Success is no pipe dream for Rinker Materials’ concrete pipe business

The concrete pipe team in the US are all standing a little taller after an impressive increase in productivity and economic efficiency over the past year.

Improving economic conditions across much of the US, together with a concerted effort to reduce costs and lift productivity helped the concrete pipe business deliver a 54 per cent increase in earnings before interest and tax to US$81 million.

In the year ending March 2005, concrete pipe volumes rose almost five per cent as state fiscal conditions improved and non–residential/commercial activity started to recover.

Cost increases had a major impact on the business but extensive operational improvement initiatives were aimed at offsetting these increases.

Benchmarking across the national network of concrete pipe plants enabled the business to assess performance on a wide range of parameters – including extensive revenue and profit measures, finished product delivery efficiency and many fixed and variable cost elements.

“The concrete pipe story is a great example of how we can factor in market conditions while continuing to benchmark and improve operations to offset increased costs,” says Rinker Materials Hydro Conduit Division president Duncan Gage. “We were really able to turn this business around and it’s a credit to everyone involved from the ground up.”