A Closer Look

摘要

When CRH plc formed in 1970 through the merger of two Irish companies - Cement Ltd. and Roadstone Ltd, - the aggregates, concrete and asphalt producer reported sales of about 31 million US dollars, 95 percent of which was earned in Ireland. Following a growth strategy of balancing its geographic presence and construction sector dependence, CRH now supplies a broad range of building materials in more than 20 countries, with total sales exceeding 15 billion US dollars in 2004. In fact, the company's Americas Materials Division (Oldcastle Materials, which produces aggregates, ready-mixed concrete and asphalt in 27 states) reported sales in 2004 of more than 3,3 billion US dollars and spent 54 million US dollars on acquisitions in Ohio, Idaho, Utah, Iowa and Wyoming just during the first half of 2005. 10 Hanson PLC announces U.S. acquisitions Hanson PLC announced four recently completed acquisitions in the United States for a total cost of about ?100 million. This brings the total acquisition spending for Hanson so far this year to close to 300 million pounds. There were three acquisitions in the San Francisco Bay area of northern California - Mission Valley Rock Co., Berkeley Ready Mix Co. and Berkeley Asphalt Co. With an estimated 60 million tons of permitted aggregates reserves, Mission Valley Rock controls some of the largest remaining reserves of increasingly scarce land-based aggregates in the San Francisco Bay area.