How Avon Material Supplies has grown into a leading supplier of construction services
Today offering aggregates, ready mixed and volumetric concrete, grab services, skip hire, skip bags, wheelie bin emptying, and tipper trucks, Avon Material Supplies (AMS) began with humble origins, sharing a portacabin on a former landfill site near Wimborne.
As it extended its range of construction related services, the business quickly grew to the point it needed to take on staff. With a small dream team assembled, sales continued to grow, resulting in the business becoming a supplier of recycled aggregate for several high-profile projects, including the remediation of Canford Park Arena. As the company continued to expand, it needed to move to new premises at the Canford Recycling Centre. This enabled AMS to offer a more extensive range of materials.
The next major milestone came when one of the business’s trusted partners was looking to downsize, leading to AMS purchasing its entire 20 vehicle fleet of tippers. This fleet has continued to grow since then, incorporating new vehicles, including five grab trucks of various sizes. Around this time the business also acquired Nationwide Direct, a national waste and aggregate brokerage firm. After a period of stabilisation it was relaunched as AMS Nationwide, incorporating it into the wider AMS family.
AMS has continued this path of consistent growth, making further acquisitions that complement the already strong portfolio. Commercial Recycling’s integration into the group enabled access to four more waste disposal sites capable of processing both hazardous and non-hazardous materials. The business also provides the space to accommodate vehicles of any size, as well as greater access to bagged and loose construction materials. In January of 2024 AMS announced the purchase of Doonans of Weymouth, a well-established ready-mixed concrete and building materials supplier serving businesses and individuals in and around Weymouth, Dorset. This business became AMS Doonans, and since joining the AMS family it has already been the beneficiary of significant investments and enhancements. The focus has been on improving the customer experience, streamlining the ordering process, showcasing the new AMS Doonans brand, upskilling staff, and enhancing on-site health and safety standards.
Committed to sustainability
The continued and consistent growth AMS has experienced has positioned it to make key investments designed to capitalise on its broader client base and increased processing capabilities. In the last five years for example, the business has introduced dedicated skip bag trucks, and further invested in the fleet of vehicles it operates. It has also launched an in-house workshop allowing the business to take control of the maintenance of its vehicles.
As well as facilitating further investments, these recent acquisitions reflect AMS’s commitment to sustainability. The integration of new plants with superior processing has enhanced the business’ ability to provide higher quality recycled aggregated. With demand for recycled materials growing ever stronger, the benefits of the products are economic as well as environmental. By using recycled aggregate, quarried aggregate is being saved for future generations, as well as ensuring useful material doesn’t end up in landfill or being discarded as waste. Although the materials require processing, namely screening and cleaning, this still costs less than the expenses incurred with quarried material.
Online range
Providing better materials also helps the large-scale infrastructure projects being completed by AMS’ clients to be done in a more sustainable manner. For Wessex Water for example, AMS has supplied over 12,000 tonnes of recycled aggregates for a pipeline that stretches from a water treatment plant in Dorset all the way through to Wiltshire. Once the wider network is complete it will be able to meet water demands for the next 25 years and supply water to households across Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Hampshire. Building this kind of longevity into infrastructure projects drastically reduces the environmental impact they have on top of the benefits that accumulate from using recycled materials wherever possible. 
It’s not only on large scale infrastructure projects where AMS is able to help its customers take better care of their environment, as the business also works with a number of farms where this is a critical issue. Partnering with a large-scale farm in Dorset, AMS set out to help transform its waste management practices. By constructing a designed lagoon, St Giles Farm was able to store waste digestate which is used as an organic fertiliser, reducing reliance on non-organic nitrogen fertilisers.
Initially a trial was conducted using a small amount of digestate from a food waste biogas anaerobic digestion plant. The trial was successful and if a greater supply of digestate is sourced, it is estimated the farm could save up to 380 tonnes of manufactured fertiliser and save approximately £26,300 a year.
AMS’ support for farmers also includes providing more traditional services like the construction of farm tracks. In Gorwell Farm for example, a 386-metre track was installed using AMS’ high-quality aggregates. The track not only helps access around the farm, but also significantly reduces rainwater run-off into nearby rivers, helping to protect an important ecosystem.
Another interesting recent innovation, developed in partnership with CW Marketing, was the launch of AMS online range, enabling easier purchasing of aggregate and waste services. The online range has grown to include skip hire, grab lorry hire, skip bag hire and waste disposal as well.
Through strategic acquisitions over its history, the group has developed the facilities and operational capabilities to provide a full suite of construction services including ready mixed and volumetric concrete, waste management, and recycled aggregate products. As the business has continued to grow, its commitment to sustainability and protecting the environment has remained steadfast, participating in nation-wide infrastructure projects as well as smaller scale agricultural installations, helping clients extend the longevity and reduce the impact of their projects.
www.avonmaterialsupplies.co.uk