Aggregate Industries strengthen investment in Norway

AGGREGATE Industries have purchased the remaining 50% share of their Norwegian joint venture, Halsvik Aggregates AS, for an undisclosed sum.

The company says acquisition of the remaining interest in Halsvik Aggregates will lead to significant investment in Norway through the creation of additional production capacity, increased employment opportunities – Halsvik currently employs more than 30 people – and the development of local facilities for the benefit of the neighbouring Gulen and Kvalsund communities.

The wholly owned Halsvik Aggregates will form a part of Aggregate Industries’ Overseas Businesses and, together with Yeoman Glensanda, formed as a result of the recent acquisition of Foster Yeoman, will significantly strengthen Aggregate Industries’ position in the export aggregates market. Full ownership of Halsvik Aggregates will also help Aggregate Industries to maximize synergies with parent company Holcim’s value-added outlets on the Continent.

Aggregate Industries became a partner in Halsvik Aggregates, with Wergeland Holdings, in 1997. During the past 10 years the Halsvik business has grown substantially through the combined support of the two owners to its current position as one of the most successful quarrying operations in Norway, with combined annual aggregate sales volumes in excess of 2.5 million tonnes.

The company comprises a superquarry situated some 70km north of Bergen on the west coast of Norway, which is strategically located for access to the open sea, and a second quarry at Kvalsund, near Hammerfest in the far north of the country.

Aggregates from Halsvik’s two quarries are used in a wide range of markets and applications, including the oil and gas industry for covering pipelines in the North Sea and Barents Sea, in road and rail construction as well as throughout the general construction industry in concrete and asphalt production.

Commenting on the purchase, Geoff Parkin, managing director of Aggregate Industries’ Overseas Businesses, said: ‘Aggregate Industries’ purchase of Halsvik Aggregates will bring significant benefits, both in terms of investment in the local communities, which is very important to us, and the opportunities it will provide for our future development.’