In the mid 1980s, James Hardie pioneered the development of fiber-cement technology, and began designing and manufacturing a wide range of fiber-cement building products that made use of the benefits that came from the product’s durability, versatility and strength. Using the technical and manufacturing expertise it developed in Australia, James Hardie became a world-leading, specialized, high-technology manufacturer of a wide range of fiber-cement building materials. Today, James Hardie Inc. is purely a fiber-cement business.