Hanson Pipe & Precast Acquires Price Brothers Company


Acquisition Expands Company's Presence in the Concrete Pressure Pipe Market

IRVING, Texas, March 6 -- Hanson Pipe & Precast today announced the purchase of all outstanding shares of Price Brothers Company, a Dayton, Ohio - based manufacturer of concrete pressure pipe. Acquisition of the Price Brothers Company represents a significant product line and capacity expansion for Hanson, including five facilities in Bakewell, Tenn.; Hattiesburg, Miss.; Palatka, Fla.; South Beloit, Ill.; and a subsidiary, Price Brothers (U.K.) Ltd., which operates in Weybridge, England. Concrete pressure pipe is used by a majority of medium to large cities in the United States for potable and wastewater systems as well as for large industrial complexes and power plant cooling systems.

"This acquisition is instrumental in building our concrete pressure pipe presence and puts Hanson closer to our strategic vision for North America," said Clifford Hahne, Hanson's South Central region president.

More than 500 Price Brothers employees will become Hanson employees and will also have opportunities for further training and advancement. "Price Brothers has some of the best trained, most knowledgeable people in the industry and we are very fortunate to have them join the Hanson family," said Hahne. "We plan on continuing Price Brothers prestigious reputation."

James S. Clift, Price Brothers president and CEO, will retire today and Hahne will assume the role of president of the company. "The combined operations of Price Brothers and Hanson will create one of the largest North American suppliers of products to the water transmission segment of the municipal and power markets. This is an ideal fit for Hanson and Price Brothers," said Clift.

Harry S. Price founded Price Brothers Company as a construction company in 1899. From the beginning, the company worked on such notable projects as Dayton, Ohio's Island Park Dam, producing prestressed concrete cylinder pipe and fittings for a power plant in Indonesia and in 1996, building more than 43 miles of pipe for a pipeline in Virginia that now supplies 60 million gallons of water from Lake Gaston to the City of Virginia Beach per day. The salaried employees of the company bought Price Brothers Company from the founder's family in 1998.

The Price Brothers facilities will be part of Hanson Pipe & Precast's South Central region based in Grand Prairie, Texas. The South Central region's 27 facilities provide gravity pipe and precast concrete products to Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. Steel and concrete pressure pipe produced at the Grand Prairie facility are available nationally. Products produced in Hanson's South Central region, such as reinforced concrete pipe, drainage structures, modular bridges and pressure pipe are used for community and roadway development.

About Hanson Pipe & Precast North America

Founded in 1931, Hanson Pipe & Precast, a division of Hanson PLC, has become North America's largest manufacturer of concrete pipe and precast concrete products, including residential and commercial building components, bridges, manholes and retaining walls; as well as being a premier producer of steel and pressurized pipe.

Originally founded to provide manufactured concrete pipe for sewer and culvert construction, Hanson Pipe & Precast North America has grown and prospered into an organization of more than 7,800 employees and 150 facilities with products available throughout the U.S. and Canada. To learn more about Hanson's quality products, services and building technology please visit http://www.hansonpipeandprecast.com/

About Hanson PLC

Hanson is one of the world's largest suppliers of heavy building materials to the construction industry, with turnover in 2006 of 4.1bn pounds sterling. Our products fall into two categories: 'aggregates' (crushed rock, sand and gravel, ready-mixed concrete, asphalt and cement related products) and 'building products' (concrete pipes, pre-cast products, concrete pavers, blocks, tiles and clay bricks). We employ 26,000 people, operating primarily in North America, the UK and Australia with further operations in Asia Pacific and Continental Europe.

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Source: Hanson Pipe & Precast

CONTACT:

Emily Buenzow,

The Powell Group,

+1-214-522-6005, ext. 102,

eb@powellgroup.net , for Hanson Pipe & Precast

Web site:

http://www.hansonpipeandprecast.com/

http://www.hanson.biz/

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