Cemex has secured the ongoing supply of aggregates to the London market by opening a new natural sand and gravel quarry in Shepperton, north Surrey, England. Aggregates Business Editor Guy Woodford got a close-up look at the vital new site.
Bill Morris says he feels at home at Cemex Shepperton. It is no surprise that the highly experienced quarry manager feels that way, given his central role in designing and constructing his employer’s key new site, which became operational in late February this year.
Earmarked to excavate 1.2 million tonnes within five years, Cemex Shepperton is supplying natural sand and gravel to key infrastructure projects in the West London area, alongside nearby readymix plants and other local requirements. A further year is earmarked to complete the restoration of the quarry for agricultural use.
During Aggregates Business’s visit to Cemex Shepperton in June 2025, three wheeled loaders – a Komatsu 480, a Volvo L180, and a Doosan 450 – are working together to feed a McLanahan materials processing plant, including an UltraWASH 5165-31S modular wash plant and an UltraCRUSH CC90 cone crusher system, coupled with a McLanahan screen. It is the first McLanahan turnkey solution operating at a Cemex quarry in the UK. A Cat 345 long-reach crawler excavator is set to join the Cemex Shepperton fleet before the end of this year, with a 3,000-plus-metre field conveyor also being added to the fledgling site at some stage in 2026.
“We’re currently running at 1,300 tonnes a day as we build up our customer base. We will reach around 1,600 tonnes daily in five or six months. The size of our screen determines our throughput volume,” explains Morris, who has an eye-catching clay picker he made, removing oversized rocks and around 10 tonnes of clay a day from the initial conveyed feed material before it enters the McLanahan plant’s primary crusher.
Morris says he will be working with McLanahan to modify the processing plant screen to accommodate increased material throughput. “The side skirts are very low, and the deck on the top screen is very shallow. We are looking to pull down the curtains and make them larger, so when material hits, it doesn’t bounce; it just goes down the screen. Additionally, with steps in the modules, the material flow will slow down and allow it to feed properly.
“McLanahan has been very good. We’ve come up with ideas, and they’ve agreed with them and made adjustments to the plant. If we encounter any problems, they are on the phone and asking what they can do to help. It’s nice you can hit a green button and know your plant will work!”
Cemex Shepperton offers washed concrete sand in sizes ranging from 0-4mm, as well as gravel in sizes 4-10mm and 10-20mm. Everything greater than 20mm is conveyed to the UltraCRUSH for sizing and recirculation back into the system. The -4mm sand and water from the process are sent to a sump before being pumped to hydrocyclones, which classify the sand to meet the required specifications by removing any fine sand and silt. As Morris shows Aggregates Business during a plant walkaround, the product-sized sand then discharges from the hydrocyclones onto a Dewatering Screen to remove excess moisture before stockpiling.
“Excess material can also be recycled into something like good foundation material for our haul roads. Nothing goes to waste here,” adds Morris.
“We supply our ready mix plants in London and the surrounding areas, and most of our external customers are local people. Most [customer product] collects are ballast or sand, plus the occasional 10-20mm. We’ve started picking up business from PTL, who run a local [cement] bagging plant. That’s good as they are taking a percentage of each of our products and are here 10 to 12 times a day. We have local builder customers and ex-works contractors who require materials for client projects. A few contractors I used to supply at some of my previous Cemex sand and gravel quarries, whom I regard as friends, are also now coming here. We have four delivery trucks, but most of our customers have truck fleets, so they collect their orders.”
Cemex Shepperton is open from 7.30am to 5pm Monday to Friday, and from 8am to 1pm on Saturdays. “We plan a maintenance day a fortnight in advance, where we get everyone in and shut the plant down to get everything done we need to in just one day. I’ve got three machine drivers, a weighbridge clerk, and myself running the quarry.”
Before becoming quarry manager at Cemex Shepperton, Morris worked at “nine or ten” other Cemex sand and gravel quarries in London, Surrey, and Berkshire, including Kingsmead, Langley, and Datchet.
“I started here at Shepperton in May last year. It was just a field at the time. I had more knowledge than the previous quarry manager about setting up quarries, as I’d done that a few times.”
Listening in to Aggregates Business’s conversation with Morris are Mick Hinson, Cemex Aggregates Projects Manager for Southern England, a 30-plus-year Cemex employee, and Andy Richmond, Cemex UK Communications Manager. Hinson notes it took 15 years for Cemex to get planning permission for its new Shepperton Quarry.
“The field was almost exclusively used by dog walkers, so I spent time talking to them and other residents about what we wanted to do. I said they could still have access to the field at the bottom [by the quarry entrance]. It’s about how you talk to people. I offered them the chance to come on-site, and two Surrey county councillors and a couple of residents accepted. They seemed happy with how we were progressing with our plans,” explains Morris. “Quite a few of the dog walkers I’ve got friendly with. We say ‘Hello’ to each other, and I understand they want somewhere to walk and run their dogs. We aren’t using that area, so I see no problem with them using it.
“Shortly after the plant was running, I had another local resident come on-site. They were shocked at how good it was and how quiet we were. We are starting liaison meetings with county councillors and maybe one or two residents so they can keep other locals up to date with what we’re doing.”
“I know the site is new, but it looks so tidy. I’ve seen many new sites that can get so quickly end up looking quite tired,“ says Hinson.
“The people who work with me want the quarry to be how I want it to be; they respect me and the site and know that a lot of money has been spent here. Some of my team have been with me for over 30 years. I’ve been lucky in that whenever I’ve gone to a different quarry, I’ve been able to work with new plants,“ says Morris.
Cemex in the UK adopts a centralised plant and fleet procurement approach for its quarrying operations, as economies of scale in purchasing enable better pricing deals. “Additionally, due to Cemex Shepperton’s close location to London, Heathrow and Gatwick, McLanahan can bring their clients to see their plant on this site. It’s a good bit of advertising for them and something that was part of the negotiations when acquiring the plant,“ notes Hinson.
“Last week, we had McLanahan here with customers from Sweden. There have been three or four other visits,“ adds Morris.
Sand and gravel from Cemex Shepperton may also be used in some of the UK’s largest infrastructure projects.
“People working for one of the UK’s major rail projects have taken samples from here. They need to do a lot of [project suitability] tests on it, and we’re waiting to hear back from them,“ notes Morris. “All the tests we did on our side passed. Kieron Wilson [Cemex UK Materials Technical Manager] leads on that for us.”
Aggregates Business asks Morris why he likes working in the building materials processing industry. “Every day is different. You don’t know what’s going to happen. If a machine breaks down and you can fix it, it’s a big tick. I like meeting and talking to people, and there are a lot of good people in this business.“
Cemex Shepperton – a strategic gain
“The opening of our quarry at Shepperton is part of Cemex’s wider global growth strategy, focusing on margin enhancement across its core business areas, in developed markets,“ Lex Russell, Cemex Managing Director for Materials in the UK, tells Aggregates Business. “The Shepperton site on the periphery of London ensures the supply of high-quality locally produced materials to support building and construction projects across the Greater London and Southeast regions.”
Wayne Strevens, Aggregates Operations Manager for Cemex UK, adds: “The opening of this new quarry is crucial to ensure we can continue to supply the important London market. Sand and gravel reserves in this area are becoming harder and harder to secure.”
McLanahan hails “transformative” Cemex Shepperton
Cory Jenson, McLanahan’s Executive VP for Sales and Business Development, said the company takes “immense pride“ in seeing its equipment play a part in “transformative“ projects, such as Cemex’s new Shepperton Quarry in Surrey.
“This operation is a testament not only to Cemex’s long-term strategic vision and commitment to infrastructure delivery in the UK but also to the strength of true collaboration between customer and supplier,“ said Jenson.
He continued: “To have the first McLanahan turnkey solution in a UK Cemex site with our UltraWASH and UltraCRUSH systems forming the backbone of the material processing circuit is a significant milestone for our team. We understand that productivity, sustainability, and flexibility are non-negotiables in modern aggregates operations, especially in high-demand markets such as London and the surrounding areas. It’s clear from Bill Morris’s leadership and the wider Cemex team’s approach that Shepperton is already setting a new benchmark for operational efficiency, material quality, and community engagement.
“Our goal at McLanahan is to deliver not just equipment, but engineering-led solutions that grow with our customers. As Bill mentioned, we are working with him and his team to optimise screen configurations and improve throughput. This is just one example of what we aim for in every relationship – proactive support, transparent communication, and a shared desire to get better every single day.“
“What excites me most is how Shepperton is being positioned as a hub of best practice, and that is not just within Cemex, but across the industry. It has become a showcase for us, allowing customers both in the UK and abroad to see our technology in action under real-world conditions. That kind of visibility is invaluable.
“As McLanahan celebrates its 190th year in business, stories like Shepperton remind us why we do what we do. It’s about empowering our partners to meet tomorrow’s challenges. Whether that’s tighter environmental regulations, material scarcity, or rising market demand, we aim to create and supply the equipment and expertise that they can count on.
“We’re proud to stand alongside Cemex at Shepperton and look forward to building on this strong foundation in the years ahead.”
