LafargeHolcim

LafargeHolcim Ltd is a Swiss multinational company that manufactures building materials. It has a presence in around 70 countries, and employs around 72,000 employees. LafargeHolcim operates four businesses segments: Cement, Aggregates and Ready-Mix Concrete as well as Solutions & Products, which includes precast concrete, asphalt, mortar and building solutions.

LafargeHolcim Ltd
Public
Traded asSIX: LHN
Euronext: LHN
ISINCH0012214059 
IndustryBuilding materials
Founded10 July 2015 (10 July 2015)
HeadquartersJona, Switzerland
Number of locations
2,315 operating sites [1]
Key people
Jan Jenisch (CEO)
Beat W. Hess
(Chairman)
ProductsCement, aggregates, concrete, and other building materials
Revenue26.7 Bn CHF (2019)[2]
Number of employees
72,452 (2019)[3]
Websitewww.lafargeholcim.com

LafargeHolcim was formed by the merger on 10 July 2015, of cement companies Lafarge and Holcim, which had combined sales of CHF 26.7 billion in 2019[4].

History

On 7 April 2014, Lafarge and Holcim announced a merger project to create LafargeHolcim. With a combined market value exceeding $50 billion, the merger was the second largest announced worldwide in 2014.[5] On 10 July 2015, Lafarge and Holcim completed the merger and created LafargeHolcim.[6] On 15 July 2015, the new LafargeHolcim Group was officially launched.[7]

In June 2016, Le Monde reported that Lafarge paid taxes to ISIS middlemen in 2013 to 2014 to keep using their factory in Jalabiya, Northeastern Syria.[8][9][10] On 2 March 2017, the Board of Directors of LafargeHolcim issued a statement[11] indicating that the measures required to continue operations at the plant were unacceptable.

A comprehensive and independent investigation revealed significant errors in judgment that were inconsistent with the company's code of conduct and the company took action. There have been significant changes and developments made to the compliance program and infrastructure since the time of the alleged misconduct.

The former CEO, Eric Olsen, resigned in April 2017 because of the "strong tensions" incurred by the news.[12] However, an investigation conducted by Baker McKenzie concluded Olsen was not responsible for the payments.[13]

In an interview with the French newspapers LeFigaro, Beat Hess, Chairman of the Board said: "Unacceptable errors were made that the Group regrets and condemns. It's far easier to say this in hindsight but the Group certainly pulled out of Syria too late. All of this should have been avoided”[14]

Meanwhile, Sherpa filed a lawsuit against Lafarge over the payments.[15] In March 2017, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault criticized LafargeHolcim for competing to build the wall on the border of Mexico–United States border promised by President Donald Trump.[16] They were also criticised by presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron.[17]

In May 2017, Jan Jenisch was appointed as the new CEO of LafargeHolcim Group. In March 2018, Jan Jenisch announced a new strategy, Strategy 2022 – ‘Building for Growth’, which aims to drive profitable growth and simplify the business to deliver resilient returns and attractive value to stakeholders.

In May 2018, LafargeHolcim announced the next steps in the simplification of corporate organization. The corporate management positions in Switzerland will be moved to the company’s Holderbank site and a new corporate office in Zug.[18]

During the summer, in July 2019, LafargeHolcim introduced Plants of Tomorrow, a four-year program that will see the utilization of automation technologies and robotics, artificial intelligence, predictive maintenance and digital-twin technologies across their entire cement production process.[19]

In August 2019, the firm announced a "commercial breakthrough for low-carbon cement", Solidia Concrete, which "reduces the overall carbon footprint in precast concrete by 70%".[20][21]

Later in the year, in Fall 2019, LafargeHolcim announced the allocation of 160 million Swiss francs ($161 million) on 80 projects across Europe to cut annual emissions from its cement manufacturing processes by 15% by 2022.[22]

Group

LafargeHolcim operates in around seventy countries, and focuses on cement, aggregates, ready mix and solutions & products. LafargeHolcim is a global partner for major infrastructure projects – roads, mines, ports, dams, data centers, stadiums, wind farms, or electric power plants that require major investments.

The group employs around 72,000 people around the world, and reach a combined net sales of CHF 26.7 billion in 2019[23]. The group's central functions had been divided between Zurich and Paris until the end of 2018, but are currently being transferred to the Swiss cities of Holderbank and Zug.[24] The company's research facilities are in l'Isle d'Abeau, near Lyon, France.

Headquartered in Switzerland and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and on Euronext Paris, LafargeHolcim holds leading positions in all regions across the globe. The building materials market is driven by massive global population growth, the shift towards city and urban living[25] and the infrastructure, the highways, bridges, hospitals and schools, that growing populations require.

Management

Jan Jenisch took over as CEO of LafargeHolcim on 1 September 2017.[26] Beat Hess is the chairman of the Board of Directors.

Members of the Executive Committee are formally appointed by the Board of Directors:[27]

  • Jan Jenisch, Chief Executive Officer
  • Géraldine Picaud, Chief Financial Officer
  • Marcel Cobuz, Member (Europe)
  • Miljan Gutovic, Member (Middle East Africa)
  • René Thibault, Member (North America)
  • Martin Kriegner, Member (Asia)
  • Oliver Osswald, Member (Latin America)
  • Magali Anderson, Member (Chief Sustainability Officer)
  • Keith Karr, Member (Group General Counsel)
  • Feliciano González Muñoz, Member (Head of Group Human Resources)

On 15 October 2019, Jan Jenisch was appointed to the board of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).[28]

See also

Main competitors:

References
  1. Integrated Annual Reporting 2019 lafargeholcim.com, retrieved 9 April 2020
  2. Record net income and free cash flow lafargeholcim.com, retrieved 27 February 2020
  3. Integrated Annual Reporting 2019 lafargeholcim.com, retrieved 27 February 2020
  4. Record net income and free cash flow lafargeholcim.com, retrieved 27 February 2020
  5. Patrick Winters; Francois de Beaupuy (April 7, 2014). "Holcim to Merge With Lafarge to Form Biggest Cement Maker". Bloomberg. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  6. "Holcim and Lafarge complete merger and create LafargeHolcim, a new leader in the building materials industry". LafargeHolcim.com. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  7. "A new leader for a new world: LafargeHolcim officially launched around the globe". LafargeHolcim.com. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  8. Ayad, Christophe; Guibert, Nathalie; Kaval, Allan; Kellou, Dorothée Myriam; Zerrouky, Madjid (June 21, 2016). "Syrie : les troubles arrangements de Lafarge avec l'Etat islamique". Le Monde. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  9. "French cement maker Lafarge 'made deals with IS group in Syria'". France 24. June 22, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  10. Bouaziz, Franck (April 25, 2017). "Comment Lafarge s'est pris les pieds dans le ciment". Libération. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  11. "LafargeHolcim concludes independent investigation into legacy Syria operations and issues summary of investigation findings". LafargeHolcim.com. 2017-04-24. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  12. Baghdijan, Alice (April 24, 2017). "LafargeHolcim CEO's Resignation on Syria Creates Power Vacuum". Bloomberg. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  13. Bayart, Bertille (April 24, 2017). "Le patron de LafargeHolcim quitte le groupe". Le Figaro. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  14. "Beat Hess: "Il y a eu des erreurs inacceptables que LafargeHolcim regrette et condamne"". FIGARO (in French). 2017-12-03. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  15. de Boni, Marc (May 3, 2017). "Un ex-candidat du FN impliqué dans les relations troubles entre Lafarge et Daech". Le Figaro. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  16. "French minister rebukes LafargeHolcim over Trump wall comment". Reuters. March 9, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  17. Dalton, Matthew (March 10, 2017). "LafargeHolcim Faces Warnings on Providing Cement for U.S. Border Wall". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  18. "LafargeHolcim trims management costs". The Construction Index.
  19. "LafargeHolcim launch 'Plants of Tomorrow'". AggNet. 9 July 2019.
  20. "Solidia, LafargeHolcim in commercial breakthrough for low-carbon cement". Global Construction Review. August 14, 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  21. Alter, Lloyd (August 15, 2019). "LafargeHolcim is selling CO2-sucking cement for precast, reduces emissions by 70 percent". TreeHugger. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  22. "Europe's Biggest Cement Maker Steps Up Push for Green Concrete". Bloomberg. 18 September 2019.
  23. Record net income and free cash flow lafargeholcim.com, retrieved 27 February 2020
  24. Revill, John. "LafargeHolcim to close Paris, Zurich head offices, axing 200 jobs". U.S. Retrieved 2018-10-12.
  25. "68% of the world population projected to live in urban areas by 2050, says UN | UN DESA | United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs". UN DESA | United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2018-05-16. Retrieved 2018-11-22.
  26. "UPDATE 2-Cement group LafargeHolcim cuts global demand outlook". Reuters. 26 July 2017. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  27. "Executive Committee". LafargeHolcim.com.
  28. "WBCSD appoints nine additional members to its Executive Committee". 15 October 2019.
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