Heidelberg acquires interest in Command Alkon
HeidelbergCement, parent company to Lehigh-Hanson, announced the acquisition of a 45% stake in Command Alkon, the software manufacturer best known for its logistics and tracking applications used throughout the ready-mix industry. In announcing the partnership, the companies revealed their belief that the combination will accelerate innovation and advance digital transformation within the construction materials industry.
Heidelberg also highlighted its objective to become a leading industrial technology company, leaning into the benefits that technology can deliver to both internal and external customers. Heidelberg is not the first industry player to make such an investment, with U.S. Concrete having previously acquired Where’s My Concrete?™. But Heidelberg is the first to make known its intent to make technology investments a core component of its future growth.
The transaction is also the latest in a series of non-traditional acquisitions by industry producers, with the most recent being Smyrna Ready Mix’s acquisition of Indiana Phoenix, a manufacturer of high-quality mixer trucks. On the surface, these latest transactions may seem somewhat curious, but at their core, they signal a commitment to extracting maximum value from their traditional lines of business.
In Heidelberg’s case, the incorporation of Command Alkon and the full complement of its current and future capabilities into Heidelberg’s global operations provides an opportunity to realize efficiencies on a scale not previously seen, and to do so in a way that competitors will struggle to match. In the case of Smyrna, the fastest-growing ready-mix producer in the industry has given itself a huge competitive advantage in fleet optimization, all the more important in today’s environment of perennial shortages.
When viewed through this prism, acquisitions that initially appeared to be non-core are revealed to be both savvy and forward-thinking. Let’s hope the trend continues.