Forterra Plc (LON: FORT)

About the Company

Forterra plc is a United Kingdom-based manufacturing company with its key business concentration on the production of building products. With an aim to progressively build the infrastructure of Britain, you are sure to locate a well-constructed stature at every mile in Britain which is a Forterra make.

Forterra Plc is one of the biggest names in its business segment with an increasingly growing market share. The products are sustainable and the existing infrastructure in the country is a standing proof of the same. They have a varied range of products and manufactured commodities ranging from precast, blocks and roofing systems to chimney and flue systems.

The industry giant has a strength of over 1800 employees working out of eighteen manufacturing sites. Forterra Plc has a heritage attached to them, they exhibit sustainability and are one of the most trusted and relied upon brands. Known for their elaborate range of building and concrete products, they are a renowned name in the construction sector including Red Bank and London Brick amongst others. Their qualitative products provide end to end solutions right from the groundwork stage until the finished product of a sturdy building.

Company Strengths

The company has its own ground rules when it comes to maintaining its customers, they believe in sustainability, provide attractive margins giving them a strong market position. Their manufacturing base is their biggest strength, it is a well invested in an efficient system that is more than sufficing the supply to the market demand. Forterra Plc has well-strategized their plans to generate growth via projects that will definitely soar them high returns. Their service and products are constantly under the radar of enhancement and innovation, giving them an edge over competitors, and a sturdy customer relation that is long-lasting and spread across multiple sectors. They are the sole owners of production for Fletton brick, under one of their trusted brands “London Brick”. The kitty is further diversified with the ownership of long-term clay reserves.

Heritage

The brand dates to its establishment in the 1960s. Back then the brand was placed under the building products segment of UK’s prominent former brand “Hanson’s” The brand then gained exemplary presence and recognition curtesy the acquisition spree they initiated with acquiring The Butterley Company Limited in 1968, followed by the London Brick PLC in the year 1984. In 2002, they successfully acquired the Marshalls Flooring business. This was followed by the acquisition of Marshall’s Clay products business three years down the line in 2005 along with Thermalite Ltd in the same year. The next year saw a few more sets of acquisitions with Forterra getting Red Bank Manufacturing Company Ltd and Formpave Holdings Ltd into their kitty. The acquisition business had already given a good recognition to the company when in 2017, they initiated their latest buy with acquiring Bison Precast in 2017.

The then-Hanson was acquired by the Heidelberg Cement Group in the year 2007. They, however, sold the company in 2015, in the month of March to Lone Star Funds. It was in the same year when the company was rebranded to its current identity of Forterra.

The company was listed as an individual entity on the London Stock Exchange. This development took place in April 2016.

Strategy

When we talk about the company’s strategy, we can broadly categorize them under Manufacturing Excellence, Core Products Focus and Business Expansion. All these categories are governed by the organization’s values.

Manufacturing Excellence:Â Forterra Plc has the best in class and industry setups for its manufacturing units. They are running a huge show with their prominent presence across Britain, and this is possible only with the 18 production units spread across. The company has set its future goals however keeping health, safety, and aspirations as a priority. They intend to keep their units as an accident and illness free zone. They are continuously evolving to keep themselves apprised on the industry needs by adapting to the lean six sigma standard.

There is a high focus on the capital investments the company makes for the enhancement or older processes and development of better and new ones, thus giving improved end products while also maintaining a sense of agility in expanding capacities to meet the market demands.

Another key element of Forterra’s strategy is the focus it gives to its core products.

Core Product Focus: The product offerings of manufactured goods from the key business for the organization. From bricks and blocks to precast concrete flooring, Forterra has a varied portfolio of products to offer. These high quality and sustainable manufacturing help Forterra in maintaining its Market position. What helps them achieve their goals is the strategy they have in mind to meet their future targets. They believe in focusing on the security of the raw materials along with managing the costs. They are inclined and focused on their service offerings as well. This is clear with the digitalization efforts defined for their customer service offerings.

The third aspect is Business Expansion: No business progresses without growth. Growth is not just important to revolutionize sales, add numbers but also to sustain the shareholder value. Forterra’s growth strategy focusses on the development of products along with expanding the volumes and capacity. They are very open and always looking for fields they can grow in and businesses they can acquire to further compliment that.

Successful execution of the latest Desford factory. With this, they will be able to continue their vision to expand capacity. Improve the innovation pipeline of new prospects for product innovation and development, specifically in off-site construction leveraging modern production and manufacturing methods. They also emphasize on the need for persistent tracking of potential opportunities for incremental shareholder value by investments in related product and industry sectors.

Products

The product lineup for Forterra is diverse and includes the following:

• Bricks:Â The category includes Butterley Bricks, Eco stock Bricks, London Bricks, Special shape bricks, Modular Bricks and blocks, and blended bricks.
• Brick Specials:Â British Standard, nonstandard, tailor-made, interactive house
• Blocks:Â Thermalite aircrete blocks, Conblock aggregate blocks
• Bison Precast:Â Jetfloor, hollow-core floors, beam, and block floors, retaining walls, box culverts, Omnia bridge deck, stairs and landings, bespoke precast
• Chimney, Roofing & Flue Systems:Â chimney pots, flue systems, ridge tiles and finials, air bricks and wall ducts, bespoke clayware, lockclad,
• Walling and Cladding Systems:Â sure brick, lockclad, prefabricated walling, wonderwall
• Paving:Â permeable block paving, block paving, paving kerbs and accessories, nori clay paving, bim files, aquaflow suds system, aquaflow suds design service.