CRH plc, together with its subsidiaries (CRH), provides building materials solutions in Ireland, the United States, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, and internationally.
CRH’s differentiated solutions strategy uniquely integrates materials, products and services across the construction value chain, better serving the company’s customers’ needs and driving repeat business while making construction simpler, safer and more sustainable.
The company integrates essential materials (aggregates and...
CRH plc, together with its subsidiaries (CRH), provides building materials solutions in Ireland, the United States, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, and internationally.
CRH’s differentiated solutions strategy uniquely integrates materials, products and services across the construction value chain, better serving the company’s customers’ needs and driving repeat business while making construction simpler, safer and more sustainable.
The company integrates essential materials (aggregates and cement), value-added building products as well as construction services, to provide its customers with complete connected solutions. CRH’s capabilities, innovation and technical expertise enable it to be a valuable partner for transportation and critical infrastructure projects, complex non-residential construction and outdoor living solutions.
CRH’s business addresses the needs of customers across infrastructure, non-residential and residential construction markets. In 2024, approximately 35% of revenues came from infrastructure (such as highways, streets, roads and bridges), 30% from non-residential construction (including construction and maintenance of critical water, energy and telecommunications projects, in addition to manufacturing, commercial, warehouse and data center facilities) and 35% from residential construction. Approximately 60% of revenues came from sales to new-build construction, while 40% of revenues came from repair and remodel activity.
Operating in 28 countries, the company has market leadership positions in North America, Europe and Australia. CRH intends to continue to expand its North American and International operations given significant government support for infrastructure and increasing demand for customer-connected solutions in major infrastructure and commercial projects.
The company takes an active approach to portfolio management and continuously reviews the competitive landscape for attractive investment and divestiture opportunities to deliver further growth and value creation for shareholders. The company also completed the acquisition of a majority stake (57%) in the Australian building materials business Adbri Ltd (Adbri) within its International Solutions segment.
Customer-Connected Solutions
CRH’s strategy integrates building materials, products and services by providing them to customers as complete solutions that solve complex challenges across the built environment.
Essential Materials
Essential Materials, consisting of aggregates and cement, are the foundation of CRH’s strategy. The company’s vertically integrated businesses manufacture and supply these materials for use extensively in a wide range of construction applications, ranging from major road and infrastructure projects to the development and refurbishment of commercial buildings, private residences, public spaces and communities. The company’s deep materials and market knowledge, along with its extensive network of locations and assets, drive its performance and helps it deliver value to its customers. Customers typically range from national, regional and local governments to contractors and other construction product and service providers.
Road Solutions
CRH is a provider of solutions for sustainable road construction in North America and Europe. With its capabilities in manufacturing, installation, maintenance and circularity, the company delivers a range of innovative solutions for its customers to better connect its communities, from major public highway infrastructure projects to residential roads, airports and parking lots. As responsible operators considerate of its environmental impact, the company optimizes the use of recycled materials in its paving services, thereby reducing waste, emissions and energy consumption. Fully integrated with its Essential Materials businesses, it has developed its Road Solutions offering to provide customers with quality, flexibility, speed, expertise and convenience through its deep market knowledge and highly capable team of professionals.
Building and Infrastructure Solutions
The company’s Building & Infrastructure Solutions connect, protect and transport critical water, energy and telecommunications infrastructure to help solve complex construction challenges. The company integrates designs, materials, products and engineering to enable the transition to a more sustainable and resilient built environment. The company’s products have a particular focus on the below-ground built environment where it is a leading provider of multi-material infrastructure that connects and protects the critical projects that enhance the daily lives of millions of people.
Outdoor Living Solutions
CRH’s Outdoor Living Solutions integrate specialized materials, products and design features to enhance the quality of private and public spaces. The company helps its customers in residential and commercial markets create unique outdoor settings by providing solutions for repair, remodel and new construction projects. The company’s business is closely connected to its customers through a broad geographic network as well as a comprehensive suite of products and services spanning hardscapes, masonry, fencing, railing, packaged lawn and garden products, pool finishes and composite decking. The company places a strong focus on anticipating the needs of its customers and constantly strive to exceed their expectations. The company does this by continually enhancing its offering through innovation, portfolio expansion and multifaceted collaboration.
Innovation and Sustainability
The company is accelerating investment in innovation to develop a higher-performing and more sustainable built environment. The company's CRH Ventures platform partners with and invests strategically in construction and climate technology start-ups across the entire construction value chain, to pilot and scale cutting-edge and innovative technologies. The company's ability to replicate and scale its innovation and technical expertise between geographies provides it with opportunities for further growth. Through the company's Innovation Center for Sustainable Construction (iCSC), it has a global network of experts across its businesses collaborating in the research, development, and replication of innovative solutions.
Sustainability is deeply embedded in all aspects of the company's business, and sustainability leadership is a key pillar of CRH’s purpose.
The company's sustainability framework identifies three global challenges for society and the built environment: water, circularity, and decarbonization. The company's strategy focuses on transforming essential materials into value-added and innovative solutions to address these global challenges. By uniquely integrating its materials, products, and services, the company is positioned to capture further value and accelerate growth across CRH.
Water: The company is advancing solutions to address global water challenges by enhancing flood resilience and improving water management. This includes upgrading water infrastructure, improving wastewater treatment, recharging groundwater, and conserving water across the supply chain.
Circularity: The company is reimagining the way materials are used to enable a more circular economy. The company's efforts include preserving natural resources, recycling and reusing construction and waste materials, facilitating resource-efficient buildings and infrastructure, and building more circular supply chains.
Decarbonization: The company is developing innovative solutions to support a low-carbon future. The company's goals include reducing its absolute carbon emissions, minimizing operational carbon from its products, and creating energy-efficient solutions to facilitate a clean energy transition.
Two recent examples include the company's investment in FIDO AI, supporting the development of artificial intelligence leak detection software to accelerate its water infrastructure solutions in North America, as well as the company's strategic investment partnership with Sublime Systems, a U.S.-based company operating in the field of sustainable cement production. Through these efforts, the company continues to develop and deliver innovative, climate-resilient solutions for its customers.
Business Segment Information
During the fourth quarter of 2024, the company's reportable segments changed to the following three segments: Americas Materials Solutions, Americas Building Solutions, and International Solutions; across two Divisions: CRH Americas and CRH International.
Within CRH’s segments, revenue is disaggregated by principal activities and products and by primary geographic market. Business lines are reviewed and evaluated as follows: Essential Materials, Road Solutions, Building & Infrastructure Solutions, and Outdoor Living Solutions. The vertically integrated Essential Materials businesses manufacture and supply aggregates and cement for use in a range of construction and industrial applications. Road Solutions support the manufacturing, installation and maintenance of public highway infrastructure projects and commercial infrastructure projects. Building & Infrastructure Solutions connect, protect and transport critical water, energy and telecommunications infrastructure and deliver complex commercial building projects. Outdoor Living Solutions integrate specialized materials, products and design features to enhance the quality of private and public spaces.
Americas division
CRH’s Americas Division comprises two segments: Americas Materials Solutions and Americas Building Solutions. Over several decades, CRH has established difficult to replicate, leading positions of scale across the United States and Canada. The Division employs approximately 47,400 people at 2,008 locations across 48 states of the United States and seven Canadian provinces.
Americas Materials Solutions
Americas Materials Solutions provides building materials for the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure and commercial and residential buildings in North America. The primary materials produced by this segment include aggregates, cement, readymixed concrete and asphalt. This segment also provides paving and construction services for customers.
The Americas Materials Solutions segment leverages the company’s benefits of scale, strong market knowledge, deep industry expertise and extensive array of essential materials to implement CRH’s strategy, offering value-added solutions, which combine different types of materials, products and services to satisfy multiple customer needs. In turn, this enables CRH to provide a value-enhancing, differentiated experience, saving time and reducing logistical challenges for customers. Through this customer-connected approach CRH aims to reduce lead times and complexity, deepening relationships, driving repeat business and increasing the share of customer wallet spent on CRH products and services.
Vertical integration is a defining characteristic within this segment, enabling the company to optimize production throughout the supply chain and to capture greater value. In order to support its operations, the company has established a network of long-term reserves at quarry locations, predominantly adjacent to urban areas where demand for its materials and products is strongest.
Americas Building Solutions
Americas Building Solutions manufactures, supplies and delivers value-added, innovative solutions for the built environment in communities across North America. Products in this segment are highly specified, designed and engineered thereby adding value for the customer. This segment serves complex critical infrastructure (such as water, energy, transportation and telecommunications projects) and outdoor living solutions for enhancing private and public spaces.
This segment analyzes market trends, including increasing urbanization, demand for more sustainable construction and evolving customer preferences to devise high-quality, effective building product solutions. CRH’s ability to provide solutions which are tailored to the specific requirements of individual customer projects helps to drive competitive advantage and deliver sustainable growth in this segment.
International division
CRH’s International Division, which comprises one segment, International Solutions, is a provider of integrated building solutions primarily across Europe and Australia. During the fourth quarter of 2024, the former Europe Materials Solutions and Europe Building Solutions segments were combined into this International Solutions segment reflecting how the business is managed. In Eastern Europe and Australia the company sees higher-growth potential through strong economic activity, while in Western Europe, CRH’s businesses operate in attractive markets backed by significant public infrastructure spending and region- wide programs that support construction activity. In these regions, CRH is experiencing increasing demand for its customer-connected solutions offering. The Division employs approximately 32,400 people at 1,808 locations across 27 countries.
International Solutions
International Solutions integrates building materials, products and services for the construction and renovation of public infrastructure, critical networks, commercial and residential buildings, and outdoor living spaces. CRH has established itself as a leader in its markets, enabling strong value creation through commercial excellence and performance improvement initiatives, while serving growing demand across the construction value chain for innovative and value-added products and services.
Materials and Products
The following materials and products are produced and supplied by CRH’s connected portfolio of businesses.
Aggregates
Aggregates are naturally occurring mineral deposits, such as granite, limestone and sandstone. CRH extracts these deposits and processes them for sale as aggregates products, such as crushed stone, sand and gravel. Typically, aggregates are used in road and rail infrastructure, building foundations and in the production of products including concrete and asphalt. Annualized aggregates sales volumes2 in 2024 for the Americas Division and International Division were 229.8 million tons and 143.1 million tons, respectively.
Cement
Cement is produced from limestone reserves and is the primary binding agent in the production of concrete products, including readymixed concrete and mortars, which are used extensively throughout the built environment. Annualized cement sales volumes2 in 2024 for the Americas Division and International Division were 13.9 million tons and 35.7 million tons, respectively.
Concrete
Concrete is a highly versatile building material, consists of aggregates bound together with cement and water. Readymixed concrete is the most commonly used form of concrete. It forms the foundations of buildings and homes, roads, tunnels and bridges, water management systems and clean energy structures. While readymixed concrete is supplied to customers for on-site casting, CRH’s infrastructural concrete businesses produce and supply precast and pre-stressed concrete products such as floor and wall elements, beams and vaults, pipes and manholes. These products are delivered to, and assembled at, construction sites where they are used throughout the modern built environment. Annualized readymixed concrete sales volumes2 in 2024 for the Americas Division and International Division were 17.4 million cubic yards and 21.1 million cubic yards, respectively.
Asphalt
Asphalt consists of aggregates bound together with bitumen and is widely used as a surface material in roads, bridges, airport runways, sidewalks and other amenities. In recent years, the use of recycled materials in asphalt has increased considerably. Using materials from existing road surfaces to produce new asphalt reduces the demand for virgin material, extends the life of the company’s aggregates reserves and contributes to reducing the carbon footprint of the product. Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP) and Recycled Asphalt Shingles (RAS) are used extensively by CRH businesses to produce new asphalt products for road and other surfaces. Annualized asphalt sales volumes2 in 2024 for the Americas Division and International Division were 52.2 million tons and 10.0 million tons, respectively.
Building Products
CRH’s strategy of vertical integration utilizes the company’s essential materials to produce a range of value-added building products and solutions. These include the manufacturing of concrete and polymer-based products, such as underground vaults, drainage systems, enclosures and modular precast structures which are typically supplied to the water, energy, telecommunications and railroad markets. CRH also provides a range of engineered steel and polymer-based anchoring, fixing and connecting solutions for a variety of new-build construction applications.
Further, CRH manufactures a variety of concrete masonry, hardscape and related products including pavers, blocks and curbs, retaining walls and slabs. CRH also produces fencing and railing systems, composite decking, lawn and garden products and packaged concrete mixes. These products are supplied to residential, commercial and do-it-yourself (DIY) construction markets.
Environmental and Governmental
The company generally own or lease the real estate on which its main raw materials, aggregates and other minerals are located. As part of the company’s vertically integrated business model, it has established an extensive global network of extractive sites consists of 1,296 properties, of which 246,058 acres of land are owned and 129,818 acres are leased. These extractive sites provide the company with the raw materials to manufacture various primary building materials, such as aggregates, cement, asphalt, readymixed concrete and concrete products. The company offers these products directly for sale and integrate them into its downstream products and services. Materials produced by the company’s aggregates and cement businesses, for example, can be supplied to its downstream businesses for use in its Road Solutions, Building & Infrastructure Solutions and Outdoor Living Solutions businesses.
The Clean Air Act in the United States and similar laws elsewhere require that certain of the company’s facilities, including its cement plants, obtain and maintain air emissions permits that subject them to pollution control requirements and require pre-approval for constructing certain facilities.
Seasonality
Activity in the construction industry is dependent to a considerable extent on the seasonal impact of weather on the company’s operating locations, with periods of higher activity in some markets during spring and summer.
History
CRH plc was founded in 1936. The company was incorporated in 1949.
