The Lafarge executive’s appointment may be announced as early as today along with the all-share merger, which will create a company with USD 40 billion in sales, the people said, asking not to be identified because discussions are private.
The new company, which would help cut production overcapacity and energy costs, plans to retain dual Swiss and French stock-market listings and operating headquarters, they said.
Both of the cement suppliers own operations in Romania, as well as other important production plants in France, Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic and Serbia. Holcim currently has 71,000 employees in 70 countries, and Lafarge has 65,000 employees in 64 countries, writes Mediafax.
Holcim Romania owns two cement plants in Campulung and Alesd, a grinding station and a cement terminal in Turda, 16 ecological ready-mix plants, 5 aggregates plants, two special binders plants and a cement terminal in Bucharest. The company employs around 1,000 people.
The factory in Alesd was built in 1969 and was bought by Swiss Holcim in 2000. Some EUR 178 million have been invested since in upgrading the factory. The company’s total investments in Romania amount to approximately EUR 700 million, making it the largest Swiss investor in the country.
Lafarge’s operations in Romania focus mainly on sales for cement, concrete and aggregates.
Holcim Romania was the leader of the Romanian construction materials market in 2012 (in terms of sales) despite the fact that its turnover dropped 6.2 percent compared to 2011. The manufacturer reported an average debt collection period of 44 days (industry average was 97 days).
Five of the top ten companies reported profit in 2012. Lafarge Ciment was ranked in the first position followed by Carpatcement Holding. The combined profit of the first ten players in this industry was down 77.4 percent in 2012 compared to 2008. (source: business-review.eu)
