BAR members agree to affiliate to the Mineral Products Association

Member companies of the 6036 British Association of Reinforcement (BAR) have agreed to formally affiliate with the 2897 Mineral Products Association (MPA).

Welcoming the decision Graham Mackenzie, chairman of BAR, said: “I am delighted that we have taken this important step in affiliating the UK reinforcement representational body with other concrete organisations. BAR has a good history of representing the reinforcement sector, but the challenges in front of all of us are considerable. There is more need than ever for us to work with like-minded materials and product interest organisations.”

Nigel Jackson, chief executive of the MPA, said the Association was delighted with the “very positive move” by BAR members. He added: “This move represents another significant step in the evolution of the trade representation of the industry from a number of fragmented organisations into a genuinely sectoral body that promotes and protects all its members’ interests and enables more effective and influential dialogue with Government and other key stakeholders.”

The MPA is the trade association for the aggregates, asphalt, cement, concrete, lime, mortar and silica sand industries. With the recent addition of The 1829 British Precast Concrete Federation (BPCF), it has a growing membership of 430 companies and is the sectoral voice for mineral products. MPA membership is made up of the vast majority of independent SME companies throughout the UK, as well as the nine major international and global companies. It covers 100% of GB cement production, 90% of aggregates production and 95% of asphalt and ready-mixed concrete production and 70% of precast concrete production. Each year the industry supplies in excess of £5 billion of materials to the £120 billion construction and other sectors.