Hanson’s UK business to be restructured
HeidelbergCement are restructuring and integrating their UK operations following the acquisition of Hanson plc in August 2007.
The combined £1.8 billion turnover business, to be known as Hanson UK, will be headed by Patrick O’Shea, who will step up from his role as managing director of Hanson Aggregates UK to become chief executive officer. Working with him will be four managing directors responsible for each of the core product lines of cementitious products, ready-mixed concrete, building products and aggregates and asphalt.
Mike Eberlin, currently managing director of HeidelbergCement’s UK arm Castle Cement, will head the cementitious division, which also takes in Civil and Marine, the ground-granulated blast-furnace slag business acquired by Hanson in 2006. Both Civil and Marine and Castle Cement will retain their trading names.
The building products division will be led by David Szymanski, who for the past six years has been managing director of Hanson Building Products, the UK’s leading brick and concrete block producer. The division also makes lightweight blocks, precast concrete products and a range of bagged aggregates, and includes the specialist brick- and block-laying contractor Irvine-Whitlock.
Phil Schacht, former operations director of Hanson Aggregates, will take the new job of managing director for aggregates and asphalt, and will have full profit responsibility for Hanson’s countrywide network of over 130 quarries and asphalt plants, as well as the company’s road-surfacing and infrastructure business, Hanson Contracting. The marine aggregates dredging business will also report to Mr Schacht.
Finally, Jon Morrish will move from his role as commercial director of Hanson Building Products to become managing director of the ready-mixed concrete division, which includes more than 240 fixed and site-based concrete production plants. He will also be responsible for Hanson’s Scottish business, which predominantly comprises ready-mixed concrete production.
Commenting on the changes, Patrick O’Shea said: ‘The new structure will allow us to maximize the synergies created by the vertical integration of two highly successful companies. I am looking forward to working closely with the new team to establish Hanson as the UK’s number one construction materials producer. The priority for the coming weeks and months will be to realign our core support and administration functions to match the new structure.’
Hanson’s North American operations are also being restructured and integrated into a new division, Lehigh Hanson, based in Dallas, Texas.
