FTSE 100 materials group aims to lay bricks as well as supplying them

好色先生TV materials company Hanson has this week bought Irvine-Whitlock, one of the UK鈥檚 largest bricklaying firms.

Irvine-Whitlock will now become a wholly owned subsidiary, although it will act as a separate company under its present name.

Geoff Irvine (pictured), the founder and managing director of Irving-Whitlock, will become chairman and Steve Harrison, Hanson鈥檚 general manager, will become managing director. The other directors will remain in position.

Hanson has not revealed how much it paid for the contractor.

Irvine-Whitlock is the first bricklaying contractor to be acquired by a large materials company. The firm, which was co-founded by Irvine in the early sixties, has provided specialist contracting services for schemes such as Somerset House and Paternoster Square in London. Last year the firm had a turnover of about 拢60m, and a pre-tax profit of 拢3m.

Irvine said joining Hanson would offer a 鈥渟uperstructure package鈥� for clients: 鈥淵ou buy the bricks from us, and we can fix them for you as well.鈥�

If we鈥檝e got a job, Hanson will have to compete, or we
won鈥檛 use them

Geoff Irvine

However, he denied that Irvine-Whitlock would only use Hanson products. He said: 鈥淚f we鈥檝e got a job, they will have to compete. If they don鈥檛 get the price right, we won鈥檛 use them.鈥�

Hanson鈥檚 acquisition of the bricklayer is indicative of a general shift in the building products industry towards integrated supply chains.

David Szymanski, Hanson鈥檚 general manager, said the aim was to provide services as well as products. He said: 鈥淭his is the next step to moving towards an all-inclusive building package. It will broaden the offering to our customer base.鈥�

Irvine-Whitlock started out in 1963 with the construction of an underwear factory in Biggleswade, Bedfordforshire, which was carried out by Irvine and his then-business partner, Ron Whitlock. The pair laid 15,000 bricks in five days.

Irvine said the key to the firm鈥檚 success had been good treatment of employees. He said: 鈥淎ny contracting firm is only as good at the people at the sharp end. If you pay properly and give people safe places to work, then you get back what you invest.鈥�

Last month Hanson posted a record full-year pre-tax profit of 拢481m, well ahead of market expectations.