In the larger of the two transactions, Martin Marietta agreed to combine with Lhoist North America in a deal valued at $13.5 billion. CRH, meanwhile, came to terms on a deal to acquire Arcosa for roughly $8.5 billion.

Martin Marietta-Lhoist

Lhoist North America operates a network of 20 quarries and production facilities and 45 distribution terminals, producing high-calcium lime, dolomitic lime and industrial mineral products for end markets such as domestic steel manufacturing, infrastructure and heavy nonresidential construction, environmental applications and agriculture.

The company generated $1.8 billion in gross sales and $786 million of adjusted EBITDA in 2025.

According to Martin Marietta, Lhoist North America has more than 2 billion tons of limestone reserves located in Sun Belt metro corridors, with a reserve base exceeding 200 years.

The deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to be completed in the second half of this year.

“This transaction represents another transformational milestone for Martin Marietta and directly advances our SOAR 2030 objective to expand our complementary, upstream specialties segment in lime and other industrial minerals,” says Ward Nye, chair, president and CEO of Martin Marietta. “It builds on our core quarrying competency, expands our geographic footprint and immediately establishes Martin Marietta as the leading national producer of lime solutions.

“As the United States continues to invest in infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, energy development and industrial expansion, demand for high-quality lime products is expected to remain resilient for decades to come,” Nye adds.

Upon closing, the Berghmans family is expected to own about 15 percent of Martin Marietta.

“For more than a century, our family has built Lhoist into a global leader by safeguarding world-class limestone reserves and serving our customers with discipline, quality and care,” says Baron Berghmans, chairman of Lhoist Group. “In Martin Marietta, we have found a partner who shares these values, honors the legacy we have carefully built and ensures it will endure for generations to come.”

CRH-Arcosa

Headquartered in Dallas, Arcosa operates 109 quarries and yards, nine asphalt plants and 19 terminals throughout the U.S. 

The company shipped about 35 million tons of aggregates in 2025.

“This strategic acquisition reinforces our position as the No. 1 infrastructure player in North America and advances our strategy to build an aggregates-led, connected portfolio,” says Jim Mintern, CEO of CRH. “As demand for U.S. energy and utility infrastructure solutions accelerates, this transaction places CRH at the forefront of an immense growth opportunity and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to building market-leading positions through disciplined capital allocation. We have a tremendous amount of respect for Arcosa’s business and look forward to welcoming the Arcosa team into CRH.”

Antonio Carrillo, president and CEO of Arcosa, shares Mintern’s excitement.

“This transaction is a powerful validation of the work we’ve done in recent years to grow in attractive markets, simplify our portfolio, reduce cyclicality and build a more resilient business focused on construction products and engineered structures,” Carrillo says. “For our stockholders, this transaction crystallizes the value we have built. We are excited that CRH recognizes that value, and we are confident that their resources, scale and expertise will provide attractive opportunities for our team members, for our customers and for the communities we serve.”

Related: Perspectives: Pricing strength, materials demand shape the outlook

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Terex Washing Systems (TWS) named Mark Doherty its global sales director.

Doherty will oversee the brand’s commercial activities and work with customers and distributors across international markets.

According to Terex Washing Systems, Doherty has experience in engineering, project sales and international commercial leadership.

“Mark brings a wealth of industry knowledge, commercial expertise and leadership experience to the role,” says Paul Carolan, business line director at Terex Washing Systems. “Having worked closely with customers, distributors and project partners throughout his career, he understands what it takes to deliver successful outcomes in our industry.

“I am delighted to welcome Mark to this important leadership position and look forward to working with him as we build on the experience, knowledge and relationships that have been developed across the TWS business over many years,” Carolan adds.

Doherty says he is delighted to take on the new role.

“The washing and recycling sectors continue to present significant opportunities, and I look forward to working with our customers and distributors around the world to help them maximize the performance and value of their operations,” he says.

Related: Terex Washing Systems showcases new logwasher at Hillhead

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According to the companies, they hope to assist mining companies through an open autonomous ecosystem that can be flexibly deployed while making use of existing equipment and technologies from different manufacturers.

Pronto and Hitachi say their partnership will combine the strengths of both companies. Pronto’s tiered autonomous haulage system (AHS) retrofits onto existing haul trucks from any manufacturer and scales from regional quarries to ultra-class, deep-pit operations. Pronto’s systems have autonomously hauled millions of tons in commercial mixed-fleet operations across three continents.

Hitachi, meanwhile, has supported mining operations around the world with its mining equipment and brings to the partnership its expertise in mining operations and a global customer base. With its rebrand to Landcros planned for April 2027, Hitachi is promoting co-creation by openly connecting products, technologies and partners to deliver value to customers.

“Mine operators have been clear: They want automation that works with the fleets they already own – not another closed, single-vendor ecosystem,” says Anthony Levandowski, CEO of Pronto. “Pronto has proven OEM-agnostic autonomous haulage at commercial scale, and Hitachi Construction Machinery brings decades of mining equipment leadership, a global customer base and an open autonomy vision that we share. Together, we can give every mining operation a practical, affordable path to autonomy.”

Masafumi Senzaki, president and CEO of Hitachi Construction Machinery, shares Lewandowski’s optimism about the partnership.

“For decades, we have worked alongside mining customers around the world and have developed a deep understanding of their diverse needs and the challenges they face,” Senzaki says. “Through our collaboration with Pronto, we will combine Hitachi Construction Machinery’s equipment expertise with advanced automation technologies to provide customers with greater flexibility and options in adopting automation solutions.”

Related: P&Q Profile: Pronto’s Christian Kurasek

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RAM Inc. says its BEST sessions are developed for explosives engineers, drillers, field crews, safety personnel, drilling and blasting engineers, and others working with explosives.

According to RAM Inc., the BEST course instructs attendees on explosives regulations, safety, hazard recognition and accident prevention. Instructors will provide an overview of new product introductions related to explosives and the latest on electronic blasting systems and supporting technologies.

The course will also emphasize recognizing hazards posed by deteriorated explosives.

“Safety is the primary driving factor in the mining industry, and recognizing the hazard is key to advancing safety at the workplace,” says Robert McClure, president of RAM Inc. “Our BEST Course is specifically developed to improve the recognition and handling of hazardous situations, so everyone can go home safely every day.”

Additionally, the BEST course will include regulatory updates from representatives at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; MSHA; and the U.S. Department of Transportation. Attendees will receive 20 continuing education hours along with a course manual and certificate. The event will also feature tours of Crazy Horse Memorial and Mt. Rushmore.

Related: Drilling and blasting equipment to enhance your operations

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With a network of batch plants and a mixer fleet, Amrize says Rapid Redi-Mix complements its aggregate operations and cement network in the region. 

This acquisition follows Amrize’s announced production expansion at the Midlothian cement plant and the acquisition of PB Materials in West Texas.

“We are excited about this highly synergistic acquisition in the growing Dallas-Fort Worth market,” says Jaime Hill, president of Amrize Building Materials. “Rapid Redi-Mix is a great, entrepreneurial business that complements our strong aggregates and cement operations in the region. We look forward to welcoming their 100 talented teammates to the Amrize family.”

Gabe Salmons, founder and CEO of Rapid Redi-Mix, says his company looks forward to its next chapter with Amrize.

“We are excited to join a high-performing team that shares our commitment for serving our customers as the partner of choice,” he says.

Related: Amrize modernizing Montreal cement plant

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The mantra is ingrained and subconsciously slips into conversations, planning sessions and motivational speeches.

It’s in our physical environment, too. We proudly post it at entrances, stitch it to vests and sticker “ZERO” on our hard hats. But let’s be candid: asking for zero is asking for perfection, which is unattainable because people are inherently fallible.

We make mistakes. All of us slip, trip and fall sometimes despite our best intentions and efforts.

I can almost hear the rebuttals through the page: “Of course people aren’t perfect, but we aren’t okay with anyone getting hurt, and who wants to work for a company that expects injuries?”

Agreed and fair point. Please do not wake up tomorrow and tell your safety director to change the entrance sign to: “Taking injuries in stride since ’85.”

But consider this: Isn’t weaving “We Aim for Zero” into the – sometimes literal – fabric of our companies subtly telling employees: “We Aim for Perfection?”

To the true zero believers, if you believe zero accidents is a permanently attainable goal, are you willing to bet your workers’ comp insurance on that belief?

The gospel of zero accidents and injuries was born out of a genuine desire to keep people safe. As stewards of people in what can be a dangerous line of work, it is our duty to set the bar high.

Still, the pursuit of zero can inadvertently create a culture of silence that encourages sweeping injuries under the rug.

The TRIR trap

To understand why “zero” can be a trap, let’s consider how we currently measure safety success.

In our industry, the primary scoreboard is total recordable incident rate (TRIR). For those who don’t live in the safety office, TRIR is a mathematical formula used to report the number of injuries per 100 full-time employees.

Essentially, a TRIR of 2.0 means two out of every 100 workers experienced a recordable injury over the course of a year. It is a percentage-based snapshot of past failures.

Here’s the trap: Say your company hits a target of 0.4. Then what?

If you set the bar to a more ambitious 0.25 and you hit it, you’re now considered world-class – but you’re still not perfect. So, do you keep pushing toward zero – and toward perfection?

Imagine yourself in the field: As day after day your team inches closer to zero, wouldn’t you hate to be the one who ruined the streak over a tweaked back? If a manager’s bonus is tied to TRIR, what might cross their mind regarding a “fringe” injury – one that might be okay with basic first aid but probably warrants an urgent care visit and possibly stitches?

If we focus too heavily on numeric zero, we inadvertently send a silent message: We care more about the scoreboard than the players.

What is measured is managed, and if TRIR is our measuring stick, then that is the standard we will continue to reach for, even if it unintentionally undermines safety efforts.

It’s time for a better measuring stick.

74,000 reasons to pivot

For decades, safety professionals operated under the “Heinrich Triangle” theory, the idea that if minor incidents at the base of the triangle are reduced, then fatalities at the tip will decrease proportionally.

It’s a common principle: If you take care of the little things, the big things take care of themselves.

Modern data tells a different story. Preventing a trip over a cord does not necessarily reduce the number of people who fall from a bridge. The hazards that cause a “recordable” injury are often fundamentally different from the hazards that cause a fatality.

Data on U.S. workplaces from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries illustrates this disconnect. From 1992 to 2024, TRIR dropped 75 percent from 8.9 to 2.3. Over the same period, fatalities only fell by 18 percent from 6,217 to 5,070.

If Heinrich were right, the number of fatalities in 2024 would have been 1,600. Applying that logic back to 1992, almost 74,000 people would have gone home to their families who instead became workplace statistics.

In other words, although we are reaching “world-class” TRIRs and better managing the “little things,” the “big things” remain.

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IRock Crushers named Maverick Environmental Equipment a dealer.

Maverick has five locations in the Midwest and one in California, which IRock says positions it well to provide and equipment, service and support to customers across the country.

“A few members of the IRock and Maverick teams have successfully worked together throughout their careers, building strong relationships long before this partnership,” says Chris Larson, general manager at IRock. “While we once competed in the marketplace, it is rewarding to now move forward together as partners. IRock is well-positioned to support Maverick’s continued growth while delivering strong value to customers across Ohio, Michigan and Southern California.”

John O’Neill, CEO of Maverick, shares Larson’s excitement about this opportunity.

“The addition of IRock gives us a strong, long-established local brand made in the USA that is tuned to the needs of the local market,” O’Neill says. “We are impressed with their drive and determination to deliver success for dealers and end users alike.”

Adds George Bennett, president and COO of Maverick: “We’re thrilled to announce our new dealer partnership with IRock. Maverick’s reputation for excellence makes IRock the ideal partner to help us do that. Together, we look forward to delivering outstanding solutions, equipment and service to customers across the region.”

Related: IRock adds dealer in pair of Southern states

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Benjamin Franklin, one of the nation’s Founding Founders, popularized this idea three centuries ago. Today, the concept remains a hard one to argue against.

Still, I’d contend there’s a third certainty in life: change.

Change is all around us. It happens every day.

The equipment dealers at the core of this month’s “Dealer Issue” face it as they go about their daily work routines. Our cover story beginning explores one ongoing change dealers currently face – AI and the onslaught of fast-moving tech – and how they’re positioning themselves in an evolving industry.

Part of the dealer response means embracing the change that’s transpiring. And in an industry that’s long held firm to doing things one way, the dealers who win the day will almost surely be the ones who didn’t sit still.

Change isn’t necessarily easy or fun, but it can be because the wins that result from conquering change are rewarding. And if you don’t adapt, you’re going to be left behind.

Opportunity in change

Thinking back on my early career, I was certain about two things: I wanted to write, and I wanted to write about baseball.

Well, my face has been plastered on this column for almost a decade now. So how did I fare with that second part?

Of course, I’ll tell you my pivot away from baseball to trade publishing and, eventually, aggregates was not only one of my best career decisions, but one of the best life decisions I’ve made.

With baseball, I realized early on I’d regularly be working nights and weekends. And while covering baseball every day has a glamor to it, the structure and pay weren’t conducive to other life goals I had – get married, have kids, build a family.

So I changed.

I’m not contending to have discovered the meaning of life, but one thing I contend – something I’ve only truly learned more recently – is that satisfaction in life is largely achieved by conquering adversity.

I used to chuckle when I heard the word adversity. If I had a dollar for every time I heard a ballplayer use it during a postgame interview, I’d be rich.

Adversity is a given in everything, though, and it’s only overcome through change. In this month’s edition, adversity is undoubtedly a theme running through another story involving a dealer that was on the verge of a major plant sale – only to have the business potentially go to a competitor at the last minute.

Did the dealer let the competitor have the win? Or, did the company change course and embrace that adversity head on? You’ll have to read on to find out.

Yes, death and taxes are a given. Change is, too. But I’d argue our biggest victories at work and in life are the ones where we overcame the insurmountable and came out stronger on the other side.

Related: Three takeaways from the aggregates industry’s strong start to 2026

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