Displaying items by tag: LafargeHolcim
LafargeHolcim stops quarry extension at Sagunto cement plant
18 February 2016Spain: LafargeHolcim has decided to stop the expansion of its limestone quarry at its Sagunto cement plant. It decided this due to environmental issues with the local government and the lack of viable alternative for expansion in the area, known as Margas.
Lafarge originally signed at agreement with the government to expand the quarry in 2013. However the one licence requires renewal in 2017 and the local government has opposed the request.
Union accepts pay increase at Lafarge South Africa
18 February 2016South Africa: LafargeHolcim has reported that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has accepted an 8% pay increase, according to Reuters. Around 800 workers affiliated to the union started a strike on 11 February 2016 asking for an 8.5% wage increase, a US$6500 housing grant, salary adjustments and a 35% acting allowance, Lafarge said in a statement. It added that the company was ‘well placed’ to meet its customer’s orders. The industrial action followed a series of negotiations which started in October 2015.
Workers stage strike at LafargeHolcim
12 February 2016South Africa: LafargeHolcim staff planned to strike on Friday 12 February 2016 over wages at the local operations of LafargeHolcim, according to the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Pretoria News.
The NUM, which started pay talks with the Franco-Swiss company in October 2015, was demanding a salary increase of 13% and benefits including a housing grant, according to union shop steward Petrus Mositi. NUM members made up about half of the company's workforce. "We can still work this issue out depending on availability and willingness to find a solution," said Mositi.
Bid made for Lafarge Halla Cement
12 February 2016South Korea: The South Korean private equity fund Glenwood Private Equity will join with Hong Kong-based private equity fund Baring Private Equity Asia to buy Lafarge Halla Cement from LafargeHolcim for US$455m, according to investment bank sources.
According to investment bank industry sources on 11 February 2016, Glenwood PE, a preferred bidder of Lafarge Halla Cement, has notified LafargeHolcim that it selected Baring Private Equity Asia as a joint takeover partner. The group will decide whether to give a final nod to the acquisition proposal ahead of its shareholders’ meeting scheduled in March 2016.
Glenwood PE will likely establish a strategic partnership with a local cement company after it buys Lafarge Halla Cement. The possible cement companies include Sungshin Cement Co. with a 12.9% market share as of 2014 or Hanil Cement, which had a 13.6% market share in 2014. The combined market share of Lafarge Halla Cement (12.1%) with either of the cement companies would top the 19.8% share held by the current South Korean market leader Ssangyong.
Martin Kriegner to be appointed head of India for LafargeHolcim
10 February 2016India: Martin Kriegner will be appointed Head of India for LafargeHolcim, effective on 1 March 2016. He will report to Eric Olsen, Group CEO and succeed Bernard Terver who has decided to retire. Kriegner is currently the Area Manager Central Europe,
Kriegner, an Austrian national, joined LafargeHolcim in 1990 and has previously held several senior leadership positions in the Group, including CFO and CEO of the Group operations in Austria as well as Head of Lafarge India and Regional President Cement for Asia. He graduated from Vienna University with a Doctorate in Law and obtained an MBA at the University of Economics in Vienna.
Bernard Terver joined the Group in 1994 and became member of the Senior Management in 2012. He was responsible for Ambuja Cements and ACC in India since 2014 and was appointed Head of India at LafargeHolcim following the merger.
Beat Hess nominated as chairman of LafargeHolcim
10 February 2016Switzerland: The LafargeHolcim Board of Directors has decided to propose Beat Hess as its new Chairman to its shareholders. The decision follows the announcement that the current chairman, Wolfgang Reitzle, has informed the Board that he will not stand for re-election at the Company’s May 2016 Annual General Meeting.
Reitzle cited other business commitments for his decision, including the Chairmanship of the Linde Supervisory Board. He was a key part of the successful merger between Lafarge and Holcim in 2015.
Hess, a Swiss national born in 1949, is currently Vice-Chairman of the Board, a Member of the Strategy & Sustainable Development Committee and a Member of the Finance & Audit Committee. He was elected to the Board of Directors of then Holcim in 2010. From 1977 to 2003, he was legal counsel and later General Counsel of the ABB Group. From 2004 until the end of 2010, he was Legal Director and a member of the Executive Committee of the Royal Dutch Shell Group, London and The Hague. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Nestlé S.A. and of Sonova Holding AG.
Sofiane Benmaghnia to be appointed CEO of Holcim Romania
10 February 2016Romania: Sofiane Benmaghnia has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Holcim Romania effective from 1 April 2016. He will replace François Petry, who has became the CEO of Aggregates Industries, the LafargeHolcim subsidiary in the UK, in December 2015.
Benmaghnia, aged 39 years, has been the general manager of Meftah Cement Operations, Aggregates & Concrete in Algeria since 2011. Previously, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Lafarge Betoane si Agregate in the Middle East for three years. He joined LafargeHolcim group in 1999 as financial analyst.
LafargeHolcim receives revised approval from Competition Commission of India for sale of Lafarge India
09 February 2016India: LafargeHolcim has received a revised order from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for the sale of its stake in Lafarge India. This includes three cement plants and two grinding stations with a total capacity of around 11Mt/yr. The company also markets aggregates and is one of India’s leading ready-mix concrete manufacturers. The proposed transaction is an alternate remedy for the merger of the Group’s legacy companies and now forms part of the company’s Euro3.18bn divestment target in 2016.
“We will operate in India through our subsidiaries ACC and Ambuja Cements with a combined cement capacity of around 63Mt and a distribution network that extends across the entire country. We see opportunities to further build our business in India through our network of over 100,000 dealers and retailers, and by meeting the infrastructure needs of a country that is experiencing significant urbanization,” said Eric Olsen, CEO of LafargeHolcim.
The conditional clearance by the CCI for an earlier divestment proposal was received in April 2015, including the divestment of Jojobera and Sonadih plants in Eastern India with a cement capacity of 5.1Mt. LafargeHolcim subsequently entered into a letter agreement with Birla Corporation Limited, subject to CCI approval, in August 2015. However, due to the current regulatory issues relating to the transfer of captive mining rights and critical to the two plants, LafargeHolcim was obliged to submit an alternate remedy to the CCI to ensure compliance with the order.
As a result, LafargeHolcim will now launch a new divestment process for Lafarge India.
Holcim Mexico launches updated version of Holcim Fuerte
09 February 2016Mexico: Holcim Mexico has launched an updated version of Holcim Fuerte, a cement product aimed at the self-construction and housing sector. It is being advertised as providing better performance and savings of up to 30% per cubic meter placed. More than US$7m has been spent on developing the product including two years of laboratory studies and field trials. A national multi-channel advertising campaign in Mexico has been launched to raise awareness of the product.
LafargeHolcim workers at Saint-Constant cement plant go on strike
08 February 2016Canada: LafargeHolcim cement plant workers at Saint-Constant went on strike on 6 February 2016, according to CJAD radio. A collective agreement for 68 workers at the plant, members of the United Steelworkers union, expired in September 2015. No new contract has been agreed after nine negotiation meetings. The principal disagreement concerns a change to the workers' pension plan.