More US aggregates acquisitions for CRH
CRH plc, the Dublin-based international building materials group, have announced a number of North American aggregates acquisitions, totalling Euro 52.8 million (£33.0 million), which were undertaken during the second half of 1999.
The purchases are in addition to last year's reported acquisitions of Dell Contractors/Millington Quarry and Thompson-McCully (see Quarry Management, Aug. 1999). In July 1999 CRH's Oldcastle Materials Group acquired north-eastern Pennsylvania-based Slusser Brothers Construction Group, an integrated asphalt, aggregates and ready-mixed concrete producer with annual sales of £20.6 million. Oldcastle say the acquisition of Slusser will allow them to derive greater benefit from an anticipated upswing in highway construction activity in the region over the next three years.
Meanwhile, in August 1999 Oldcastle purchased south-west-Michigan-based South Kent Gravel as an add-on for their recently acquired Thompson-McCully operations. South Kent have total permitted reserves of 30 million tons and annual sales of around £3.1 million.
Finally, in October 1999 the Materials Group acquired Keigley Quarry, a large dolomite and limestone operation in southern Utah with annual sales of £6.9 million. With reserves totalling approximately 90 million tons, Oldcastle say this acquisition will provide a long-term aggregate source for their asphalt and ready-mixed concrete activities in the region.
