Personalize your Eco austral space!The Southern Eco: The sale of the activities of Lafarge and Holcim in our region marks the departure of the giant LafargeHolcim (now Holcim) after 70 years of presence.How do you explain this withdrawal?And can we have an idea of ​​the amount of the transaction?Chris Harker: Holcim operates in many markets and one might think that its withdrawal from the Indian Ocean is a strategic choice aimed at further optimizing its portfolio, in line with its business model.For our group, it was an excellent opportunity to take on a regional dimension.Regarding the amount of the transaction, we are unable to provide financial details, as you can certainly understand.While all entities have been renamed Cementis, the product brands remain the same: Baobab in Mauritius, Volcan and Kosto in Reunion, Lova, Orimbato and Manda in Madagascar, Hodari in Comoros and Mayotte.Why ?The cement market in the region has long had a relatively limited supply.It seemed important to us to keep these strong brands, respected and recognized for their quality by our customers.At the same time, we have chosen to expand our offer by adopting more and more local raw materials.This will enable us to offer products and services that are even better suited to the specific needs of our customers.How do you analyze the different cement markets in the sub-region?The Indian Ocean is a diversified market offering a balance between mature markets, Mauritius and Reunion, and emerging markets which are at various stages of development and level of consumption.The markets of Mauritius and Reunion allow us to improve the offer of our products by providing specific solutions to qualified engineers, architects and masons as well as to the construction industry in general.The requirements of these markets offer us an opportunity to vertically integrate our activity in products and services, as can be seen in Reunion.In contrast, emerging markets are at very different stages of development.The one with the greatest potential is Madagascar.On the Big Island, we have an integrated factory ranging from the raw material to the production of clinker (a constituent of cement made up of limestone and silica - Editor's note).Although it is currently operating at full capacity, its production is supplemented by bulk imports, delivered to the port of Tamatave (Toamasina).The cement market is a good indicator of the health of an economy.There is a well-known adage that “when the building goes, everything goes”.Do you see big projects in the different islands?Demand for cement is driven by three sectors which we segment into "residential" (private development), "non-residential" (markets for offices and larger-scale buildings) and "infrastructure" (major works related to both to public and private investments).We observed various key infrastructural developments in the region, particularly around transport and port facilities.These investments are essential to develop and support the competitiveness of our economies in a sustainable way.For example, Cementis (Madagascar) is participating in the extension of the port of Toamasina by developing an area of ​​15 hectares to store containers and by producing 3,150 concrete blocks to protect future quays and piers against waves.This work will reduce transportation costs and increase transhipment capacity.Cement is a product that generates little added value.Mauritius and Reunion being more “mature” markets, can we imagine the launch of more elaborate products?I do not share your opinion!Cement has a high added value with the addition of a range of products ranging from pozzolana (volcanic rock used in the manufacture of certain slow-setting cements - Editor's note) to fly ash, via limestone, gypsum and even more.These products have specific properties that further complement the value created by the construction industry.As we grow and expand our portfolio, we constantly interact with all of our stakeholders on product development, available inventory and vertical integration.Customers are always at the forefront of our thoughts and goals.Cementis Océan Indien today comprises five cement terminals and above all an integrated plant, a grinding plant and a precast concrete plant.Can you imagine a better synergy between your different industrial sites?Different market demands require so many solutions, and these solutions often stem from the availability of raw materials.We are pleased to have acquired high quality assets on which we can now build by integrating or vertically expanding our existing operations.We will increase the global offer for our customers, investing in improving our value-added offers and our geographical scope.To increase the synergy between our various industrial sites, we must also target investments capable of supporting the continuous reduction of our environmental footprint.This undoubtedly involves increased efficiency, maximization of local content associated with a thoughtful and balanced supply of all our raw materials, products and consumables.All this with a targeted approach across the entire value chain.Indeed, according to some studies, cement production represents 7% of global CO2 emissions.Faced with this, global players in the sector want to reduce their CO2 emissions by a quarter by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. How is this going for Cementis?Climate change is a major challenge.All businesses have an impact on the climate and so does ours.I've been in the business for 25 years, it's something the sector has been thinking about for a long time.At Cementis, we will develop our own research and development capabilities with our own laboratories to develop alternative technologies to reduce CO2 emissions.Investments are underway to develop green products and capture the carbon dioxide produced in the production process and downstream processes.In addition, in Mauritius, we no longer use polypropylene bags and we seek to reduce all plastics, both in industrial units and in offices.But that's only part of the process.To reduce our carbon footprint, we rigorously select our cement and clinker suppliers, we focus on the efficiency of the associated logistics, the maximization of local content and urban mining, namely the recycling and reuse of waste from construction.It's about auditing suppliers to make sure they're what they claim to be, taking ownership of our supply chain and holding companies accountable.Create your account to access everything Ecoaustral.comThe Southern Eco: The sale of the activities of Lafarge and Holcim in our region marks the departure of the giant LafargeHolcim (now Holcim) after 70 years of presence.How do you explain this withdrawal?And can we have an idea of ​​the amount of the transaction?Chris Harker: Holcim operates in many markets and one might think that its withdrawal from the Indian Ocean is a ch...