RMC Group plc (formerly "Ready Mixed Concrete Limited") was a ready mixed concrete,

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

ing and

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

products company headquartered in

Egham Egham ( ) is a town in the Borough of Runnymede in Surrey, England, approximately west of central London. First settled in the Bronze Age, the town was under the control of Chertsey Abbey for much of the Middle Ages. In 1215, Magna Carta was ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It was listed on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

and was once a constituent of the

FTSE 100 Index The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the "Footsie" , is the United Kingdom's best-known stock market index of the 100 most highly capitalised blue chips listed on ...

, but was acquired by Cemex of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in 2005.

History

The Company was founded in 1930 by the Danish

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

Kjeld Ammentorp as ''Ready Mixed Concrete Limited'' in

Bedfont Bedfont is a suburb in the London Borough of Hounslow, approximately west of Centre of London, Charing Cross. Originally a distinct village, Bedfont has a large central conservation area around Bedfont Green. The majority of the housing was bui ...

. In 1952, Ready Mixed Concrete of Australia reversed into its UK rival and began to expand. During 1962, the company was listed for the first time on the

. During 1979, the company created Thorpe Park in Staines,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, via the redevelopment of one of its disused quarries as a leisure park once quarrying activity had been completed. Up until 1998, RMC Group operated Thorpe Park, at which point it was sold to The Tussauds Group, owner of

Alton Towers Alton Towers Resort ( ) (often shortened to Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton, Staffordshire, Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments, Merlin Entertainments Group a ...

and nearby Chessington World of Adventures. Throughout the early 1990s, RMC Group, akin to its numerous domestic competitors, pursued expansion within the European market. In December 1990, it established a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

with Isle of Man Assurance to undertaken land purchases. During September 1995, it was announced that RMC Group would take full control of its German subsidiary via a £356 million transaction to buy the outstanding 36.4 per cent stake. One year later, the company entered into a unsuccessful bidding war for the

Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...

-based aggregates firm Ennemix against the French industrial group Lafarge. In early 1996, despite a downturn in demand (which was partially attributed to a decrease in

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

-related work), RMC Group successfully enacted a price rise. Around this time, as a result of recently introduced legislation, RMC Group (along with other British-based aggregates firms) was compelled to diversity into

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitor ...

and

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the propert ...

activities. During 1997, the company reported strong financial results; it also mooted plans to launch a new concrete operation in India. During August 1998, RMC Group sold its builders' merchant chain, Hall & Co, to the building materials firm Wolseley in exchange for £121 million. The firm's fiscal performance continued to be negatively impacted by a downturn in the German market during the latter half of 1998. During early 1999, RMC Group stated that it had held discussions towards the potential acquisition of Scancem AB, although the German firm Heidelberg Materials ultimately emerged as the victor. In early 2000, the company completed the acquisition of one of its suppliers, the British

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

producer Rugby Group, in exchange for £850 million. This acquisition was stated to achieve £30 million in savings every year. That same year, CEO Peter Young was replaced by Stuart Walker. During 2005, RMC Group was acquired by Cemex of

for £2.3 billion; the transaction created the third largest cement producer in the world, behind Lafarge and

Holcim Holcim is a Swiss-based global building materials and Construction aggregate, aggregates flagship division of the Holcim Group. The original company was merged on 10 July 2015 with Lafarge (company), Lafarge to form LafargeHolcim as the new c ...

References

External links

Cemex Official site
2005 mergers and acquisitions Manufacturing companies established in 1930 Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Companies based in Surrey Cement companies of the United Kingdom 1930 establishments in England Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2005 2005 disestablishments in England {{industry-company-stub

History

See also

References

External links