1st Aug 2006 12:00
CRH PLC01 August 2006 N E W S R E L E A S E 1 August 2006 CRH INVESTS IN CEMENT JOINT VENTURE IN FLORIDA CRH plc, the international building materials group, announces that its USsubsidiary, Oldcastle Materials, Inc., has taken a 50% equity stake in AmericanCement Company, LLC (ACC), for a cash contribution of US$50 million. OldcastleMaterials' partners in ACC are the shareholders of Trap Rock Industries, a majorregional construction materials and contracting company in New Jersey. ACC hasbeen formed to develop and operate a cement plant in central Florida. Seniordebt to finance the installation of the facility will be provided to ACC byOldcastle Materials. The new cement plant and associated facilities, for which planning andpermitting approvals have been received, will be located in Sumterville, closeto Orlando and Tampa in Florida, on an ACC-owned deposit which contains over 150million tons of high quality limestone reserves. The plant will have an annualcapacity of 1.1 million tonnes, and is expected to commence production in late2008. Florida is one of the strongest construction markets in the US and has verypositive long-term demographic growth trends. While the CRH Products &Distribution Division in the Americas already has significant operations inFlorida, this is Oldcastle Materials' first investment in the region and is anentry into the cement sector in the US. CRH's Europe Materials Division produces almost 13 million tonnes of cementannually at facilities in Finland, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland,Tunisia and Ukraine. Commenting on this investment, Tom Hill, CEO of Oldcastle, Inc., said: "Theoutlook for the Florida construction sector is excellent and, with up to 40% oftotal annual cement consumption in the state currently being imported, webelieve there is real need for the local production capacity which ACC's newfacility will add." Contact CRH at Dublin 404 1000 (+353 1 404 1000) Liam O'Mahony, Chief Executive Myles Lee, Finance Director Eimear O'Flynn, Head of Investor Relations Maeve Carton, Group Controller CRH plc, Belgard Castle , Clondalkin, Dublin 22, Ireland TELEPHONE +353.1.4041000 FAX +353.1.4041007 E-MAIL [email protected] WEBSITE www.crh.com Registered Office, 42 Fitzwilliam Square , Dublin 2, Ireland This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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