Crush (Ystradmynach)

Origins

The business identified a gap in the market for a specialist processing contractor within the quarrying industry and is now one of only five in the UK. Further to discussions with the directors of the major quarrying companies within the UK, it became apparent that there would be very little capital expenditure available for new equipment in the foreseeable future. Therefore, the founders seized the opportunity and began Crush. One of the major challenges in starting Crush was raising finance to purchase the plant and machinery required to undertake the increase in contracting work. With a single machine ranging in price from £150,000 to £450,000, this was no mean feat but Crush now runs over thirty five items of plant.

Success Factor

The three main factors that have contributed to the rapid growth of the business are a willingness to invest in brand new crushers and screens and provide a specialist knowledge of the equipment and labour needed to process aggregates in the right yield and throughput. Crush has also embraced the health and safety culture of its customers and put in place a continual training programme for staff which gives it the edge over competitors.

The Future

Growth should slow considerably over the next two years as the firm has capitalised on what it’s already achieved and will therefore focus on reducing financial debts and increasing unencumbered assets. During the next five years, the plan is to partner the major quarrying companies on various projects and become their preferred supplier.