Solutions integrates the 789D truck chassis with the proven Cat WDS and innovative MineStar technology.
In the event a site is not yet ready for a fully autonomous water truck, MineStar has cloud-based solutions that will work in the interim and allow customers to utilise, track and measure the productivity of the 789D before it is put into autonomous operation.
Basic and premium packages are available.
Image: Caterpillar
The basic package allows sites to track their asset and see when, where and how it is performing in terms of location of truck, water level, fuel level, watering mode, truck speed, truck re lls, water dispersed, and truck utilisation per shift.
Premium will allow sites to track how their water trucks are tending to the site’s watering needs:
• Watering heat map to show the age of water currently put down by all trucks in a shift
• Watering heat map by truck to show where each truck watered and what mode was used
• Utilisation of ll spots by each truck
• Replay of truck watering activity for up to eight previous weeks of data, depending on how many assets are tracked
• Suggested area to water based on age of water and traf c utilisation
When the site is ready for full autonomous mode, the water truck can be integrated into the MineStar ecosystem to work alongside the rest of the mining eet.
The Cat dealer and parts network fully support this integrated autonomous water solution. Covered by a Caterpillar factorystandard warranty, the 789D AWT is eligible for Cat equipment protection plans) and customer value agreements. Retro t kits are also available for existing Cat 789D truck platforms in the eld.
A holistic approach
RST Solutions is an Australian business that operates around the world. It has three decades of experience developing tailored solutions for various ne particle challenges across numerous industries, processes and material types.
The company notes that sediment control in quarry and mining operations is a critical challenge, particularly in regions that experience high levels of rainfall. Uncontrolled sediment runoff can lead to signi cant long-term dust challenges, as well as initial operational inef ciencies, increased costs, and environmental compliance issues.
A holistic approach to sediment management is needed to prevent ne particulate movement from all open ground areas, reducing the need for costly remediation efforts.
Sediment build-up at quarry and mine sites typically results in several issues:
•Sediment runoff from open ground areas –ne particles erode from all open surfaces, including benches, stockpiles, waste dumps, roads and exposed working areas, contributing to signi cant sediment loads
•Roads as major sediment pathways –roads are a major source of sediment generation and act as large drains, channeling turbid water across the site and accelerating sediment transport
•Pit oor sediment build-up – nes washed down from open ground areas accumulate at the pit oor, forming material that is too thick to pump and too sloppy to excavate and haul
•Dust emissions – once dried, these nes become a major source of airborne dust, posing environmental and health risks
•Drainage issues – channels and drains act as pathways for sediment transport, contributing to further sedimentation problems downstream
Treatment with occulant-based dust suppressants prevents ne particles from becoming airborne dust when dry and from washing out as sediment when wet.
A three-tiered approach tailored to treat the key areas of a quarry or mine site is recommended to obtain a long-term solution while achieving immediate results. These three high-traf cked areas need to be treated simultaneously.
Open ground areas
Flocculant-based sediment binders/crusting agents can be sprayed on open ground areas –including faces, benches, stockpiles and waste dumps – to prevent ne particulate movement. Strategic drainage design to effectively direct water ow is achieved through excavation of controlled drainage channels.
Flocculant blocks placed within these drains settle sediment in runoff water before it reaches sediment ponds or other water collection points.
Roads (major sediment pathways and drains)
The type of treatment can vary depending on application methods. It is highly recommended to implement two or more approaches for enhanced sediment control:
•Liquid additives compatible with dosing/ injection pumps for automated application
•Water cart application (or additional protection, a wider spray pattern to cover spoon drains along roadsides is recommended)
•Flocculant blocks placed in spoon drains to capture additional sediment levels along road drainage pathways
•Effervescent powder in a dissolvable bag is an easy and cost-effective alternative treatment for up to 20,000L of water per bag, simplifying application without bulk liquid storage or pumps
Channels and drains
A simple method of strategically placing occulant blocks in secondary channels and drains to further reduce sediment loading
in water before it reaches sediment ponds or nal discharge points.
Despite best efforts, some sediment will inevitably reach collection dams. To meet approved discharge levels, a range of liquid occulants and coagulants are used to clarify water by rapidly dropping turbidity and separating nes.
When sediment nes aggregate in a wet form after treatment, they become larger, more stable particles that are easier to control rather than stay as ne particles that turn into dust when dry and silt and sediment when wet.
Using a occulant treatment reduces future dust emissions by binding nes together more effectively. This results in enhanced material stability and a reduction in the likelihood of recurring sediment issues. It also improves overall site management, streamlines operations, and reduces ongoing maintenance costs.
RST Solutions takes a comprehensive approach to ne particle management, designing cutting-edge solutions that can be applied using standard mining equipment. Strategies are designed to integrate advanced technologies and systems to address challenges across the entire supply chain, from quarry and mining operations to material transportation.
Innovative approaches designed by ne particle specialists such as RST Solutions treat the causes, not just the problem. Dust control, soil stabilisation and erosion control all come into play when designing a solution, with regular site visits an integral part of their service. This enables the team to customise solutions to a site’s speci c attributes –topography, earthworks, materials and weather conditions – and think outside the box to deliver solutions for unique problems.
A holistic approach to sediment control addresses many aspects of ne particle management. It helps to prevent problems in other areas of an operation by stopping nes from moving, stabilising roads, clarifying runoff, and ensuring long-term dust control. Implementing this multi-tiered strategy can help operations achieve signi cant cost savings, improve environmental compliance, and streamline sediment management processes. AB
A liquid treatment being applied at an Australian coal mine.
Image: RST Solutions
RFID tags eliminate guesswork by providing digital access to specifications.
Screening media matters
A big acquisition by a major quarrying name and several product introductions have created a lively global screening media market.
Metso, the Finnish quarrying and mining equipment market giant, is expanding its screening solutions in China. The initial investment includes an agreement to acquire Selm (Beijing) Technology Co, a privately owned company’s screening business, operations and key assets.
By combining the new offering with its own expertise in screening equipment, media, repairs and services, Metso can strengthen its services to better support mining and aggregate customers in China.
“The acquisition is a signi cant step in advancing our screening regional strategy of being closer to our customers, fostering a market-focused approach. We are excited to enhance our role in China as a leading provider of screening solutions for large projects like super quarries,” Metso vice president of screening Jouni Mähönen said.
“We warmly welcome new colleagues to contribute to our growth targets and improved customer service.”
Xiaofeng Liang, Metso president of the Great China market area, is happy to be acquiring a company with “products and services well recognised by customers in the mining and aggregates industries”.
“The acquisition will further enrich Metso’s product portfolio and strengthen our competitiveness and market position,” he said.
“This move will enable us to provide comprehensive screening solutions in China, where Metso has a strong customer base and service capability in the mining and aggregates industries.”
The acquisition is subject to conditions precedent and is expected to close during the second quarter of 2025. The parties have agreed not to disclose the transaction value, which has no material impact on Metso’s nancials.
Selm is a Chinese manufacturer of mining and aggregate screens and technologies,
including micro-sizing screening solutions. The company has around 180 employees and operates in Shenyang, northeast China.
“We have been developing our screening business over the past years, building expertise and a strong reputation among customers,” Selm founder Huifeng Tang said. “Moving forward, the screen offering will bene t customers as part of Metso, and our employees will get a valued new employer.”
Metso’s screening solutions for aggregates and mining customers include banana screens, horizontal screens, inclined screens, mobile screens, portable screens, ultra ne screens, screening media, and capital screen-related parts, repairs and services.
Metso vice president of screening Jouni Mähönen during a recent visit to the company’s facility in Alwar, India.
Simpli ed screening
MAJOR vice president of global sales and marketing Ian Edwards explained how radiofrequency identi cation (RFID) technology is simplifying screening.
“Each aggregate and mining application is unique, meaning that screen media must be sized speci cally to t the quarry or mine’s needs,” he said.
“Traditionally, inventory management and ordering new screen media processes have been time-consuming and prone to sizing errors. To address these challenges, some manufacturers are integrating RFID technology, speci cally near eld communication [NFC], to streamline these procedures.
“These electronic tags are inserted into the polyurethane strips or frames for easy access. The tag can be scanned and read through an RFID reader or an app, which transmits data, including the inventory number for the screen media, the sizing of the wire, wire openings, and more.”
Edwards outlined the key bene ts of RFID technology.
Convenience for inventory management
Many RFID inventory management systems require a specialised RFID reader. Operations should look for a manufacturer that includes an integrated RFID reader tool into its company app, allowing operators to use only their smartphones. This simpli es tracking inventory in a single, easy-to-use platform.
RFID technology reads specifications through the tag, so operators can be sure they’re putting in the proper screen media before start-up.
If Wi-Fi is unavailable, NFC technology can store data of ine and sync it once a connection is restored.
Some manufacturers also include inventory management alongside the RFID reader in their app. Features often include additional options like product ordering and the ability to calculate screening ef ciency and open area.
Orders are recorded electronically, ensuring easy access to order histories and reducing the risk of misplacing essential information.
Sizing accuracy
Previously, operators manually measured each screen media panel with a measuring tape to determine the size of new panels to order or to ensure the correct panel was being placed.
In this situation, even the slightest error meant ordering or installing the wrong size screen media. Not only does this result in the screen media not tting the screen box, it can also mean the nal product doesn’t t speci cation, leading to lost pro t over time.
RFID technology reads the speci cations of the screen media through the tag, which means operators can be sure they’re putting in the proper screen media before start-up.
The RFID reader also makes it easier to switch out screen panels with different open areas by recording the size of the screen media. If a screen media panel needs to be replaced, operators can use the reader to
quickly pull up the specs of the screen media and the wire.
Simpli ed reordering
While traditional screen media speci cations – including part numbers, sizing specs and inventory data – are printed on the side of the panels, these markings can wear off over time. RFID tags eliminate guesswork by providing digital access to these specs, ensuring operators always have the necessary information on their devices. In addition, this technology allows for custom notes and details tailored to each operation’s speci c requirements.
Edwards notes that RFID technology makes inventory management simpler and more precise, regardless of the material being screened. He advises looking for a manufacturer who embraces this technology and provides easy-to-use, intuitive, app-centred warehouse management options.
Top-tier solutions
After a rigorous three-year testing period, FLS used Electra Mining 2024 to of cially launch its NexGen polyurethane, a heavy-duty and hard-wearing screen panel for large particle applications. Combining the physical properties of rubber and polyurethane elastomers, NexGen offers excellent wear resistance in
Image: MAJOR
Image: MAJOR
highly abrasive applications such as early-stage screens and trommels.
As part of its dedication to providing top-tier screening media solutions tailored to meet the demands of commodity areas, FLS has brought its NexGen polyurethane screen media panel to market. Designed to offer long wear life, the NexGen polyurethane panel is ideally suited for early-stage screens and trommels where high abrasion is the order of the day.
“Due to its extremely durable properties, it lasts longer than rubber or standard polyurethane in high-impact applications. In some instances, it has been proven to offer double the screen panel wear life of rubber in these high-abrasion environments,” FLS service line manager Chris Currie said.
One of the major bene ts of long wear life is the reduction of costs. Frequent replacement of screen panels increases maintenance and operating costs while lowering equipment productivity. Regular replacement also means maintenance personnel have to spend a considerable amount of time on the screen changing panels, increasing the safety risk in the process.
“With increased wear life also comes a signi cant reduction in waste, not just in the material itself but also in the supply chain,” Currie said. “Less frequent panel changes mean that there is less energy used, less transport required and less stock needed, which in turn is a huge sustainability tick for our customers.”
According to Currie, screening ef ciency is a very big factor in pro table operations with
The NexGen panels being poured at the FLS facility.
The FLS NexGen polyurethane screen panel is a robust and durable solution that blends the strength of rubber with the flexibility of elastomers.
screen panels, which is why FLS maintains a minimum 95 per cent screening ef ciency target in all of its designs.
The premium material used in the NexGen polyurethane panels means the company is able to run a smaller ligament that can provide more open area. A higher percentage of open area in screening panels improves ef ciency and material throughput because it gives particles more opportunities to pass through the screen.
In several trials conducted during the test period, the NexGen polyurethane proved to be in a league of its own in terms of wear life. For example, at a major iron ore mine in South Africa’s Northern Cape, the NexGen polyurethane increased wear life by at least six times compared with standard thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) injection-moulded panels, injection-moulded rubber, and other open-cast polyurethane options.
In a coal application, the NexGen polyurethane panels survived for 10 weeks, compared to the ve weeks most of the standard polyurethane panels lasted.
“Doubling the screen media wear life lowered maintenance time and media costs while increasing safety and productivity,” Currie said.
Informed decisions
The right screen media can unlock a new level of ef ciency within an aggregate processing plant.
material throughput, product quality, and operational costs.
“Understanding the various types of screen media and their applications is essential for plant operators aiming to enhance performance and pro tability,” he said. Screen media is primarily available as woven wire cloth, perforated and punch plate, synthetic media, including polyurethane and rubber, and self-cleaning screen media.
Each has various advantages depending on the application of the aggregate plant in which it is used, which is where businesses should consider the material characteristics, open area percentage, operating conditions, durability, and wear life in their operations.
Many operations need to consider balancing open area percentage, which facilitates greater material ow, against durability, which extends the wear life of the screen media. This balance is primarily determined by the operational priorities of the business, as well as the material characteristics of the application.
By considering all of these factors, businesses will be able to exert a greater in uence on the long-term economic impact their screen media will have on the business, including maintenance and replacement costs.
“Selecting the right screen media is a multifaceted decision that signi cantly impacts the ef ciency, cost-effectiveness, and overall success of aggregate processing operations,” McNicholl said.
“By thoroughly evaluating material characteristics, operational conditions, and economic factors, operators can make informed choices that align with their speci c needs and objectives.
“Collaborating with experienced manufacturers and conducting regular performance assessments further ensures that the chosen screen media continues to meet the evolving demands of the industry.” AB
McLanahan has a wide range of screening media.
Image: FLS
FLS service line manager Chris Currie.
Awash with quality and consistency
Premium aggregate and recycling wash plant solutions deliver significant quality and sustainability gains for customers worldwide.
With high-quality silica sand resources scarce around the world, Fife Silica Sands has partnered with CDE to commission a 210-tonne-perhour (tph) silica glass sand plant to meet the market’s growing demands.
Fife Silica Sands, located at Burrowine Moor Quarry in the central lowlands of Scotland, is owned and operated by Paterson Quarries.
Founded more than 50 years ago, Paterson Quarries operates ve sites throughout Scotland. It supplies a range of materials, including concrete, specialist sand and recycled aggregates, across the UK. Paterson Quarries is now a third-generation family rm that acquired Fife Silica Sands in 2002.
Passionate about delivering high quality across its operations, Paterson Quarries has provided sand to prestigious golf resorts across the UK and Ireland, including Loch Lomond and Ardare Manor, as well as for professional football and rugby facilities.
CDE, a leading provider of wet processing solutions for the natural and waste recycling sectors, has been working with Paterson
Quarries for more than 15 years, with the two companies rst partnering on a modular sand-washing plant in 2011.
Having developed a strong working relationship, the team at Paterson Quarries knew CDE would be the right partner to work with Fife Silica Sands to meet market demands.
Showcasing its capabilities in providing solutions for silica sand, CDE welcomed Fife Silica Sands to its manufacturing facility in Northern Ireland, taking the team to reference sites across the UK so they could see the technology in action.
“From previous projects and years of experience working together, we knew that CDE would be the right choice. Our ultimate goal was to deliver top-quality silica sand to customers across the UK and Ireland,” Paterson Quarries managing director Tom Paterson said.
“CDE’s team meticulously tested material in their lab to understand our expectations and the materials we wanted to produce so that they could design the right plant for us.”
CDE director of customer solutions Chris McKeown believes such good relationships are important because, in the
case of all the projects CDE has delivered for Paterson Quarries, “the customer’s input has been critical within this process, and we try to incorporate all the requests into the plant design”.
“This included visiting multiple reference sites, testing the material in our lab, and ying over for inward visits with our design team in-house,” McKeown said.
The glass industry is the largest end-user of silica sand production, accounting for more than a third of the global market. This is followed by sands for foundry, hydraulic fracturing, ltration and abrasives applications.
The construction market, rising automotive production and technological advancements such as smartphones, televisions, solar control glazing for automotive and building glasses, lightweight glazing glass, and advanced nanotechnology in at glass are all increasing the demand for high-grade silica.
Consistency is critical with silica sands. To deliver dependable products that meet market speci cations, CDE designed and engineered the 210tph sand-washing solution, which was commissioned in February 2024.
The solution comprises of the CDE P2-108 prograde screen that takes in the material, conditions it and prepares it for the
An overview of the CDE plant for Fife Silica Sands.
downstream processes. The prograde screen generates three products: +7mm, 3–7mm and a 0–3mm.
CDE added ve F1-64 In nity ne screens for the high-ef ciency separation of the -0.6mm material from the 0–3mm generated by the prograde screen. The F1-64 side tensioned media pack provides a high open area for optimum throughput, and the lower section of the screen provides superior dewatering of the 0.6–3mm material.
The plant is also equipped with ShearClean attrition cells, spiral separators, and two counter ow classi cation units (CFCU), three key steps in the production of silica sands.
The paddle design of the ShearClean attrition cells ensures consistent scrubbing of all material, liberating impurities for ef cient contamination removal and delivery of highquality in-spec sand products.
The spiral separators facilitate the removal of heavy contaminants from the sand stream, and the two CFCU units, used for two different grades of glass sand output, remove lightweight material and the 0–150-micron ne sand.
CDE incorporated multiple sets of highintensity magnetic lters into the process to reduce ferrous contaminants from the feed stream. The magnets were supplied by a specialist provider and seamlessly integrated into the CDE solution, ensuring minimum downtime.
Three EvoWash sand-washing systems are used for desliming and dewatering the sand: one for high-grade glass sand, one for low-grade glass sand, and one for nes.
These three systems contain modular hydrocyclone technology to allow for control of silt cut points, ensuring that Fife Silica Sands can provide a consistent, in-spec product to meet the market’s needs.
The process water is recycled by the CDE AquaCycle, a highly ef cient water management solution that helps to minimise costly water consumption and allows Fife Silica Sands to recover 90 per cent of the process water for immediate recirculation.
The separated water from the AquaCycle is passed over a static screen, capturing lightweight debris before it is recirculated via the AquaStore to the wash plant.
The AquaStore receives recycled water from the AquaCycle, which is then recirculated to reduce the freshwater required to feed the washing plant.
“From an environmental point of view, this plant is a real win for us, as there is less waste and we’re recovering more,” Paterson said. “We have a direct wire to a wind turbine, so we have all the needs for this plant from renewable energy when the wind blows.”
Fife Silica Sands’ wash plant operates 24 hours a day, from Monday to Friday, to keep up with the industry’s supply needs. To ensure this operation runs around the clock, CDE installed its SmartTech plant management app, which enables Fife Silica Sands to understand its plant
performance, schedule maintenance, and easily order parts.
Sensors tted to the plant provide up to 300 precise data points and continuously stream real-time, in-depth performance reports. This live feed provides a full and transparent overview of a plant’s health and is accessible 24–7 through a mobile app.
This technology allows Fife Silica Sands to remotely monitor input feed rates, hopper speeds, thickener levels, and water tank levels.
“With CDE SmartTech, we can track the performance, we can see the settings, and we can look back and view what changes have been made through the plant and how it has affected the quality or yield of the end product,” Paterson said.
“Whilst this is a complex plant, SmartTech allows us to easily analyse the overall performance of the solution.”
Fife Silica Sands quarry manager Kenny Mitchell has been very happy with the relationship with CDE.
“From install right through commissioning and into aftercare, CDE has always been very proactive and helpful with enquiries,” he said. “If we need any products, spare parts, or issues that we’ve had, we’ve been able to raise them with the CustomCare team, and they have been able to resolve them either remotely with the aid of SmartTech or by having engineers visit our site.”
With this sand-washing solution, Fife Silica Sands is able to produce seven products to supply the market. The two glass sand products are the plant’s main outputs, and a number of other fractions are produced, which are used for a range of applications, including sports sands and construction aggregates.
McKeown believes consistency is key to glass sand production.
“The output products from Fife Silica Sands will go into numerous applications in the glass industry,” he said. “Product quality
is key, and we were determined to provide a solution that could deliver consistent, highquality products. And that’s what we’re able to track and deliver with the plant.”
Paterson has been delighted to see the plant exceeding expectations.
“We’re supplying thousands of tonnes of specialist sand weekly to large glass manufacturers across the UK, who are producing the highest quality glass, as well as supplying construction markets and providing feedstock for asphalt production, render sands and ready-mixed concrete, high-quality USGA [United States Golf Association] sands for top dressing, golf course construction and bunker sand, along with horse riding arenas,” he said.
“This is a new and different approach for us and we’re getting a much higher yield from every tonne of product, far in excess of our expectations. We have one glass customer who has signed up to work with us for 20 years, which is a testament to the quality of the products we’re supplying.
“At Paterson Quarries, we pride ourselves in what we do and we live by our ethos in providing quality products at competitive prices, combined with delivering reliable service and friendly, knowledgeable staff, and CDE’s technology has allowed us to continue this with our latest investment.”
McKeown, who has been involved with the project “from the early sales stage, through the engineering process, the installation, and now into the fully operational phase”, is very happy to see the plant in its current state.
“Across our industry, tonnes per hour is a common metric used to describe the performance of a plant,” he said. “Ultimately, the return on investment of a plant like this is built on achieving that tonnage over an extended time. So, in CDE, the key metrics for us is tonnes per week, tonnes per month, tonnes per year, over many years.”
Fife Silica Sands’ Kenny Mitchell (right) chatting to CDE’s Chris McKeown.
Awash with success
A Terex Washing Systems (TWS) FM120C and on-board pre-wash sand-washing system is ensuring the highest ef ciency in lter media processing for Northumbrian Water at its Layer Water Treatment Works near Abberton Reservoir, just outside Colchester in Essex in southeast England.
In partnership with Duo Group, TWS installed its solution in January 2025. To ensure a sustainable and resilient water supply for more than 300,000 residents in Essex, the Layer Water Treatment Works is undergoing a signi cant upgrade. This includes the construction of a new 9000-square-metre sand-washing yard with an upgraded lter sand washing system.
The solution provided by TWS and Duo includes an H12 feeder, a 12x5 double-deck modular rinsing screen, an FM120C compact sand plant with an on-board pre-wash system, and a radial product conveyor utilised to stack the nished product.
Primary and back-up pumps are also provided for the clean water supply and wastewater removal.
Duo collaborated with the client’s civil contractor throughout the project to support site development work.
The new sand-washing system for Northumbrian Water removes contamination from the sand recovered from ltration beds in a single pass, allowing the sand to be reinstated and reused.
The site uses dump trucks to feed the sand into the H12 feeder, which transfers material onto a series of conveyors to the double-deck screen, providing initial rinsing and removing oversized materials and debris. The sand slurry is then captured in the pre-wash tank.
At this point, the upward current helps remove any organics before the sand slurry is pumped to the rst pre-wash cyclone and discharged into the FM120C tank.
The sand slurry is then pumped through a nal cyclone, discharging onto a high-frequency dewatering screen, ensuring minimal residual moisture in the nal product.
The double attrition provides ef cient cleaning of the sand and an in-spec product with minimal handling.
The TWS solution is solving some key issues for Northumbrian Water. The company’s existing sand-washing system at the Layer Treatment Works had served its time. An outdated process design needed regular repair and often required the site to process the sand through the system twice to achieve effective cleaning.
TWS and Duo have supplied an ef cient system that will provide effective sand cleaning in a single pass, while remaining compact, reliable and easy to operate. This has resulted in a signi cant reduction in cycle time to wash each batch of lter sand, provided operational ef ciency, and reduced vehicle movements on-site, all of which has contributed to improving sustainability and reducing maintenance costs.
The Layer Water Treatment Works upgrade sets a new benchmark in sustainable water ltration. By integrating advanced TWS technology and innovative engineering solutions from Duo Group, the project enhances water quality, supports climate resilience, and improves long-term operational ef ciency.
Conserving resources
Following a major restructuring, CFlo has entered a transformative phase, positioning itself as a leading force in modular wet processing technology.
As part of its global growth strategy, the company attended the recent bauma 2025 exhibition in Munich.
Previously focusing only on the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, CFlo has an installation base of approximately 500 projects across 20 countries, which have been delivered over the past 19 years. The business employs approximately 250 people, all of whom are focused on its purpose of ‘Conserving resources and creating waste-free cities’.
CFlo co-founder and director of global sales Enda Ivanoff told Aggregates Business that recent restructuring allows CFlo to take its technology worldwide.
“Our globally experienced team will build and align the business growth with market demand, and we are building strong relationships and partnerships in various regions,” he said.
“We believe strongly in being close to the customer and will invest in our strategic regions as required with of ce, service centres and personnel.
“Our initial focus will be the Middle East Africa [MEA], Australia, New Zealand [Oceania], and Southeast Asia. We are currently nalising a strategic partnership for the mining sector in Australia with a huge global business.”
CFlo is bringing innovative solutions to four main industry segments: construction sand and aggregate washing; waste recycling; ore bene ciation; and critical mineral recovery.
Final sand product deposited beneath the TWS FM120C radial conveyor.
Image: TWS
“CFlo is committed to delivering cuttingedge solutions that rede ne the processing of aggregates and quarrying materials,” Ivanoff said.
“Retaining its extensive portfolio of patented technologies and a globally experienced team, CFlo is now better equipped to expand its footprint and enhance value for quarry operators worldwide while attaining its vision to replace natural sand in 100 countries.
“The revolutionary Combo platform has become the industry benchmark in modular processing.”
CFlo offers a suite of advanced processing technologies tailored for quarry operators seeking to optimise resource recovery, reduce waste and improve environmental impact.
“Our high-ef ciency washing systems and water management technologies are designed to address key industry challenges, including excessive nes, inconsistent material quality and water scarcity,” Ivanoff said.
Ivanoff said CFlo’s technology for the aggregates sector feature a number of key bene ts:
•Maximising yield – advanced washing and classi cation systems recover valuable fractions that would otherwise be lost, increasing overall product yield
• Sustainability and compliance – CFlo plants are engineered to minimise freshwater usage and reduce environmental impact, aligning with regulatory standards and sustainability goals
•Operational ef ciency – modular and
scalable solutions ensure reduced downtime, lower operating costs, and faster return on investment
The company is setting up CFlo Middle East as a group company to service the MEA region. Ivanoff believes the of ce has the potential to serve as a global hub for service and a large project management centre of excellence.
“MEA is a rapidly expanding market for infrastructure and construction, driving strong demand for high-quality aggregates,” he said.
“However, water scarcity, inconsistent raw material quality, and strict environmental regulations necessitate more ef cient processing technologies – precisely what CFlo delivers.”
CFlo’s growth strategy in MEA revolves around speci c factors:
•Strategic partnerships – collaborating with key players in quarrying and construction to drive technological adoption
•Localised solutions – customising technology to meet each region’s unique geological and regulatory needs
•Sustainability leadership – promoting water recycling and sustainable aggregate processing to align with regional environmental policies
CFlo’s solutions are already making a difference in the MEA region. One standout project is Power International’s limestone quarry in Fujairah, United Araba Emirates (UAE).
The Combo Mega E5 installation has optimised this process by transforming the -10mm feedstock into high-quality
construction sand and recovering valuable 5–10mm particles as low-silica limestone.
This is an ef cient solution that enhances resource recovery and provides a new revenue stream through construction sand sales catering to the high-demand markets in Abu Dhabi and in other regions.
Beyond the UAE, CFlo has delivered highperformance wet processing solutions in 20 countries.
“With its recent restructuring, CFlo is poised to expand to newer markets, revolutionising the aggregates and quarrying industry with smarter, more sustainable processing solutions,” Ivanoff said.
“As demand for high-quality materials rises, CFlo remains committed to driving innovation and ef ciency in the sector.
“For quarry operators looking to futureproof their operations, CFlo is the partner of choice. It delivers world-class solutions that rede ne aggregates processing for a more sustainable future.”
Ivanoff believes CFlo’s patented Combo platform is the world’s most water and power-ef cient system for processing various materials.
“Originally pioneered for producing manufactured sand from crushed rock nes, it has been developed further for use across all four industrial sectors,” he said.
“It is innovative in its use of water recirculation and a combination of processing technologies, based all on one singular platform, which provides huge exibility for the end user in terms of adaption to site-speci c materials and mobility.” AB
A CFlo Combo Mega 350tph plant processing limestone fines material.
Image: CFlo
A digital approach
The critical task of weighing extracted material during quarrying has benefited from the industry’s continuing embrace of digitalised solutions.
According to Topcon Positioning Systems vice president of OEM sales – APAC and EMEA Nick Townsend, the aggregates industry is under increasing pressure to meet the growing demands of global construction.
“Rapid urbanisation, large infrastructure projects and economic development are driving a surge in demand for materials like sand, gravel and crushed stone,” he said.
“As construction projects expand, so does the need for aggregates to support roads, buildings and critical infrastructure, making the sector a key player in modern development.”
Digitalisation and automation are emerging tools in efforts to improve ef ciency, reduce waste and ensure regulatory compliance. But the industry faces challenges in areas such as rising fuel costs, supply chain disruptions, and a skills gap.
“Labour shortages, especially in attracting skilled workers for advanced machinery, complicate the adoption of new technologies,” Townsend said. “The industry needs solutions that streamline operations, boost productivity and simplify
work ows without adding complexity to stay competitive.”
Townsend believes customer feedback is essential to addressing these challenges, helping to identify ‘pinch points’ where technology can drive ef ciency and seamlessly integrate into existing systems.
“Operators seek solutions that provide real-time feedback, enhance safety, and improve site visibility,” he said. “Operational disruptions – such as unexpected downtime, equipment failure and delays in material handling – remain a critical issue. Without real-time insights, site managers struggle to prevent costly standstills.
“Digital work ows like Sitelink3D by Topcon bridge communication gaps between on-site teams and control rooms, improving decision-making and coordination.”
When it comes to fuel consumption, trucks moving around sites, idling engines and inef cient hauling routes signi cantly increase costs and emissions. Topcon’s connective software solution Sitelink3D Haul Truck app offers real-time data on vehicle movements and material ow, helping to eradicate inef ciencies, cut costs and reduce environmental impact.
However, skilled operators are essential to achieving these improved ef ciencies.
“With many experienced professionals retiring, a growing skills gap exists, especially in using complex machinery,” Townsend said. “Machine control solutions, like Topcon’s MC-X excavator machine control system, use automated guidance to assist less experienced operators in performing precision work. This is essential for boosting ef ciencies and ensuring best practices.”
Safety is vital in an industry where precision is critical. Operators must ensure compliance with stringent regulations while meeting tight deadlines. Digital solutions that provide visibility across sites and monitor equipment performance help businesses stay ahead of regulatory requirements without compromising productivity.
“Technology is reshaping aggregates operations by addressing interconnected challenges – downtime, fuel inef ciency, communication barriers and safety – and this transformation is already happening on job sites,” Townsend said.
Navigating challenges requires cuttingedge solutions that streamline operations and maximise ef ciency.
“Innovations include on-board weighing systems for excavators, front loaders and material handlers, like Topcon’s LX-100 and LM-100,” Townsend said. “These provide real-time load data to ensure accurate measurements and prevent overloading.
Topcon technology is being used at Minas de Ríotinto in Spain, one of Europe’s largest mining operations.
Image:
“Beyond improving productivity, precision technology enhances safety. Real-time data helps reduce human error, prevent over-excavation and minimise unstable surfaces, creating a controlled, ef cient work environment that reduces downtime and protects operators.”
Digital work ows and eet management systems like Sitelink3D help to tie such technologies together. These systems integrate with global navigation satellite system (GNSS) machine control technology to improve the accuracy of digging operations, reduce rework and streamline material movement across the site.
This technology is already in action at Minas de Ríotinto in Spain, one of Europe’s largest and most historic mining operations.
“Automated construction technology has increased productivity by 30 per cent,” Townsend said. “Operators have optimised haulage routes using real-time data, reducing fuel consumption and improving site safety.
Rapid transportation of materials is key to increasing production, and hauling routes need to be as smooth as possible. Rough surfaces can lead to materials wearing out, increased maintenance costs, and potential safety risks for workers and operators.
“To level the grounds at Minas de Ríotinto, contractor Sanchez y Lago paired the Sitelink3D site management system with an MC-X excavator,” Townsend said.
“Since the track and surface designs are automatically imported and processed, operators don’t have to manually check the different layers with a level, keeping them safer within the cab, reducing wear and tear, and improving operations.”
Digital transformation with OUTSET
Interconnected data and cloud integration are revolutionising aggregates extraction.
Analytics driven by arti cial intelligence (AI) allows machines to provide real-time operational insights, optimising ef ciency and reducing costs.
The concept of a synchronised and interconnected quarry represents the future of the extraction sector. All vehicles – loaders, excavators, dumpers and trucks – work in synergy thanks to real-time data sharing. This enables better coordination of extraction, loading, and transport operations, optimises material distribution by reducing waiting times and energy consumption, ensures intelligent resource management, and improves productivity and operational sustainability.
Implementing these technologies brings economic bene ts and lays the foundation for a more competitive, safe and ef cient sector.
OUTSET helps drive this transformation with systems that manage the entire production cycle. Real-time data connects operations, empowering informed decisions. Intuitive interfaces and comprehensive oversight optimise resources and safety.
The company projects itself towards the future, consolidating its global leadership. With a strong presence in South America,
OUTSET’s T1 LOADER LFT is a new weighing system for wheeled loaders that is certified for third-party sales with MID OILM R51 certification.
Topcon’s LX-100 on-board weighing system.
and supported by a network of distributors, the company expands its in uence in Europe and lays the foundations for signi cant growth in Southeast Asia and Oceania. It was with this spirit of leadership and innovation that OUTSET participated in bauma 2025 in Munich in April, presenting cutting-edge solutions to enhance ef ciency and productivity for industry professionals. Some of the key innovations unveiled at bauma 2025 :
•T1 LOADER LFT – a new weighing system for wheeled loaders that is certi ed for third-party sales with MID OILM R51 certi cation, ensuring the highest levels of precision and reliability
•T1 DIGGER – an advanced technology for excavators, with the introduction of a system with four next-generation inclinometers, designed to precisely compensate and manage surface, excavator arms and bucket
•AI-powered algorithms – to accelerate weighing operations and compensate readings, even in adverse positions, ensuring accurate real-time data
•Next-generation wireless technology –when used with automotive long-range Bluetooth modules, this helps eliminate the need for complex wiring and improves system reliability
•Zero maintenance and ease of use – as a result of innovative diagnostic data analysis, OUTSET systems provide consistent performance without the need for frequent interventions
•Direct interconnection to the cloud and customers’ enterprise resource planning systems – a solution that eliminates the need for external hardware, ensuring seamless integration with work ows OUTSET has reaf rmed its commitment to innovation, offering increasingly intelligent and connected solutions designed to optimise operations and reduce costs. AB
Rising to the sustainable power challenge
Technical writer and power expert Steve Nendick examines how fleet managers can be empowered while meeting the sustainable o -highway machinery power challenge.
Fleet managers continue to juggle pressures to minimise costs while maximising productivity and returns for their businesses. They are also facing increased pressure from shareholders to be more sustainable and look towards a zero-carbon future.
Emissions regulations have been around for over 25 years, pushing the industry to invest in technology to reduce particulate and oxides of nitrogen emissions. The progression from EU Stage I to Stage V has brought these exhaust constituents to nearzero levels.
However, CO2 emissions have never been included in these regulations. It is expected that CO2 limits could be included in the potential Stage VI regulations, but these are not anticipated until the end of the decade.
So with no of cial push to move to lower carbon solutions, what should eet managers do?
There are several options available that would result in minimal changes to current operating processes.
Machinery with the latest Stage V engines
Today’s products that meet EU Stage V emissions are light years ahead of their predecessors in technology and capability. Signi cant improvements can be made by replacing older machines with Stage V engine machines, which are cleaner, more ef cient and more reliable.
The latest units are clean for urban sites with no visible smoke, helped by the latest exhaust aftertreatment technology. Engine noise is substantially reduced, while power density has increased, meaning smaller machines can potentially do the job of larger machines, positively impacting operating costs.
Improved fuel ef ciency helps to not only reduce running costs, but also CO2 emissions too.
And longer service intervals reduce oil and lter usage, lowering maintenance costs and the environmental impact.
Hydrogen tanks and fuelling equipment.
Renewable fuels across the eet
Renewable fuels such as HVO100 –hydrotreated vegetable oil – can lower emissions by up to 90 per cent compared to diesel ‘from well-to-wheel’. For every 1000 litres of fuel, operators could save on average of over 2200kg of net CO2 from switching to HVO, which is fossil-free, sulphur-free and oxygen-free, and requires no engine modi cations to use. As a cleaner-burning fuel, fewer lter changes are needed, lowering maintenance costs.
HVO100 can be supplied through the same infrastructure as conventional diesel. However, it does cost more to produce, given it is made from renewable sources such as vegetable oils or animal fats, which require more complex processing.
In Europe, this price difference is 10–15 per cent higher depending on the region. It is more prevalent in countries with a stronger renewable focus (eg Scandinavia, Netherlands).
While more expensive, the lower maintenance costs could offset the upfront cost, making it attractive for organisations looking to reduce their carbon footprint and emissions without investing in new vehicles or machinery.
Other renewable fuels, such as natural gas, could become a solution. To date, the additional installation costs and long payback
period have prevented any major industrial adoption of compressed natural gas (CNG) or liqui ed natural gas (LNG).
Manage eets more proactively with available technology
Many of the latest electronic engines have features like stop–start or idle shut-off. Machines are often left idling for lengthy periods between jobs, and adopting these features saves fuel, protects the engine’s durability, and reduces site emissions and noise.
Many of the latest machines have integrated telematic systems, and retro t options are available for those that don’t.
The latest fully electronic engines, equipped with an array of sensors that monitor and protect, are compatible with these solutions. They enable eet managers to connect remotely and look after their valuable assets.
Using telematic systems does come at a cost to the business, from the initial installation, monthly subscription and software integration to the resource for monitoring the output.
However, return on investment can be justi ed in a number of ways:
•Data analysis helps to optimise operations, ensuring eets match production needs and haul trucks are loaded with the correct payloads
•Reducing idle time cuts fuel consumption, cost and emissions
•Detecting potential service problems in advance reduces repair costs and unnecessary downtime
•Enabling predictive maintenance schedules allows for extended service intervals without affecting durability
•Technicians being able to arrive on-site with the correct parts and tools on the rst trip improving service ef ciency
•Overall equipment utilisation is enhanced by extending life and avoiding acquiring unnecessary machinery
Train the operators
Having trained people who can operate machinery at their optimal levels will maximise fuel ef ciency and reduce potential damage to the unit. Inexperienced people are more likely to use machinery in such a way that increases fuel consumption, cost and emissions. Using telematics to gather data could help improve operator training. There will come a time when low- and zero-carbon solutions will become more
prevalent in the market, but this will take some time. Until that time, eet managers have several options available to them to improve the sustainability of their operations without affecting productivity.
Currently, no solution can match clean diesel’s exibility and range capability so it will likely remain the power of choice for the foreseeable. It will take time, patience and investment, but, low- and zero-carbon power will eventually grow its share in industrial eets.
So what does the future look like? What will be the most appropriate power source for quarries and construction site machines?
The main zero-carbon fuel choices are battery electric or hydrogen, provided the hydrogen is produced using clean energy. Which is the most suitable, and why?
Battery-electric
Electric industrial equipment will deliver zero emissions with substantially reduced noise pollution for quarries and construction sites. If you include electricity-generated emissions to power electric vehicles (EVs), they will still have a signi cantly smaller lifetime carbon footprint than today’s machines. For companies that value sustainability, the environmental bene ts could justify the higher initial investment, provided the charging infrastructure aligns with the operational needs.
Diesel-powered machinery is traditionally less expensive to purchase upfront compared with battery-electric power. Due to the battery technology installed, the cost of electric equipment can be 20–40 per cent higher than diesel, depending on the type and size of the machine.
While electric equipment has a higher initial cost, the total cost of ownership over several years can be lower than diesel, thanks to reduced fuel and maintenance costs. The break-even period depends on the machine’s usage but typically ranges from
three– ve years for highutilisation equipment.
Using electric power
is generally less expensive than diesel fuel, providing potential savings of up to 50–75 per cent in fuel costs over the machinery’s life. So an electric excavator's fuel cost per hour can be signi cantly lower than a diesel equivalent.
Electric machines have fewer moving parts, so they should in turn require less maintenance. For example, items such as oil changes and fuel lters should not be required, potentially reducing service costs by 25–50 per cnt compared to traditional machines.
The range of battery-electric machines
with a single charge is lower than that of a tank of diesel fuel. The packaging of the battery system in traditional machine designs is also a challenge for manufacturers when considering weight, mobility and sightlines. This technology seems more suited to smaller, more compact machinery particularly operating in urban areas.
Operationally, the balance between charging infrastructure, machine range, and charging speed needs to be calculated carefully. Site location, access to the grid and required charging capacity are critical to success.
Renewable power generated from solar or wind could enable machines to charge
Quarries provide key building materials.
Cummins’ B6.7H hydrogen engine.
Image: Cummins
independently from the grid, perhaps to reduce the draw from the grid during peak periods. Portable battery-changing systems coupled with charging during scheduled downtime would further extend the operating range of electric machines.
Hydrogen fuel
Combustion engines and fuel cells are two ways to use hydrogen as a fuel for construction and quarrying equipment.
Combustion engines
Hydrogen combustion engines are updated versions of today’s internal combustion engines, which burn hydrogen instead of diesel. They function similarly to a conventional diesel but are spark-ignited rather than compression-ignited. Their combustion process has no carbon emissions, only water vapour and minimal oxides of nitrogen emissions due to high combustion temperatures. Aftertreatment systems can be used to manage these oxides of nitrogen emissions. The real advantage of using hydrogen combustion engines is that they can deliver similar levels of power and torque to diesel but have zero carbon emissions using green hydrogen. This makes them suitable for heavy-duty applications like construction and quarrying, where highpower output is essential.
In addition, the fact their design is so similar close to traditional engines means they t in the same machine installations and be maintained by the same service networks and technicians.
Hydrogen combustion engines are also less expensive to produce and install than fuel cells, as they can be adapted from existing engine technology, making them a simpler and more affordable option for companies transitioning from diesel.
Fuel cells
Fuel cells convert hydrogen into electricity through an electrochemical reaction.
This electricity goes into a battery that powers electric motors, which move the machine. They operate as a hybrid system, using the batteries for instant torque and peak power demands.
With only water and heat as byproducts, fuel cells are cleaner and more ef cient than combustion engines, with 40–60 per cent ef ciency rates.
Fuel cells make better use of each hydrogen unit, lowering fuel consumption and total operating costs.
Fuel cells have fewer moving parts, although they do need componentry for controls, air handling, and cooling systems as a package.
From a maintenance perspective, fuel cells have membranes that will degrade over time and need to be replaced. The harder the cells work, the more rapid the degradation of the membranes. They are also susceptible to damage from dust and vibration.
Fuel cells are currently more expensive than hydrogen combustion due to their complex technology and limited production numbers. However, costs are expected to decrease over time as production scales up and the technology becomes more mainstream.
Fuel cells and hydrogen combustion engines bene t from fast refuelling times compared to diesel. This is a signi cant advantage over battery-electric machines.
Hydrogen management
Like battery-electric, infrastructure investment is required to keep the eet fuelled. Hydrogen delivery, storage and handling on-site need to be managed safely and ef ciently. This means being located close to a hydrogen hub would be advantageous. Centralised hubs close to production sites are being set up to minimise transportation needs, reduce costs and minimise safety risks.
Hydrogen is not an easy fuel to manage. It needs to be stored in tanks as a compressed gas under high pressure, and the pressure
and temperature need to be closely monitored. Staff members overseeing the hydrogen need speci c training on its unique properties and emergency protocols to manage leaks and res.
The small size of hydrogen molecules also means they can easily leak, forming potentially explosive mixtures in the air. Since hydrogen has no smell or colour, specialised sensor equipment is needed to detect leaks. Adequate ventilation is required in facilities to help disperse any leaks and prevent dangerous gas buildup.
Hydrogen will also impact certain metals, making them brittle, so pipes and containers need to be speci ed with this in mind.
Any business’s chosen carbon-reduction solution is likely to be de ned by connecting to the most appropriate, cost-effective and accessible infrastructure. Electric and hydrogen supply create challenges that must be safely and ef ciently managed to maximise productivity and environmental bene ts.
In the case of machines, battery-electric power is better suited to smaller, more compact machinery with lower duty cycles, especially for construction in urban sites.
Hydrogen combustion engines are better suited to heavy-duty quarrying machinery, where strong power and torque are needed. The remote nature of quarry operations means they are bene cial where operators and their maintenance staff are already familiar with traditional engine servicing and maintenance.
Hydrogen fuel cells are more suitable for applications where zero emissions and lower noise are prioritised, and noise and vibration can be minimised, such as enclosed areas and environmentally sensitive locations with tighter emissions and noise restrictions.
Due to the focus of major cities on delivering air quality improvements through zero-emissions vehicles, we will likely see these solutions implemented in on-road applications before volume off-road use. AB
Biofuels like biodiesel are growing in demand.
MAY 7–9
UK Construction Week – London
Organiser: Media 10
Tel: +44 (0)20 3225 5217 ukconstructionweek.com
JULY 2–3
PNG Mining Expo
Organiser: Prime Creative Media
Tel: +61 466 602 893 pngexpo.com
JULY
9–11
QuarryNZ Conference 2025
Organiser: Institute of Quarrying New Zealand and Aggregate & Quarry Association of NZ Tel: 027 664 3080 quarrynz.com
SEPTEMBER
23–25 AIMEX
Organiser: Prime Creative Media Tel: +61 03 9690 8766 aimex.com.au
A LONG WAY TOGETHER
SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER
September 30 – October 2
UK Construction Week – Birmingham
Organiser: Media 10
Tel: +44 (0)20 3225 5217 ukconstructionweek.com
JUNE 2026
23–25
Hillhead 2026
Organiser: The QMJ Group
Tel: +44 (0)115 945 4367 hillhead.com
EARTHMAX SR 41
No matter how challenging your needs, EARTHMAX SR 41 is your best ally when it comes to operations that require extraordinary traction. Thanks to its All Steel radial structure and the special block pattern, EARTHMAX SR 41 provides excellent resistance against punctures and an extended service life. In addition to long working hours without downtime, the tyre ensures extraordinary comfort.
EARTHMAX SR 41 is BKT’s response to withstand the toughest operating conditions in haulage, loading and dozing applications.
