The Leader in Its Sector

Cement: in great demand, especially in emerging countries

 

Lafarge offers a range of cements, hydraulic binders and limes for construction, renovation and public works. In 2010, the Cement Business accounted for more than half of the Group's total sales.

 Fast-growing markets (China, India, Eastern Europe, etc) are a key focus of our strategic development plan. They account for more than 50% of Cement Business sales.

 

Aggregates: the most-consumed material in the world, after water!

 

Aggregates are an essential ingredient in the manufacture of concrete and constitute the framework of many structures. Lafarge is the world's second largest producer in this sector thanks to its expertise throughout the value chain, from extraction to quarry rehabilitation.

 

Concrete: a high-tech material at the heart of innovation

 

The Group has created more than 500 different concrete formulas to meet customers' specific needs: pre-cast concretes, ready-mix concretes, ultra-high performance concretes, etc.

Concrete is now studied at the nanometric scale, bringing it into the high-tech era and allowing it to contribute its many qualities to bold architectural projects.

 

Gypsum: a material with remarkable technical and esthetic properties

Perfect for partitions, walls or ceilings, Lafarge's range of plasterboard solutions meet a variety of needs: thermal and acoustic insulation, protection against fire and damp, decoration, etc.

Innovation is a strategic priority for the Group. Lafarge holds several hundred recently-filed patents and constantly offers new high-tech products and solutions.

• The Group's Research Center, the world's leading research center in the field of building materials, is an international point of scientific reference.
• Our decentralized global structure of technical centers and application laboratories empowers us to pioneer competitive innovations in all of our markets.

 

Every year, the Group devotes more than €150 million to research. More than 1,000 employees throughout the world - teams of scientists, engineers and expert technicians - are working to develop the building materials of tomorrow. Why not join us so we can innovate together?

Lafarge has developed partnerships with the most important research centers, engineering schools, international institutions and universities in the world.

 

The Group is a founding member of the "Research Chair in the Science of Sustainable Construction Materials" in partnership with two prestigious French engineering schools: the École des Ponts and the École Polytechnique. The goal is to create a world center of excellence in the science of building materials.

 

Lafarge Group also works closely with other universities and organizations:

• MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA)
• Princeton and the University of California at Berkeley (USA)
• the universities of Toronto and Sherbrooke (Canada)
• the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Europe's leading research organization (France)
• the Building Materials Academy in Beijing (China)
• the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras (India)

This top-class scientific cooperation helps Lafarge maintain its leadership position.