All change at Hanson

UK-based Hanson Plc will rebrand most of its Australian businesses, which include Pioneer cement, Hymix concrete and Besser bricks. Its Australian operations will adopt the Hanson brand, four years after the British building materials group entered the Australian market. The rebranding exercise includes repainting its fleet of 1,500 trucks and issuing employees with new uniforms. Hanson’s Australian operations contribute around 13 per cent of its profits. The rebranding will not include the Hymix concrete business, as well as several smaller businesses

Hanson Australia’s chief executive Les Cadzow -- who worked with Pioneer for 27 years -- said yesterday it was time to move on from Pioneer and officially re-brand the company under the Hanson name. While not dismissing the pos sibility of further acquisitions, Mr Cadzow said Hanson’s ambition in the cement business had been satisfied by the formation of Cement Australia last year. Hanson has 25 per cent ownership of the new entity.