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 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.
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. On 10 July 2015, Lafarge and Holcim completed the merger and created LafargeHolcim. On 15 July 2015, the new LafargeHolcim Group was officially launched. 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. On 2 March 2017, the Board of Directors of LafargeHolcim issued a statement 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. However, an investigation conducted by Baker McKenzie concluded Olsen was not responsible for the payments. 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” Meanwhile, Sherpa filed a lawsuit against Lafarge over the payments. In March 2017, French Foreign MinisterJean-Marc Ayrault criticized LafargeHolcim for competing to build the wallon the border of Mexico–United States border promised by President Donald Trump. They were also criticised by presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron. 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. 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. 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%". Later in the year, in Fall 2019, LafargeHolcim announced the allocation of 160 million Swiss francs on 80 projects across Europe to cut annual emissions from its cement manufacturing processes by 15% by 2022.
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. 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. 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 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. Beat Hess is the chairman of the Board of Directors. Members of the Executive Committee are formally appointed by the Board of Directors:
