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Lafarge Expands Capacity With Six Cement Plants

3/6/2008

Lafarge (Paris, France) has signed an agreement with Chinese equipment supplier CBMI Co., Ltd. (part of Sinoma Group) through which CBMI commits to the construction of six turn-key cement plants, to be built before the end of 2010. These plants are part of Lafarge's program to build 45 million tonnes of new cement capacity between 2006 and 2010, in order to meet growing construction needs in emerging markets. The agreement represents a total investment of over € 600 million.

This contract is the continuity of a partnership which started in 1999, with Lafarge’s purchase of CBMI equipment for its Dujiangyan plant in Sichuan Province, China. Lafarge and CBMI worked together closely to ensure that the equipment supplied by CBMI met Lafarge’s strict group-wide standards in terms of environmental performance, safety, energy efficiency and product quality. The two groups have since worked together on various projects in and outside China.

The first of the plants covered by this new agreement will be built in YongChuan in Chongqing City, south-western China, where Lafarge is the leading cement manufacturer. This plant will have a capacity of over 2 million tonnes. Construction will start immediately and will be completed by the end of 2009.

Lafarge entered the Chinese market in 1994 and is now present in all of its businesses (Cement, Aggregates & Concrete and Gypsum), with around 16,000 employees. Lafarge Shui On Cement is the market leader in south-west China with a total production capacity of around 24 million tonnes.

Lafarge is the world leader in building materials, with top-ranking positions in all of its businesses. With 90,000 employees in over 80 countries, Lafarge posted sales of Euros 17.6 billion and net income of Euros 1.9 billion in 2007. Lafarge is also the only company in the construction materials sector to be listed in the 2008 “100 Global Most Sustainable Corporations in the World.” Lafarge has been committed to sustainable development for many years, pursuing a strategy that combines industrial know-how with performance, value creation, respect for employees and local cultures, environmental protection and the conservation of natural resources and energy.