Boral Limited is Australia's largest

building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fun ...

and

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

materials supplier, with market-leading positions in quarries, cement, concrete and asphalt. Boral is actively pursuing a decarbonisation strategy through recycling of demolition materials, converting landfill and waste to energy and transitioning to 100 percent renewable electricity. With revenue for total operations of A$2.96 billion (2022), Boral has about 9,000 employees and contractors working across 356 operating and distribution sites. Its headquarters are located in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia.

History

Boral was founded by David Craig on 4 March 1946 as Bitumen and Oil Refineries (Australia) Limited with

Caltex Caltex is a petroleum brand name of Chevron Corporation used in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and Southern Africa. It is also the brand name of non-Chevron petroleum companies in some countries (such as New Zealand, and previously ...

having a 40% shareholding. In March 1947, it opened

Matraville Refinery Matraville Refinery was an oil refinery in the Australian state of New South Wales. Bitumen and Oil Refineries (Australia) Limited (later named by the acronym Boral) commenced construction of Australia's first bitumen and oil refinery in Matrav ...

, Australia's first bitumen and oil refinery. In 1963, the company was renamed Boral Limited having been commonly referred to by its acronym since it commenced trading. In 1964, it purchased the Gas Supply Company with 28 coal gas companies in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

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and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. In 1968 Boral sold a 50% stake in its refining business to Total, before selling it the remainder in January 1972. In 1969, it entered the building materials industry through a number of acquisitions. In 1979, Boral entered the United States market, purchasing a 55% shareholding in California Tile from Amalco. In February 1987 Boral purchased cement manufacturer Blue Circle Southern Cement from

BHP BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...

and

Blue Circle Industries Blue Circle Industries was a British public company manufacturing cement. It was founded in 1900 as the Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd through the fusion of 24 cement works, mostly around on the Thames and Medway estuaries, toget ...

. In 1990,

Midland Brick Midland Brick supplies building and construction materials including bricks, concrete blocks, pavers, retaining walls, roof tiles and stone cladding. Products are supplied to customers in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Midland Brick headquart ...

was purchased. In January 2000, Boral sold its tyre business to

Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational tire manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of , meaning 'stone bridge' in Japan ...

. In February 2000, Boral's energy assets were spun off into a separate listed entity,

Origin Energy Origin Energy an ASX listed public company with headquarters in Sydney. It is a major integrated electricity generator, and electricity and natural gas retailer. It operates Australia’s largest coal-fired power station at Lake Macquarie, New ...

. In December 2020, Boral sold

to the

Buckeridge Group of Companies Buckeridge Group of Companies, commonly known as BGC, is a private corporate group of construction and building-related companies operating primarily in Western Australia. BGC is one of the largest privately owned companies in Australia. It w ...

. This followed Boral selling its bricks business on Australia's east coast in 2016. In April 2021, Boral divested its plasterboard business, completing the process with the sale of its 50 per cent interest in the USG Boral joint venture to

Knauf Knauf Gips KG is a multinational, family-owned company based in Iphofen, Germany, well known for drywall gypsum boards, founded in 1932. The company is a producer of building materials and construction systems comprising construction materials for ...

group for US$1.015 billion. In May 2021,

Seven Group Holdings Seven Group Holdings Limited (SGH, formerly Seven Network Limited) is an Australian diversified operating and investment group in the media, mining and construction industries. History Seven Network Limited was formed in 1991 by receivers t ...

launched a takeover bid. In June 2021, Boral sold its United States operations to

Westlake Chemical Westlake Corporation is an international manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and fabricated building products, which are fundamental to various consumer and industrial markets. The company was founded by Ting Tsung Chao in 1986. ...

. In July 2021, Seven gained control of Boral with a 70% shareholding.Notice of change of interests of substantial holder
Boral 30 July 2021

References

External links

Boral CorporateBoral AustraliaContact Boral
{{S&P/ASX 200 Building materials companies of Australia Cement companies of Australia Manufacturing companies based in Sydney Companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Multinational companies headquartered in Australia Manufacturing companies established in 1946 Australian companies established in 1946 Seven Network