Ashby's Ready Mixed is Canterbury's established ready-mix concrete supplier, operating from its plant at 160 McLeans Island Road in Christchurch. The Ashby name has been part of the region's building and construction sector since 1964, with roots in the industry going back to 1924 when the Ashby brothers began as agricultural contractors and aggregate suppliers. The first ready-mix concrete plant was established in 1961, and the business has grown steadily since.
The McLeans Island plant is built for precision and scale. It can load a concrete truck every two minutes with less than 2% variation from the mix design, and holds a library of over 1,500 mix designs to cover residential, decorative, structural, and specialist applications. A fleet of more than 70 trucks supports delivery capacity sufficient for 30 or more new house floors per day across Christchurch and the Canterbury region.
The product range covers ready-mix concrete for structural and residential applications, decorative concrete for driveways and architectural finishes, Superslab™ (a proprietary slab product), floor concrete, and finishing products. Ashby's describes itself as the residential choice in Christchurch while also supplying major commercial and infrastructure projects. Since November 2023, the business has been operated by Holcim, a global building materials group with over 130 years of history in New Zealand, under whose ownership Ashby's is working toward decarbonising the construction industry.
Few names in Canterbury's construction industry carry as much history as Ashby's Ready Mixed. The name Ashby has been connected to building materials in Christchurch since 1924, when brothers Fred, Jack, Don and Toby began as agricultural contractors on a six-acre block in Bryndwr. By 1929 they had opened their first aggregate quarry and were delivering material by horse and dray. Their first ready-mix concrete plant followed in 1961, set up by the second generation of the family — Graeme (Fred's son) and John (Don's son) — and the business has been central to Canterbury's construction sector ever since.
By the mid-1970s, Ashby's was operating a fleet of 24 concrete trucks and 12 shingle trucks. Today, the business operates from its plant at 160 McLeans Island Road with a fleet of over 70 trucks and the capacity to deliver enough concrete for more than 30 new house floors every single day.
The McLeans Island plant is purpose-built for precision and throughput. It can load a concrete truck every two minutes with less than 2% variation from the mix design — a standard that matters when structural and decorative work requires consistent batching. Across the operation, Ashby's holds over 1,500 mix designs, meaning there is a specification available for virtually any residential or commercial concrete requirement.
The product range covers ready-mix concrete for standard structural and residential applications, decorative concrete for driveways and architectural finishes, Superslab™ (a proprietary slab product), floor concrete, and a range of finishing products. The business positions itself as the residential choice in Christchurch while also supplying major commercial and infrastructure projects across the Canterbury region.
In November 2023, leading global building materials supplier Holcim concluded its joint venture with AML Limited under the Allied Concrete brand. As a result, Holcim is now operating Ashby's Ready Mixed in Christchurch alongside 20 further ready-mix concrete plants in the North Island under the Holcim brand. This connection brings the backing of a global materials group with more than 130 years of history in New Zealand's building and construction industry, and a stated focus on decarbonising the construction sector.
For customers, the day-to-day operation remains locally based, with the team at McLeans Island handling bookings, availability enquiries, and project advice. Ashby's describes its team as friendly and professional, available for everything from a first-time pour query through to managing delivery logistics on a complex commercial project.