Summit Materials Inc's Business Segments

We are one of the fastest growing construction materials companies in the United States. Our materials include aggregates, which we supply across the United States, and in British Columbia, Canada, and cement, which we supply along the Mississippi River from Minneapolis to New Orleans. Within our markets, we offer customers a single-source provider for construction materials and related downstream products through our vertical integration. In addition to supplying aggregates to customers, we use our materials internally to produce ready-mix concrete and asphalt paving mix, which may be sold externally or used in our paving and related services businesses. Our vertical integration creates opportunities to increase aggregates volumes, optimize margin at each stage of production and provide customers with efficiency gains, convenience and reliability, which we believe gives us a competitive advantage.

Aggregates

We mine limestone, gravel, and other natural resources from 99 crushed stone quarries and 70 sand and gravel deposits throughout the United States and in British Columbia, Canada. Our extensive network of quarries, plants and facilities, located throughout the regions in which we operate, enables us to have a nearby operation to meet the needs of customers in each of our markets.

Aggregates are key material components used in the production of cement, ready-mix concrete and asphalt paving mixes for the public infrastructure, residential and nonresidential end markets and are also widely used for various applications and products, such as road and building foundations, railroad ballast, erosion control, filtration, roofing granules and in solutions for snow and ice control. Generally extracted from the earth using surface or underground mining methods, aggregates are produced from natural deposits of various materials such as limestone, sand and gravel, granite and trap rock. Aggregates are produced mainly from blasting hard rock from quarries and then crushing and screening it to various sizes to meet our customers’ needs. The production of aggregates also involves the extraction of sand and gravel, which requires less crushing, but still requires screening for different sizes. Aggregate production utilizes capital intensive heavy equipment which includes the use of loaders, large haul trucks, crushers, screens and other heavy equipment at quarries. Once extracted, processed and/or crushed and graded on-site into crushed stone, concrete and masonry sand, specialized sand, pulverized lime or agricultural lime, they are supplied directly to their end use or incorporated for further processing into construction materials and products, such as cement, ready-mix concrete and asphalt paving mix. The minerals are processed to meet customer specifications or to meet industry standard sizes. Crushed stone is used primarily in ready-mix concrete, asphalt paving mix, and the construction of road base for highways.

Cement

Portland cement, an industry term for the common cement in general use around the world, is made from a combination of limestone, shale, clay, silica and iron ore. It is a fundamental building material consumed in several stages throughout the construction cycle of public infrastructure, residential and nonresidential projects. It is a binding agent that, when mixed with sand or aggregates and water, produces either ready-mix concrete or mortar and is an important component of other essential construction materials. Cement is sold either in bulk or as branded products in bags, depending on its final user. Few construction projects can take place without utilizing cement somewhere in the design, making it a key ingredient used in the construction industry. The majority of all cement shipments are sent to ready-mix concrete operators. The remaining shipments are directed to manufacturers of concrete related products such as block and precast. Sales are made on the basis of competitive prices in each market and, as is customary in the industry, we do not typically enter into long-term sales contracts. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. consumption occurs between May and November, coinciding with end-market construction activity.

Ready-mix Concrete
Ready-mix concrete is one of the most versatile and widely used materials in construction today. Its flexible recipe characteristics allow for an end product that can assume almost any color, shape, texture and strength to meet the many requirements of end users that range from bridges, foundations, skyscrapers, pavements, dams, houses, parking garages, water treatment facilities, airports, tunnels, power plants, hospitals and schools. The versatility of ready-mix concrete gives engineers significant flexibility when designing these projects.

Asphalt Paving Mix

Asphalt paving mix is the most common roadway material used today. It is a versatile and essential building material that has been used to surface 94% of the more than 2.7 million miles of paved roadways in the United States, according to the National Asphalt Pavement Association (“NAPA”).

Typically, asphalt paving mix is placed in three distinct layers to create a flexible pavement structure. These layers consist of a base course, an intermediate or binder course, and a surface or wearing course. These layers vary in thicknesses of three to six inches for base mix, two to four inches for intermediate mix and one to two inches for surface mix.

Asphalt paving mix is produced by first heating carefully measured amounts of aggregates at high temperatures to remove the moisture from the materials in an asphalt paving mix plant. As the aggregates are heated, liquid asphalt is then introduced to coat the aggregates. Depending on the specifications of a particular mix, recycled asphalt may be added to the mix, which lowers the production costs. The aggregates used for production of these products are generally supplied from our quarries or sand and gravel plants. The ingredients are metered, mixed and brought up to a temperature in excess of 300°F before being placed in a truck and delivered to the jobsite for final placement. According to NAPA, the components of asphalt paving mix by weight are approximately 95% aggregates and 5% asphalt cement, a petroleum based product that serves as the binder.