Displaying items by tag: Breedon Group

UK: Claudius Peters has released information about an upgrade project at Breedon Group’s Hope Cement plant in Derbyshire. The work included upgrading and replacing the existing kiln feed equipment built with the plant in the 1970s, and increasing the accuracy and capacity of the system to 200t/hr of raw meal for Kiln 1, Kiln 2, and a standby unit. The contact was signed in October 2014 and completed in May 2017. It is one the largest capital expenditure projects undertaken at the site in recent years.

A key challenge on this project was installing new equipment while the plant remained in operation. Claudius Peters supplied and commissioned: three 300 screw pumps complete with pump inlet hoppers with de-dusting filters and modified pipelines; modifications to existing compressors; and three cyclone filters with collection hoppers transport and material transport to pre-heater inlet via rotary feeders.

UK: Mike Pearce has been appointed as the chief executive for the Southern division of Breedon Group. He is currently managing director of the Aggregates division of Aggregate Industries Limited (AI). Pearce will take up the position in 2018, joining Breedon’s executive committee and succeeding Tim Hall, who will be leaving the company at the end of September 2017. In the interim, the Southern division will be led by Colin Parke, who currently runs Breedon Southern’s Central region, reporting to group chief executive Pat Ward.

Pearce was previously the commercial director for AI, coordinating strategic activities across its business divisions, whilse also managing the contracting division. He has been a member of AI’s executive committee since 2009, during which time he has been variously responsible for AI’s building products, ready-mixed concrete and asphalt businesses.

UK: Breedon Group will rename Hope Cement as Breedon Cement in August 2017. It said in its half-year report for 2017 that the acquisition of Sherburn’s import terminals had broadened its cement business and that it wanted to bring it all under one group brand.

“I am pleased to report that in the first half of 2017 the former Breedon Aggregates business posted a strong profit improvement and the former Hope Construction Materials business made a robust contribution, even after taking into account the shutdowns of both our cement kilns for planned annual maintenance and upgrade during the first half, which were completed on time and to budget,” said executive chairman Peter Tom. The construction materials group doubled its revenue in the first half of 2017 to Euro368m.

The company also said that it had completed the integration of the former Hope operations and all three divisions now use a common IT platform. It expects to deliver synergies of Euro11m in 2018, ahead of its original schedule.

UK: Breedon Group’s sales revenue and profits have been expanded by its acquisition of Hope Construction Materials in 2016. Its revenue rose by 43% year-on-year to Euro523m in 2016 from Euro367m in 2015. Its profit before tax rose by 50% to Euro53.9m from Euro36m. The group also attributed its success to its aggregate business.

“2016 was arguably the most eventful year in the group’s history. We completed our largest acquisition to date, invested a record amount in our business, began supplying our biggest ever contract and delivered an excellent financial performance – all against the background of an uncertain economic environment and challenging trading conditions in many of our markets,” said executive chairman Peter Tom.

The building materials company added cement production to its portfolio when it purchased Hope in mid-2016. It added a cement plant, five new quarries, a network of concrete plants and eight rail-linked distribution depots. In November 2016 it bought Sherburn Minerals, including two terminals in northeast England and eastern Scotland, that are used to import cement and ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS).