Lafarge aims new markets in Brazil

The French building materials maker Lafarge, world leader in the production of cement, wants to consolidate among the three largest manufacturers of the product in the Brazilian market, behind the Votorantim, the absolute leader, and of Hcis service operations manager/Cimpor. Currently, the company fight for third place with the group from Pernambuco, Joao Santos.
By mid-2014, the company will finalize an investment of r $ 200 million in increased production capacity of the cement factories and concrete units operating in the country.
Present in Brazil since 1959, the company has eight factories: one in Rio de Janeiro, four in Minas Gerais, Goiás, Bahia and another in Paraiba. With ongoing investments will reach 8 million tons production, inform Alexis Langlois, President of the subsidiary Lafarge Brazil for a year and a half.
The Executive, formed business administrator and Parisian born in the neighborhood of the Quartier Latin, came a period of three years in Egypt, where took care also human resources of Orascom, a subsidiary of Lafarge in Africa and the Middle East.
Langlois evaluates the national cement market will continue to grow in the range of 3% to 5% per year over the next five years. "There is plenty to do in the country who still demand much cement and concrete: infrastructure works, houses, hospitals and schools," he said.
Cement sales in Brazil have fluctuated during the year and consumption slowed in comparison to 2010 and 2011, when growth rates reached levels of 15%. From January to August, the high reached 1.9%, with 46.4 million tonnes. The forecast for the year is of 72 million tonnes.
Another bet is the concrete segment. "It's a market that grows at 10% rate to 15% per year," says the Executive. The company has almost 60 units in the Southeast and has installed ten others in the Northeast, a region where debuted in July 2010, with the acquisition of two cement factories of Votorantim. "And we're going to grow in this region."
The merger of the factories of Votorantim-Bahia, Paraíba and Goiás-resulted from the exchange for 17% stake it held in the Portuguese cement company Cimpor. The operation that was evaluated at the time (February 2010) around € 750 million was another step to grow in emerging countries and in other Brazilian regions.
According to Langlois, on a visit to Brasilia earlier this year, the global CEO of Lafarge informed the President of the Republic, Dilma Rousseff, the Group's plan to invest $ 1 billion in the country in five years. A fifth will be completed by mid-2014.
"After we finish this first phase, let's start thinking of new projects," he said, avoiding giving details of the new plans of the group. The new wave of investments will assess various alternatives, the Executive noted. For example: more breakthrough for the Midwest, partnerships or more expansion in the Southeast and Northeast.
At the time, Lafarge is completing the expansion of its plant in Cantagalo (Rio de Janeiro), after installing a grinding in the District of Santa Cruz, in the River, near the steelmaker ThyssenKrupp CSA. The company uses part of the slag, a waste product of steel production. The remaining units are in reform and modernization. Will be able to produce 10% more compared to the current capacity. This year, Lafarge expected to produce and sell around 6.5 million tonnes.
Last year, the company had revenues of $ 1.7 billion.
Parallel to the increase in capacity, search the Lafarge country new applications of cement and other products to earn new slices of markets. In some cases, more sophisticated markets, with more technologically developed products. As cement with drainage features, useful for sidewalks of cities, backyards of homes and parking lots. And the Artevia, decorative concrete targeted towards bike lanes and other applications.
Another example is the formulation of stabilized mortar, imported from France, which happens to be offered on site in humid conditions, with duration of 12:0 am. The company also sells its pumping system. Is already used in residential buildings in Belo Horizonte and on the façades of the new airport of Natal (RN).
In Rio, the company plans to open its third laboratory of constructive systems in emerging countries, after China and India. "The Lyon, in France, is very distant," says Langlois. The work should have cost around r $ 4 million.
With the motto "Building Better Cities", the company looks like future strategy to bring innovations to the increasing urbanization in the countries. With the support of Finep, launched a study to identify solutions to building improvements in slum areas in major Brazilian cities. "Let's start at the river and we seek partnerships for developers".