Lafarge
Encyclopedia
Lafarge is a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 industrial company specialising in four major products: cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...

, construction aggregate
Construction Aggregate
Construction aggregate, or simply "aggregate", is a broad category of coarse particulate material used in construction, including sand, gravel, crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete and geosynthetic aggregates. Aggregates are the most mined material in the world...

s, concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...

 and gypsum wallboard. In 2010 the company was the world's second-largest cement manufacturer by mass shipped behind Holcim
Holcim
Holcim is a Swiss-based global company supplying cement and aggregates . The company also supplies ready-mix concrete and asphalt including associated construction services.-Holcim Group:...

.

History

Lafarge was founded in 1833 by Joseph-Auguste Pavin de Lafarge in Le Teil (Ardèche
Ardèche
Ardèche is a department in south-central France named after the Ardèche River.- History :The area has been inhabited by humans at least since the Upper Paleolithic, as attested by the famous cave paintings at Chauvet Pont d'Arc. The plateau of the Ardeche River has extensive standing stones ,...

), to exploit the limestone quarry in Mont Saint-Victor between Le Teil
Le Teil
Le Teil is a commune in the Ardèche department in southern France.-Population:-References:*...

 and Viviers
Viviers
Viviers is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Viviers, Ardèche, in the Ardèche département, capital of the Vivarais and episcopal see* Viviers, Moselle, in the Moselle département...

. The limestone is white and argillaceous, and yielded an eminently hydraulic lime
Hydraulic lime
Hydraulic lime is a variety of lime, a slaked lime used to make lime mortar. Hydraulicity is the ability of lime to set under water. Hydraulic lime is produced by heating calcining limestone that contains clay and other impurities. Calcium reacts in the kiln with the clay minerals to produce...

.

In 1864 Lafarge signed its first international contract for the delivery of 110,000 tonnes of lime to the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...

 construction project. It developed calcium aluminate cements
Calcium aluminate cements
Calcium aluminate cements are cements consisting predominantly of hydraulic calcium aluminates. Alternative names are "aluminous cement", "high-alumina cement" and "Ciment fondu" in French...

. It was also an early pioneer in the production of white Portland cement
White Portland cement
White Portland cement or white ordinary Portland cement is similar to ordinary, gray Portland cement in all respects except for its high degree of whiteness...

, still made at the company's original Le Teil plant.

In 1919, a public company was formed, named "Société anonyme des chaux et ciments de Lafarge et du Teil."

In 1980, it joined with the Belgian coal, coke and fertilizer company Coppée to become SA Lafarge Coppée.

Lafarge purchased a plant from the National Gypsum Company
National Gypsum Company
National Gypsum Company is a company based in Charlotte, NC, well known for drywall gypsum boards in the US. It has 21 gypsum board plants in the US and is presenting itself as a fully integrated building products manufacturer. It is a private company, incorporated as New NGC, Inc. in 1993...

 in early-1987. Ten years later, it bought Redland plc
Redland plc
Redland plc was a leading British building materials business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...

, a leading British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 quarry operator.

In 1999, Lafarge acquired 100% shareholding in Hima Cement Limited
Hima Cement Limited
-Overview:Hima Cement Limited is the second-largest manufacturer of cement in Uganda, producing an estimated 850,000 metric tonnes annually. The leading cement manufacturer in the country, Tororo Cement Limited, has a production capacity of over 1 million metric tonnes annually...

, the second-largest cement manufacturer in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

, with installed capacity of 850,000 metric tonnes annually, as of January 2011.

In 2001, Lafarge, then the world's second largest cement manufacturer, acquired Blue Circle Industries
Blue Circle Industries
Blue Circle Industries was a British public company manufacturing cement. It was founded in 1900, and was bought out by the French company Lafarge in 2001.-History:...

 (BCI), which at the time was the world's sixth largest cement manufacturer, to become the world leader in cement manufacturing.

In 2006, Lafarge North America shareholders accepted a $3 billion tender offer from Lafarge Group which gave the parent company full control over the North American business, removing LNA from the New York Stock Exchange. Previously the Group had owned 53% of LNA shares.

In 2007, it divested its roofing division, selling it to a private equity group in a deal that resulted in Lafarge retaining a 35% equity stake.

In December 2007, Lafarge announced the purchase of the Orascom Cement Group, an Egyptian based cement producer with operations across Africa and the Middle East, from Orascom Construction Industries (OCI)
Orascom Construction Industries (OCI)
Orascom Construction Industries or Orascom Construction Industries SAE is a leading Egyptian EPC contractor, based in Cairo, Egypt and active in more than 25 countries. OCI was established in Egypt in 1950 and owned by Onsi Sawiris...

.

On May 15, 2008 Lafarge acquired Larsen & Toubro Ready Mix-Concrete (RMC) business in India for $349 million.

In 2010, Lafarge strengthened its presence in Brazil (agreement with Votorantim) and in Central Europe (with STRABAG).

In 2011, Lafarge SA will build a cement plant in Langkat, North Sumatra
North Sumatra
North Sumatra is a province of Indonesia on the Sumatra island. Its capital is Medan. It is the most populous Indonesian province outside of Java. It is slightly larger than Sri Lanka in area.- Geography and population :...

, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

 with investment up to Rp.5 trillion ($585 million).

Environmental concerns

On July 11, 2008, the Albany Times Union reported that Lafarge's Ravena, New York
Ravena, New York
Ravena is a village in Albany County, New York, United States. United States. The population was 3,268 at the 2010 census. The village is in the southeast part of the town of Coeymans.- History :The village of Ravena incorporated in 1914...

 plant "was the greatest source of mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...

 emissions in New York from 2004 to 2006" According to the story, plans have been made to upgrade the plant to reduce the mercury emissions. A second story, published the following day, stated that the factory had emitted 400 pounds (181 kg) of mercury annually from 2004 to 2006.
In November 2010 Lafarge, together along with other companies, opposes new EPA regulations that require mercury-emissions reductions at cement plants. Preliminary data published by the EPA for the year 2009 showed 145 pounds of mercury were recorded for the Ravena plant (total on- and off-site disposals). The plant has continued to perform within permitted limits.

Financial data

The following is a summary of data:
Financial data in millions of euro
Year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Sales
Sales
A sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity....

13,698 14,610 13,658 14,436 15,969 16,909 17,614 19,033 15,884 16,169
EBITDA
EBITDA
EBITDA is an acronym for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. It is a non-GAAP metric that is measured exactly as stated. All interest, tax, depreciation and amortization entries in the income statement are reversed out from the bottom-line net income...

2,862 3,101 2,820 3,028 2,920 3,610 3,600
Net results
Net income
Net income is the residual income of a firm after adding total revenue and gains and subtracting all expenses and losses for the reporting period. Net income can be distributed among holders of common stock as a dividend or held by the firm as an addition to retained earnings...

750 446 728 868 1,096 1,372 1,909 1,598 736 827
Net debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...

9,332 8,544 6,734 7,017 7,221 9,845 8,685 16,884 13,795 13,993
Staff 82,892 77,547 75,733 77,075 80,146 82,734 77,720 83,440 77,994 75,680

See also

Main Lafarge competitors are:
  • Holcim
    Holcim
    Holcim is a Swiss-based global company supplying cement and aggregates . The company also supplies ready-mix concrete and asphalt including associated construction services.-Holcim Group:...

  • Cemex
    Cemex
    CEMEX is the world's largest building materials supplier and third largest cement producer. Founded in Mexico in 1906, the company is based in Monterrey, Mexico...

  • HeidelbergCement
    HeidelbergCement
    HeidelbergCement is a German cement and building materials company. It is currently the world's third largest cement producer, the market leader in aggregates and fourth in ready-mix concrete. In 2010 the company produced around 78 million tonnes of cement...

  • Italcementi
    Italcementi
    Italcementi is an Italian multinational company, quoted on the Borsa Italiana, which produces cement, ready-mix concrete and construction aggregates...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK