Tarmac

Tarmac (short for tarmacadam,) is a type of road surfacing material patented by Edgar Purnell Hooley in 1901. The term is also used, with varying degrees of correctness, for a variety of other materials, including tar-grouted macadam, bituminous surface treatments, and modern asphalt concrete. The term is also often used to describe airport aprons, "ramps", and runways.

Origins

Macadam (crushed rock) roads are prone to rutting and generating dust. Methods to stabilize macadam surfaces with tar date back to at least 1834 when John Henry Cassell, operating from Cassell's Patent Lava Stone Works in Millwall, patented "lava stone". This method involved spreading tar on the subgrade, placing a typical macadam layer, and finally sealing the macadam with a mixture of tar and sand. Tar-grouted macadam was in use well before 1900, and involved scarifying the surface of an existing macadam pavement, spreading tar, and re-compacting. Although the use of tar in road construction was known in the 19th century, it was little used and was not introduced on a large scale until the motorcar arrived on the scene in the early 20th century.

Tarmac Holdings

Tarmac Holdings Limited is a British building materials company headquartered in Solihull, Birmingham. The company was formed as Lafarge Tarmac in March 2013 by the merger of Anglo American's Tarmac UK and Lafarge's UK operations. In July 2014, Anglo American agreed to sell its stake to Lafarge, to assist Lafarge in its merger with Holcim and allay competition concerns.

Prior to 1999 Tarmac Plc was an aggregates to construction company dating from1903. It was de merged in 1999 with the Construction and Professional services arms forming Carillion Plc. The aggregates and building materials side of the business retained the Tarmac name and was bought by Anglo American shortly afterwards.

In February 2015, Lafarge announced that the business would be sold to CRH plc, once Anglo American had sold its stake. Anglo American completed the sale in July 2015, and the acquisition by CRH completed the following month. Following the purchase, Lafarge Tarmac was rebranded as Tarmac.

History

Tarmac (disambiguation)

Tarmac (Tarmacadam) is a construction material. Tarmac may also refer to: