Lafargeholcim Leads The Global Cement And Concrete Market

The cement and concrete market is slightly fragmented, with a large number of small players. The top ten competitors in the market made up around 28% of the total market in 2018. However, this is expected to change in the near future with increasing acquisitions among the players in the market. The restricted competition, supported by the coordination among large cement producers in the market to maintain their respective shares and market stability, will also contribute to the market consolidation going forward. LafargeHolcim Ltd. was the largest competitor with 5.49% of the market in 2018, followed by China National Building Material Company Limited with 5.35% of the market. Other major players include Anhui Conch Cement Company Limited, CRH Plc, HeidelbergCement AG, Cemex S.A.B. de C.V., Taiheiyo Cement Corporation, China Resources Cement Holdings Limited, UltraTech Cement Limited, and Tangshan Jidong Cement Co., Ltd.

LafargeHolcim is a Swiss building materials and solutions company. It manufactures cement, aggregates, ready-mix concrete, concrete, and asphalt products and also provides related services and solutions. The company also has a waste management business which utilizes alternative fuels to fire kilns to reduce carbon dioxide. As of 2018, the company owned 270 cement and grinding plants, 663 aggregates plants, and 1,448 ready-mix concrete plants globally. The company was established in 2015 following the merger of Lafarge and Holcim. The combined company has employed approximately 75,000 people across 80 countries. LafargeHolcim Ltd. generated estimated revenues of $24.1 billion for the financial year 2018 from the cement and concrete market, a 1.3% increase from the previous year.

LafargeHolcim’s growth strategy aims at implementing country specific retail concepts to increase sales and to gain access into new markets. The company has planned to implement its retail models in 30?–50 countries by 2020. In April 2017, the company opened its first Disensa brand franchised store in Mexico for self-builders and smaller contractors, and planned to open another 200 stores under the Disensa brand in 2017, and a total of 600 franchises in the next four years.

China National Building Material Company Limited (CNBM) was the second largest competitor in the cement and concrete market in 2018. The company is involved in cement, glass fibres, composite materials, lightweight building materials and engineering services businesses. The company was established in 2005 and is headquartered in Beijing, China with around 158,500 regular employees as of 31st December, 2018. CNBM’s growth strategy aims at expanding its business operations by strengthening M&A (mergers and acquisitions) strategy. In May 2018, the company merged with Sinoma, a cement manufacturing company, to become China’s largest cement maker and cement plant builder. The company also aims to build 100 plants during the next three to five years.