Page 15 - Construction_Opportunities_Oct_2026

COVER STORY

172 million m³ of concrete worldwide. Cloud Cycle is similarly using of infrastructure, modularity allows producers to think of capacity
sensors on mixer trucks to monitor slump, temperature, drum as something that can be configured around the project.
speed and water addition, with its technology deployed on more The move towards industrialised construction strengthens
than 500 trucks across nine countries by 2026. The implication this requirement further. Precast, modular and prefabricated
is significant for RMC operators: the period between batching construction demand highly consistent concrete production
and placement, traditionally difficult to monitor, is becoming a across repeated cycles, while allowing less room for variation
measurable part of the production process. in material performance. RMC plants will consequently need
But technology is only one part of the change. The concrete itself to combine flexibility with repeatability—switching between
is becoming more sophisticated. Around the world, producers formulations while maintaining tight control over every batch.
are increasing the use of supplementary cementitious materials, The transformation is reaching even further upstream into mix
recycled inputs and alternative binders, reducing reliance on design itself. Meta’s 2026 BOxCrete model applies Bayesian
conventional clinker-intensive formulations. At the same time, optimisation to concrete formulations, balancing strength,
high-performance, self-compacting, ultra-high-performance and workability, cost and sustainability while helping identify more
other specialised concretes are being developed around specific efficient combinations of cementitious materials, aggregates,
structural and placement requirements. This is moving RMC away water and admixtures. For an industry where cement remains
from standard recipes towards performance-based mix design, a major source of embodied carbon, better mix design can
requiring greater dosing precision and equipment capable of become both a productivity and decarbonisation lever.
handling a broader range of materials and admixtures. Circularity is adding another layer. Recycled aggregates,
That shift is also bringing carbon into the specification. As recovered water and industrial by-products are increasingly
Environmental Product Declarations, embodied-carbon finding their way into concrete where standards and performance
calculations and project-level carbon targets gain importance, requirements permit. But greater material diversity brings greater
the carbon intensity of a cubic metre of concrete is increasingly variability, making process control even more important. The
becoming another performance attribute alongside strength, ability to consistently work with alternative inputs could become
durability and cost. For RMC producers, this creates a new basis a competitive capability for the next generation of RMC plants.
for differentiation—and for equipment manufacturers, a need to Another frontier is emerging at the intersection of RMC, automation
support increasingly precise material management. and advanced construction methods. AI-powered 3D concrete
Plant architecture is changing alongside these developments. printing is beginning to connect material formulation, equipment
Liebherr’s Mobilmix 4.0, unveiled at bauma 2025, uses modular movement and structural design into a single digital process. While
construction to support flexible configurations, faster assembly the technology still faces challenges around material behaviour,
and easier deployment, while its LiPerformance system is designed process control and structural performance, its evolution points
to improve production efficiency and resource utilisation. The towards a future in which concrete is not simply produced and
proposition becomes particularly relevant as RMC increasingly delivered, but digitally formulated and precisely placed according
serves projects with different locations, durations and capacity to the geometry of the structure itself.
requirements. Instead of treating a batching plant as a fixed piece Together, these developments are changing the nature of the

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