OUR HISTORY

For almost 60 years, the name Ashby has been synonymous with ready-mix concrete in Canterbury; what few people know is the name has been around a lot longer than that.

In 1924 Ashby brothers Fred, Jack, Don and Toby began business as agricultural contractors all living together on a six acre block of land in Bryndwr in Christchurch’s western suburbs. It wasn’t until 1929 that they opened their first aggregate quarry in Wairakei Road in Bryndwr and with the purchase of their first crushing and screening plant began delivering aggregate to a growing Christchurch city by horse and dray. With the growth of the city, a larger crusher and two trucks were added to operations in the early 1930s.

The first ready-mix concrete plant was set up by Graeme (Fred’s son) and John (Don’s son) in 1961. Operations moved to a larger site at Johns Road and by the mid-1970s, Ashby’s had a fleet of 24 concrete trucks and 12 shingle trucks.

In 1989, the company changed hands to AML Limited as part of a joint venture between the HW Richardson Group and Holcim New Zealand. In November 2023, leading global building materials supplier, Holcim concluded its joint venture with AML Limited under the Allied Concrete brand. As a result of this, Holcim is now operating Ashby’s Ready Mixed in Christchurch, and a further 20 ready-mix concrete plants in the North Island under the Holcim brand.

The technology of ready-mix concrete has evolved since the early days. The new plant, at 160 McLeans Island Road, is capable of loading a concrete truck every two minutes with an accuracy of less than 2% variation from the mix design. With a vast array of 1,500 mixes - there is a mix for every occasion or need. With a fleet of over 70 trucks and the capacity to deliver enough concrete for more than 30 new house floors daily, Ashby’s Ready Mixed offers the most innovative range of ready-mix concrete solutions and services for Christchurch and the Canterbury region.