Boral today is still Australian-based and owned, and operates in more than twenty countries throughout the world. It employs 22,000 people, has around 150,000 shareholders and annual sales approaching $5 billion. The company's core businesses are in building products, construction materials and energy - a far cry from its roots as Australia's first bitumen and oil refiner which waited seven years for government approval. As Boral enters its second half-century, the only certainty is ongoing change - a feature of both Boral and the businesses it has owned over the past fifty years. The emphasis is on consolidation in some areas and growth in others; on reflecting on the experience of its subsidiaries and building on its many successes. The company continues to affirm its aim to succeed for its customers and suppliers the world over, and for its employees and shareholders. The next fifty years will no doubt be as interesting as the first.           Traditional fired paving bricks have been a feature of Dutch streets for hundreds of years, and are now produced using the latest technology at Boral's Doorwerth brickworks.