Hanson targets longer projects

Hanson is to integrate its road surfacing and maintenance businesses in order to stand a better chance of winning long-term projects.

The materials giant, which has been taken over by Heidelberg Cement in an £8bn deal, will merge Hanson Construction Projects and Cumbrian Industrials under one brand name - Hanson Contracting.

The business will be split into three functional streams that correspond to a typical contracting project cycle: winning business (commercial) delivering the work (operations) and financial management (QS).

Plamen Jordanoff, Hanson's new managing director, said: "Contracts are becoming larger and longer, so winning them is critical. We need to get closer to our customers and improve our structure and processes to build an organisation that can compete in the marketplace over the long term."

In addition, the company's long term maintenance contracts, such as the Highways Agency's Area 2EMAC and the MoD Prime, will be managed together by the £140m turnover business.