Adbri, national cement maker with 1880s South Australian origins at Adelaide's Brighton, in Irish hands from 2024
Adbri, changing its named from Adelaide Brighton in 2020, had origins back to William Lewis, a Welsh immigrant to South Australia who set up lime kilns in 1880 near the corner of Brighton and Shoreham roads at Adelaide's seaside Brighton. The cement company became Australia's No.1 supplier of concrete products.
Image courtesy Adbri
Shareholders in AdBri (formerly Adelaide Brighton), a cement company the grew from origins in South Australia in the 1880s to be Australia’s biggest in concrete products, voted in 2024 for a $2 billion takeover by an Irish company.
Dublin-based CRH’s Australian subsidiary and Victorian building materials firm Barro Group $2.1 billion offer to buy Adbri for $3.20 per share included a 41% premium for shareholders, who voted 97.54% in favour of the deal. Named Adelaide Brighton until 2020, Adbri was headquartered in Adelaide, where it became one of South Australia’s top 10 companies, since it was founded in 1882.
After the 2024 vote, Samantha Hogg, chair of an independent board committee set up to assess the takeover, considering the Barro Group’s ties to the Adbri board, said she was “pleased” with the support of shareholders for the deal and its “compelling value … Adbri will be part of a global building materials business. A combined CRH and Adbri will bring growth opportunities, new talent and innovation to continue to strengthen Adbri’s product offering in Australia.”
Adbri origins went back to William Lewis, a Welsh immigrant, who set up lime kilns in 1880 near the corner of Brighton and Shoreham roads at Adelaide's seaside Brighton. Lewis was using limestone from Precambrian formations, known as the Brighton Series, along Adelaide’s coast at Marino, Reynella and Hallett Cove. After previous failed attempts going back to 1927, Adelaide Cement Company at Birkenhead and the South Australian Portland Cement Company, with origins at Brighton, merged in 1970 as Adelaide Brighton Cement Ltd.
In the 21st Century, Adbri continued to make cement, lime and dry blended products. It had 44 quarries, 95 cement plants and 16 cement and lime depots across Australia. Its manufacturing and distribution plants were in South Australia, the Northern Territory, Victoria (Fyansford) and New South Wales. Its associated brands and companies included Geelong Cement, Cockburn Cement, Sunstate Cement, Northern Cement, Independent Cement & Lime, and Building Product Supplies.
With up to 1,500 employees, it made and supplied products to the building, construction, infrastructure and mineral processing markets throughout Australia. country. This included producing, importing and distributing clinker, cement, industrial lime, premixed concrete, aggregates and concrete products. AdBri masonry became No.1 in the Australian concrete products market.
