Lafarge and Hanson to share key resources

LAFARGE and Hanson have signed a two-way trading deal designed to increase productivity and improve efficiency at four UK quarries. The agreement will see Hanson Aggregates UK and Lafarge Aggregates Ltd make greater use of each others’ production capacities to ensure a long-term sustainable supply of building materials into north-west England and the Thames Valley.

Under the terms of the deal, Hanson’s Whatley Quarry, near Frome, Somerset, will supply limestone aggregates to Lafarge ready-mixed concrete plants in the Thames Valley and west London, while in return Lafarge’s Dowlow Quarry, near Buxton, Derbyshire, will supply limestone to Hanson Premix sites in the North-West.

Limestone aggregates from Lafarge’s Graig Quarry, near Ruthin, North Wales, and sand and gravel from Hanson’s Bulls Lodge Quarry, near Chelmsford, Essex, are also included in the trading deal.

Both companies say the deal will allow them to make better use of existing assets and resources, and will reduce the need for additional expenditure on new quarry sites and production units. It will also improve efficiency throughout the supply chain, allowing both firms to maintain a high level of service to customers in their own markets.

Commenting on the arrangement, Lafarge Aggregates’ managing director, Dyfrig James, said: ‘This is a robust, well-balanced deal. We expect to see more and more of these kinds of arrangements as it becomes evermore expensive and complex for companies to transport aggregates to where they are needed. This will also ensure that the industry continues to work towards environmental sustainability.’

Patrick O’Shea, managing director of Hanson Aggregates UK, added: ‘The agreement will enable both companies to increase productivity and make more efficient use of their assets, and at the same time begin to address the issue of over-capacity within the UK aggregates industry.’

The five-year agreement, which can be extended by mutual agreement, will also see increased use of the rail network to transport the aggregates to rail depots in Manchester, Liverpool, Abingdon, Reading and West Drayton near Heathrow, thereby helping to reduce the number of lorry movements on the UK’s road network.