6 - Vicat

6BUSINESS OVERVIEW6.3. Description of the businesses and introduction to the marketsdown 6.1 % compared with the previous year (1) .The Group consolidated its market share in Californiaand increased it in the South-East region, in Alabamain particular.(c) SwitzerlandThe ready-mixed concrete market in Switzerlandhas experienced 1.7 % annual average growth since2005 and stability since 2007, according to the latestestimates from the ERMCO (2) . Consumption declinedin 2002 and 2003, before increasing in 2004with construction sites involving major projects.According to the ERMCO, ready-mixed concreteproduction in Switzerland remained stable at 12 millionm 3 between 2007 and 2009. According to theGroup’s estimates, the market held up in 2010, withlarge regional differences. The ready-mixed concretemarket is very developed and served by a densenetwork.Through its Vigier subsidiary, the Group owns 19concrete batching plants distributed over the westernhalf of Switzerland in four regions. These concretebatching plants produced 0.48 million m 3 in 2010,a decrease of 4 % compared with the previous year(production having been 0.50 million m 3 in 2009).Vigier operates 20 aggregates sites, located nearthe concrete batching plants. These quarries aregenerally smaller than in France and are primarilyintended to meet the needs of the concrete batchingplants. Vigier’s aggregates production in 2010 was2.5 million tonnes, down 6.4 % compared to the previousyear.(d) TurkeyThe ready-mixed concrete market in Turkey hasexperienced annual average growth of 10.1 % since2005 and 0.3 % since 2007 (3) . Ready-mixed concreteappeared at the beginning of the 1980s in Turkey andvery quickly developed from the beginning of the1990s. Following the earthquake of 1999, the Turkishgovernment imposed new standards intended to improvebuilding quality, which has been to the benefitof the ready-mixed concrete business as a wholeover these last five years, to the detriment of manuallymixed concrete. The Turkish ready-mixed concretemarket is estimated at approximately 75 million m 3in 2010, up approximately 13 % compared with theprevious year. In addition, the number of plants inthe country increased by approximately 2 % in thesame period, strengthening competition and leadingto reductions in ready-mixed concrete prices.The Group has been present in Turkey since 1991and has developed a Ready-mixed concrete businessin the Central Anatolian region around thecities of Ankara and Konya. At the end of 2010, theGroup operated 40 concrete batching plants, 17 inthe Ankara area and 23 in the Konya region, with aproduction of 3 million m 3 , corresponding to a 27 %increase compared with the previous year. This significantincrease was more marked in the Ankararegion, driven by the construction of major infrastructureprojects.The ready-mixed concrete business in Turkey mustadapt both to the rigorous climatic conditions in thecenter of the country and to the constraints relatedto the country’s tourist trade. Thus, the Groupalternates its ready-mixed concrete business: fromspring until autumn, it supplies mainly the Ankaraand Konya regions and, during the winter and thelow season for tourism, the construction sites on theMediterranean and Black Sea coasts.The market for aggregates in Turkey is estimated atapproximately 210 million tonnes in 2010 (4) , downby nearly 12.5 % compared to 2009. The Group operatesseven quarries in Turkey, producing a total of5.6 million tonnes of aggregates in 2010 (increasingby 38 % compared to 2009): five quarries are locatedclose to Ankara, one quarry near Konya and one nearthe Mediterranean coast. These are solid rock quarries,except for the one located on the Mediterraneancoast, which is an alluvial rock quarry. The Group’sposition in Turkey in the Aggregates business is focusedon covering its Ready-mixed concrete market.(e) Senegal2010 was marked by a recovery in the building andpublic works sector, particularly in the very dynamicpublic works market.The Group operates in the aggregates market servingSenegal and neighboring countries. In the absenceof official statistics, the Group estimated thismarket at approximately 4 million tonnes in 2010,i.e. an increase of around 43 % compared to 2009.(1)Source : National Ready Mix Concrete Association(NRMCA), 2010.(2)Source : European Ready Mixed Concrete Organization(Brussels), June 2010.(3)Internal source.(4)Internal source.52 VICAT 2010 registration document