CRH

What do you get when you merge two of a country's leading materials companies? You get a national champion, a company built to last. In 1970, this is exactly what happened in Ireland. Cement Limited, founded in 1936, and Roadstone, Limited, founded in 1949 by Tom Roche, decided to join forces. This merger created Cement Roadstone Holdings, or as we know it today, CRH. The logic was simple. Ireland was a developing economy, and building the nation would require a massive amount of cement, aggregates, and asphalt. By combining their strengths, the two companies could be the primary supplier for that growth. The new entity didn't waste time. Just three years after its formation, in 1973, CRH went public on the Irish Stock Exchange. This wasn't just about raising capital; it was a statement of intent. With a public listing, CRH had the currency to expand, and expand it did. The company embarked on a decades-long journey of acquisitions, first moving into the United States in 1978 and then into mainland Europe. This strategy of acquiring smaller, local players and integrating them into the CRH network became its core playbook. From humble beginnings as a merger of two Irish firms, CRH transformed itself into a global building materials powerhouse, providing the fundamental ingredients for construction projects all over the world.