The magazine - Lafarge

••• Lafarge has unveiled its plans to enter the markets of north and
north-east India throught greenfield projects. It has rolled out plans to
increase its production capacity at its existing Sonadih cement plant
in the state of Chhattisgarh and the construction of a grinding station at
Mejia in western Bengal as well as two cement plants; one in the state
of Himachal Pradesh and the other one in the state of Megalaya. This
should increase the total cement production capacity in the country to
13 million tons in the next 4 years. “The excellent reputation of Lafarge’s
cement business has paved the way for the new businesses like
Gypsum, Aggregates & Concrete in India to enjoy the enormous Indian
market soon," believes Uday Khanna. The Lafarge Boral Gypsum India
joint venture has seen its plasterboard business develop rapidly and
has set up a new production site in the state of Rajasthan near New
Delhi. Olivier Chaudet - Country Manager, LGBI, is delighted with the way
things are progressing: “In the last three years, we have doubled our
sales every year and we now represent around 20% of the plasterboard
market."
Building the brand thanks to value-added products
In India, over 95% of cement is sold in 50kg bags, 60% of which is
sold to Individual Home Builders, due to a solid network of distributors.
“We have developed Concreto, positioned as a premium cement
that enables the purchasers to reealize their aspirations to own their
own home,” explains Martin Kriegner. The Concreto advertising
campaign to brand-conscious customers includes print and television
adverts, outdoor poster campaigns and information is available through
the Home Building Centre, a highly innovative information center
relating to materials and construction methods to help home builders.
Buoyed by the success of Concreto in the local market, Lafarge Boral
Gypsum India (LBGI) recently launched a new plasterboard range under
the name of Lagyp®. “The plasterboard sector is a burgeoning market
here so we need to create a brand and raise its awareness to rival less
effective traditional systems," comments Olivier Chaudet.
P A G E 3 2 | L A FA R G E | N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 7 | C R E S C E N D O
MARTIN KRIEGNER
President the Group’s Cement
business in Asia
© Sébastien Le Clézio
Groundbreaking ceremony for
the second production line with
Bruno Lafont, Chairman and
CEO of Lafarge, Sonadih cement
plant, state of Chattigarh, India.
Investing in a sustainable future
As in the rest of the world, Lafarge is pursuing a sustainable development
and corporate social responsibility strategy in India. All Lafarge
India manufacturing sites are thus ISO 9002, ISO 14000 and
ISO 18000 compliant. An extensive quarry restoration program has
already led to the planting of over 1.5 million trees. Out of a number
of local health initiatives, Lafarge has helped to create best in class eye
hospital in the state of Chhattisgarh. Mobile clinics provide medical
care to around 25,000 people in 75 villages. Lafarge also works with local
governmental organizations to support health information campaigns,
particularly in Tuberculosis through Direct Observation of Treatment,
HIV, AIDS, etc.
Employment opportunities for young people
Lafarge facilitates computer education to 1,500 young girls in ten
schools near to the factories. The course is conducted with specialized
institutions in line with Indian Government school curricula and it supplements
class-room learning.
© Hamilton de Oliveira / REA
THE INNOVATIVE HOME BUILDING CENTRE
The recently refurbished Home Building Centre in Kolkata brings
together everything under one roof that a homeowner dream of. It
offers information, advice and services to homebuilders and organizes
meetings and sessions with architects. A professional database – from
plumbers to engineers – is available, as well as a wide selection of
books, magazines and audiovisual documents. Some pre-drawn up
house plans are also available. Homebuilders can bring their plans and
see a 3D view of their future house and ask for the advice and opinions
of experts on architectural styles and construction materials, thus
saving a lot of time and money. In response to high demand, Lafarge
has set up a specially-equipped mobile version of Home Building
Centre. This mobile centre travels around eastern India countryside
offering solutions to its customers, builders, masons, contractors and
architects outside the large cities, where most residential constructions
are built. It is an effective way of bringing the very best construction
expertise right to customers. ■
MOVING FORWARD IN OUR BUSINESSES
To curb widespread unemployment in the youth around its plants and
to augment their earning potential, Lafarge runs an innovative project
on employability i.e. training unqualified and unemployed youths
in masonry techniques. This program also intends to reduce the qualified
labor shortage in the construction sector. The masons are made
aware of safety issues and good practices at the construction site,
are offered insured against accidents. The success of the initiative
attracted numerous young people from neighboring villages and new
courses, particularly in plasterboard installation, will soon be organized.
Think global, act local
Although the sharing of knowledge between Lafarge's international
technical center and the Indian operations has significantly let to improving
operational efficiency, the real secret of Lafarge's success in India
lies in its ability to adapt to local conditions. For Martin Kriegner, it is all
about finding “very Indian solutions” rather than importing foreign skills.
“We fully adapted to India,” he explains. “An expertise is arising that we
may export to other Lafarge subsidiaries all over the world.” ■
C R E S C E N D O | L A FA R G E | N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 7 | P A G E 3 3