Over the past four years, Impel Talent has partnered with CRH to build and strengthen its Global Technical Services (GTS) function, delivering highly specialised engineering, operational excellence, process, automation, sourcing, and technical leadership talent that supports CRH’s cement operations and capital projects across the world. CRH is one of the world’s leading building materials companies, operating across an extensive international platform spanning cementitious materials, aggregates, roads, and infrastructure solutions.  

Client Overview 

CRH is a global leader in building materials and infrastructure solutions, employing tens of thousands of people across thousands of locations worldwide. Through its cementitious, aggregates, roads, and infrastructure businesses, CRH plays a critical role in delivering the materials and solutions required for major transportation, industrial, water, and reindustrialisation projects globally.  

At the centre of CRH’s global cement strategy sits Global Technical Services (GTS), an elite team of engineers, technical specialists, operational leaders, and subject matter experts responsible for supporting manufacturing excellence across the entire global cement platform. 

GTS provides technical oversight, advisory support, performance improvement initiatives, and capital project expertise across multiple international regions. Working closely with regional clusters, operating companies, procurement teams, external technology partners, equipment manufacturers, and engineering providers, GTS ensures CRH consistently delivers world-class operational outcomes while successfully executing major capital investment programs. The function also acts as CRH’s primary technical interface with equipment suppliers, contractors, research organisations, and specialist advisory partners worldwide.  

Alongside GTS, Impel Talent supports CRH’s Group Procurement Services (GPS) organisation, one of the most sophisticated procurement functions within the global construction materials sector. CRH manages an annual procurement spend of approximately €17 billion across a global supply network comprising more than 168,000 suppliers worldwide. GPS plays a critical role in creating supply chain resilience, driving procurement excellence, managing supplier relationships, mitigating risk, and delivering strategic sourcing initiatives across the global group. 

Together, GTS and GPS form two of the most important strategic functions within CRH, ensuring both operational excellence and supply chain performance are delivered consistently across the global organisation. 

The Challenge 

As CRH continued to invest in operational excellence, sustainability initiatives, manufacturing performance, and large-scale capital projects, the organisation required access to a highly specialised and globally mobile talent pool. 

The challenge extended far beyond traditional recruitment. 

GTS & GPS required leaders capable of influencing operations across multiple countries, driving technical innovation, implementing best practices, improving plant performance, supporting complex engineering projects, and shaping the future direction of CRH’s global cement operations. 

The ideal candidates often possessed a rare combination of: 

• Deep cement manufacturing expertise 

• Global operational leadership experience 

• Process optimisation and continuous improvement capabilities 

• Automation and digital transformation knowledge 

• Capital project delivery experience 

• Advanced sourcing and procurement expertise 

• Research, development, and laboratory leadership skills 

These individuals are scarce globally and are frequently employed within major multinational cement producers, equipment manufacturers, engineering consultancies, automation providers, and industrial technology organisations. 

CRH needed a long-term talent partner capable of identifying, attracting, assessing, and securing these high-impact professionals from an exceptionally competitive international market.

Our Approach 

Impel Talent was engaged as a strategic recruitment partner to support the ongoing growth and evolution of the Global Technical Services organisation. 

To achieve this, we: 

• Developed long-term global talent mapping projects focused on the cement, minerals, heavy industrial, manufacturing, and process industries. 

• Targeted senior technical leaders operating within major international cement producers, engineering groups, OEMs, automation organisations, and industrial technology businesses. 

• Built specialist candidate pipelines across Europe, North America, Asia, the Middle East, and emerging industrial markets. 

• Delivered detailed market intelligence and succession insights to support workforce planning across critical technical disciplines. 

• Engaged passive talent with highly specialised expertise that is rarely accessible through traditional recruitment channels. 

• Supported senior stakeholders across multiple business units and technical functions through a consultative search and selection process. 

Our approach focused on identifying individuals capable of delivering value not only within a single operation but across CRH’s entire global cement network. 

The Impact 

Over the course of the partnership, Impel Talent has successfully delivered a number of strategic hires across the Global Technical Services organisation, including: 

• Automation & Control Systems Leader 

• Sourcing and Design Engineers 

• Senior Direct Sourcing Leader 

• Raw Mix Manager 

• Lab & Research Lead Cement 

• Task Force Leader 

• Global Process Engineering Manager 

These appointments have strengthened CRH’s ability to support operational excellence, optimise plant performance, improve sourcing strategies, advance technical innovation, oversee capital investment projects, and drive best practices across its global cement operations. 

A particularly significant placement was the appointment of the Global Process Engineering Manager, a strategically important leadership role supporting manufacturing performance, process optimisation, and technical excellence across the international cement platform. 

By consistently delivering highly specialised talent, Impel Talent has become a trusted recruitment partner to GTS, supporting the function’s continued growth and helping ensure CRH maintains access to the expertise required to execute its long-term operational and investment strategy. 

Project Highlights 

• 🌍 Four-year strategic partnership supporting Global Technical Services 

• 🏭 Multiple critical hires delivered across engineering, process, sourcing, research and operational leadership functions 

• ⚙️ Expertise sourced from leading global cement, industrial manufacturing and engineering organisations 

• 🎯 Support provided for operational excellence and capital investment initiatives across international operations 

• 📈 Long-term talent pipelines established for future technical leadership requirements 

• 🤝 Trusted recruitment partner supporting ongoing growth across the GTS organisation

Client Testimonial

“I’ve had the experience of working with Impel across multiple recruitment campaigns, they truly distinguish themselves through their deep expertise and genuine understanding of the positions they work on. Unlike many who only see the surface, Impel go beyond to identify and deliver candidates with the exact technical competencies the role demands. The team are a pleasure to work with.”
— Denis Tumer, Senior Recruitment Manager, CRH

Our Expertise in Action 

This partnership highlights Impel Talent’s ability to deliver highly specialised technical and engineering recruitment solutions within complex global industrial environments. 

Our strengths include: 

• Global Industrial Talent Mapping: Identifying niche engineering and operational leaders across international manufacturing and process industries. 

• Technical Leadership Search: Securing professionals capable of influencing performance across multiple regions and business units. 

• Operational Excellence Recruitment: Delivering experts in process optimisation, automation, production performance, maintenance, and continuous improvement. 

• Capital Projects Talent Solutions: Supporting major investment programs through access to engineering, sourcing, procurement, and project leadership expertise. 

• Strategic Workforce Partnerships: Building long-term relationships that support organisational growth beyond individual hiring requirements. 

Through this partnership, CRH’s Global Technical Services team has continued to strengthen its position as a world-class technical advisory and performance function, providing the expertise, oversight, and innovation required to support one of the largest and most sophisticated global cement platforms in the industry. By delivering rare and high-impact talent, Impel Talent continues to play a key role in supporting the future growth, operational excellence, and capital project success of CRH worldwide.