Hanson Cement is a

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel (aggregate) together. Cement mixe ...

production company located in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. It was called Castle Cement until it was rebranded in 2009. The company is now owned by HeidelbergCement.

History

The company was formed in 1981 through an amalgamation of three firms: * Tunnel Portland Cement Company Ltd (founded 1874) with plants at

West Thurrock West Thurrock is an area, former civil parish and traditional Church of England parish in Thurrock, Essex, England, located 17.5 miles (28.1 km) east south-east of Charing Cross, London. In 1931 the parish had a population of 5,153. On 1 Apr ...

, Essex (1874),

Pitstone Pitstone (formerly Pightelsthorn, with possible variation Pychelesthorn in 1399) is a village and civil parish in east Buckinghamshire, England. It is at the foot of the central range of the Chiltern Hills, centred east of Aylesbury and south o ...

, Buckinghamshire (1937) and Padeswood, Flintshire (1949). * Ketton Portland Cement Company Ltd (founded 1929) with a plant at

Ketton Ketton is a village and civil parish in Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is about east of Oakham and west of Stamford, Lincolnshire. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 1,926, making it the fourth largest settlement ...

, Rutland. * Ribblesdale Cement Ltd (founded 1937) with a plant at

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...

, Lancashire. The company was acquired by HeidelbergCement in May 2007. In 2005, the company's depot in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

was sold and subsequently redeveloped as

Curzon Gate Curzon Gate (also known as Curzon Gateway) was a residential development located on the edge of Birmingham City Centre, England, on a prominent gateway site into the city centre. The land was formerly occupied by Castle Cement silos. The site ...

Environmental concerns

The company admitted to numerous environmental offences over the years leading up to 2009, during a case in which it was fined 250,000 pounds by the Environment Agency Wales (EAW) in February 2010.

Operations

The head office is in Castle Hill at

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...

, and the works are located in

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

, Buckley in

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

and Avonmouth near

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

. The company has a marine terminal at Avonmouth that is used for the importation of cement in bulk, with samples from there tested at the Ketton site's laboratory each week to ensure they meet

British Standards British Standards (BS) are the standards produced by the BSI Group which is incorporated under a royal charter and which is formally designated as the national standards body (NSB) for the UK. The BSI Group produces British Standards under the ...

. Cement is also imported through the Humber ports. Hanson Cement holds an open day at the Ketton production facility every year in July.''Classic Plant and Machinery'' magazine, 6-12, August 2008

References

External links

Official website
Building materials companies of the United Kingdom Cement companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in Maidenhead Manufacturing companies established in 1929 1929 establishments in England {{UK-company-stub