19 Jan 2006
TARMAC TAKES MAJOR STEP FORWARD TO ROAD RECYCLING FUTURE
Article In a move that will accelerate progress to the road recycling future, Tarmac has acquired the UK's leading specialist road recycling business, making it the only company in the country able to provide a complete recycled road surfacing solution, from start to finish.
Tarmac Ltd has acquired Lincolnshire-based National Road Planing Ltd (NRP), which provides a comprehensive range of specialist road planing services, plant and equipment to contractors around the country and will continue to operate the business as a road recycling service for road contractors nationwide. NRP will continue to operate from its base in Rand, Lincolnshire as well as from a satellite depot in Henley-on-Thames.
Tarmac's National Contracting business is the UK's largest road surfacing contractor responsible, on behalf of the Highways Agency and local authorities, for surfacing more miles of the UK's roads than anyone else. Tarmac National Contracting is also the main contractor for the UK's biggest ever road recycling contract for Highways Agency on the A38 in Ashburton.
The acquisition of NRP will strengthen Tarmac's existing road recycling capabilities across the UK, and as a result, will increase Tarmac's use of recycled aggregates substantially over the next five years.
Paul Fleetham, Tarmac's National Contracting director, said:
"The acquisition of NRP is key to the future strategy of Tarmac. The NRP business generates in excess of one million tonnes of road planings each year, much of which ends up as low value fill and it is Tarmac's intention to explore ways to add value to this waste product.
"This acquisition makes road recycling a more viable solution for a wider range of road resurfacing contracts, large and small. In short, roads have become the new quarries - capable of providing secondary aggregates needed to resurface our roads."
Jonathan Wells, Chief Executive of former NRP owner, Rand Group, added:
"NRP is an excellent business and backed by Tarmac's strong vision for the development of the UK's road recycling industry, we are confident that the business will go from strength to strength. For Rand Group, the disposal of NRP allows us to focus on our core markets and to continue strengthening and expanding our portfolio of construction businesses."
Tarmac's move to invest in its road recycling capabilities comes in response to market forces as the Highways Agency and local authorities increasingly focus on sustainable development. In accordance with Agenda 21, these statutory authorities are increasingly specifying a target level of more than 10% for the use of recycled and secondary materials in suppliers' products.
The growing popularity of cold lay road stone products as an alternative to conventional hot-laid materials has also prompted Tarmac's investment. Tarmac Foam-mix, a cold produced and laid product, which uses a much higher proportion of recycled aggregates, has recently gained favour in the UK as a means of conserving valuable virgin supplies.
Paul Fleetham concludes:
"Aggregates and asphalt businesses have been accused of being slow to support recycling initiatives and use of recycled materials. Tarmac firmly believes that the nation's roads can increasingly be regarded as the quarries of tomorrow and is positioning its business to meet the challenges that lie ahead in road recycling."
For further information please contact Christine Smart, Rebecca Cowley, Delia Elcock or Louise Holt at Citigate Smarts on 0121 456 3199 or email: christine.smart@citigatesmarts.co.uk.
