2009 Annual Report - CRH

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Diverse Portfolio – Strategy in Action
CRH is a diversified building materials group which provides the sustainable advantages of
both vertical integration in manufacturing and of horizontal integration in servicing the
breadth of customer demand for building materials products. CRH’s broad geographic
and product footprint provides balance and stability of performance through the business
cycle and provides multiple platforms for growth.
This balanced portfolio of business activities allows CRH supply building materials across
the construction spectrum from infrastructure to non-residential and residential; from new
build to repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI); serving all aspects of demand from
early to late-in-cycle products. CRH’s federal structure, strong local management teams
and culture of entrepreneurship ensures a focussed approach to local markets while still
capturing the benefits of operating within a larger group. This uniquely positions CRH
within its industry to leverage the capabilities of strong vertically integrated materials
businesses with high value-added, engineered products operations and strongly
franchised products and distribution networks.
A recent example of CRH’s diverse portfolio in action is the development of a new stadium
for the Dallas Cowboys American football team in Dallas, Texas. Operating as Oldcastle ® ,
CRH is the leading integrated building materials company in the United States with
operations in all 50 US states and in 4 Canadian provinces. By leveraging Oldcastle’s
broad product portfolio, CRH’s US operations were able to offer the stadium construction
team a wide variety of materials for this project and all six of CRH’s product groups in the
US provided materials to this landmark stadium.
Oldcastle Materials – The parking lot was paved with over 8,000 tonnes of Warm
Mix Asphalt produced with Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP) and Recycled Asphalt
Shingles (RAS)
Oldcastle Precast – Underground utility boxes and pads facilitate power distribution
for the stadium
Oldcastle APG – Securing the luxury suites, APG’s proprietary ProSpec ® crack isolation
and waterproofing membrane keeps football fans dry; close to 1,900 litres of acrylic sealer
protect the concrete pavers; thousands of cubic metres of block fill, shotcrete and other
specialty concrete products support the massive structure
Oldcastle Glass – Oldcastle Glass’ Engineered Products division fabricated the
aluminium framing on all exterior entrance doors; all 400 luxury suites are encased by
heavy tempered glass with operable sliding/swinging doors; over 6,500 pieces of clear
tempered glass and aluminium framing elements enhance the many hand/guard rails;
the impressive “bowl” area of the stadium showcases a 46 metre sliding glass curtain
wall, the largest in the world
MMI Products – More than a quarter million dollars of Meadow Burke’s reinforcing bar,
supports and concrete forming accessories were used in the numerous precast elements
Allied Distribution – The interior finishes of the stadium incorporate over 400,000 square
metres of wallboard and over 420 tonnes of metal-stud framing and track
With one supplier to manufacture, manage and deliver product to major construction
projects, the benefits to the customer include improved efficiency and increased on-time
delivery as projects unfold. This is a unique and distinctive value proposition that is difficult
to replicate and is offered only by CRH/Oldcastle.
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