Aggregates, quarry products, cement and concrete combine to form the Mineral Products Association

• 
• 14th June 2009
• Quarrying
 

The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has been formed through the merger of the British Cement Association (BCA), the Quarry Products Association (QPA) with its membership covering land based, marine, recycled and secondary aggregates, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete, agricultural lime, industrial lime, mortar, silica sand and The Concrete Centre. It represents 222 members across the UK. The MPA is the representative body for the aggregates, asphalt, cement, concrete, lime, mortar and silica sand industries and its members supply around £5bn of essential materials to the UK economy; by far the largest single supplier of materials to the construction sector.

The organisation:

The MPA says it will build on and enhance the strong reputation established by its constituent parts for supporting their members to operate in a manner that is economically viable and socially and environmentally responsible. It will represent and promote the mineral products industry in order to:

• Secure and maintain the licence to operate for the sustainable supply of essential mineral products; Continue to innovate and deliver sustainable solutions;
• Maintain existing and develop new markets.

The newly merged organisation has Lynda Chase-Gardener as its chairman.  Nigel Jackson has been asked to take on the role of acting chief executive, supported by an executive team of Simon van der Byl, Pal Chana and Andrew Minson.

Lynda Chase-Gardener said: "In these particularly difficult economic conditions, there is a real opportunity for the new organisation to add value to the work of its member companies and to provide a more effective voice for the industry."       

Before its merger to become the MPA, the QPA published it's latest survey in February which indicates an unprecedented decline in sales volumes in the final quarter of 2008, and very significant reductions in aggregates and ready mixed concrete volumes for the year.

In the final quarter, sales volumes of crushed rock and sand and gravel aggregates fell by 29% and 28% respectively compared with the same period of the previous year.  Looking at the major value added products, ready mixed concrete sales fell by 26% and asphalt by 15% in the final quarter.

For the year as a whole, sales volumes of crushed rock sales fell by 12%, sand and gravel by 15%, ready mixed concrete by 14% and asphalt by 3%.

The aggregates and concrete markets turned down very significantly in 2008 and this trend accelerated in the fourth quarter as the slowdown in construction activity spread well beyond the well documented housing collapse.  The asphalt market started the year positively, but again declined rapidly towards the year end.

QPA director general Simon van der Byl commented: "We thought 2008 would be difficult but the reduction in markets in recent months has been very rapid and very substantial.  The outlook for 2009 is grim as there is no prospect of recovery in construction activity until well into 2010, with plenty of downside risk to potentially extend the construction recession.

It is absolutely vital that government takes action to ensure a significant improvement in the functioning of credit markets and implements a far more substantial initiative of construction investment and maintenance, if the worst case projections for the economy and the construction industry are to be avoided. Government announced a programme of accelerated construction work in the November Pre Budget Report, but market conditions are now significantly worse and this work will have little impact on construction activity over the next 18 months. Unless further action is taken there is a great risk that the construction sector will be forced to reduce its capacity and skills base to such an extent that it will be difficult to respond effectively when the economy recovers."