Holcim UK has appointed long-serving HR leader Hazel Mooney as people director, tasking her with attracting, developing and retaining talent across its cement, aggregates, ready-mix and construction materials operations. Mooney joined Holcim in 2013 and has progressed through several senior roles, including head of people, before serving as interim people director. CEO Adham El Sharkawy points to her deep knowledge of the UK business and workforce as critical for sustaining skills pipelines in a tightening labour and site-based engineering talent market.

Hydrodemolition specialist Aquajet has released the Evolution 3.1 control system alongside three dedicated Aqua Cutter 450 attachments and a 400 hp Ecosilence high-pressure pump unit. Evolution 3.1 introduces updated process control for concrete removal, enabling more precise jet positioning and automated parameter adjustment on Aqua Cutter robots. The 400 hp Ecosilence package is designed to deliver stable high-pressure water for thick-section concrete and heavily reinforced structures while reducing on-site noise and fuel use compared with earlier units.

Heidelberg Materials reported third-quarter revenues up 10% to €6,413m, with financial result from continuing operations rising 9% to €1,281m, signalling strong demand across its cement, aggregates and ready-mix portfolio. Management is prioritising low carbon products, implying further investment in clinker substitution, alternative fuels and supplementary cementitious materials. For infrastructure contractors and designers, this points to wider availability of lower-CO₂ binders and concretes, potentially easing specification of reduced-embodied-carbon structures under tightening European climate regulations.