Bill Hopkins began his entrepreneurial journey in Monmouthshire with a passion for agriculture — laying the groundwork for what would become a multifaceted business empire.

Expanding beyond farming, Bill launched a construction and property development business, delivering residential, commercial, and agricultural buildings throughout the region.

To meet growing demand, Hopkins acquired EC Knight & Son, a well-established contracting firm, enhancing its in-house construction capabilities and operational reach.

The first concrete batching plant was launched in Wincanton with just two trucks, initially serving Hopkins’ own builds before opening to the public — marking the start of Hopkins Concrete.

The business moved concrete operations to a larger, purpose-owned site at the former Unigate depot in Wincanton, enabling faster production and service expansion.

A modern batching facility capable of producing 110m³/hour was commissioned to meet rising demand — becoming the operational hub for concrete, haulage, and aggregates.

Hopkins installed the Southwest’s first 8m³ Erie Strayer mixer, dramatically increasing output and setting a new standard for speed and quality in concrete supply.

A £2.5M investment saw a second concrete plant open in Bridgwater, positioned on the M5 for optimal reach. The plant featured the only other Erie Strayer mixer in the region.

A major investment added 69 Mercedes-Benz trucks to the fleet — the UK’s largest single order — and Hopkins became the sole UK distributor for Ready Jet, a safer concrete mixer cleaning system.

The company moved into a custom-built HQ and concrete plant at The Works, Wincanton — with production capacity exceeding 200m³/hour and serving as a hub for the aggregates and vehicle operations.

After major growth, Hopkins sold its concrete and aggregates division to Tarmac (CRH Group), allowing the business to focus on other expanding areas, including property and plant sales.

Re-entering the haulage, muckaway, and aggregate transport market, Hopkins launched a bold new fleet to support a large civil engineering project and meet a gap in the Southwest’s market.

With increasing demand for flexible concrete solutions, Hopkins fully committed to volumetric ready-mix supply, bringing modern mobile batching capabilities directly to customers.

Hopkins re-entered the ready-mix market with a new Liebherr Mobilemix 3.0 plant and expanded fleet of Scania/Liebherr mixers. Partnering with Heidelberg, this move boosted supply across the Southwest and marked a major step in the company’s renewed growth in concrete delivery.