Concrete Technology

The global concrete industry experienced stable growth in 2019 having benefited from a drop in procurement costs. This led to significant sales increases for the Concrete Technology division in key regions, especially in the truck mixer, concrete mixing plants and concrete pump categories. A dynamic market in the US, the economic recovery in Brazil as well as a major new order in Colombia resulted in very strong growth throughout the Americas. In the Asia and Oceania region, there was above-average growth in the Chinese market. Mixing plants in particular performed well there. Europe remains the division’s largest market with favourable sales increases, especially in the concrete pumps category. There was a notable boost in sales in Austria and Switzerland. At the same time, increased sales of truck mixers in Saudi Arabia resulted in an increase in business in the Near and Middle East on the whole.

The division unveiled its new ETM truck mixer series with a fully electric drum drive, helping pave the way towards the local emissions-free construction site of the future. The high-capacity batteries can power the machines for a full day of work without the need for recharging in between. Another outstanding achievement of the past year was the launch of the 42 M5 XXT, a new 42-metre automatic truck-mounted concrete pump, at the Bauma 2019 trade fair. This new model’s pump system features an ultra-high-performance Powerbloc drive unit. The machine offers exceptional coverage and a ompact design. 2019 also saw the successful relocation of the entire concrete pump production site to Bad Schussenried (Germany). This site will become a centre of excellence for the concrete pump industry. In addition to this, the division is expanding its fleet of rented equipment while also constructing a new production site in Bulgaria.

In 2019, the division also worked on developing numerous innovative technologies such as alternative drive systems.