materials fate merged with holcim founded 1833 ; 183 years ago 1833 headquarters paris france key people eric olsen chairman and ceo products cement construction aggregates asphalt production and concrete revenue 12.843 billion 2014 1 operating income 1.881 billion 2014 1 profit 770.36 million 2014 1 total assets 34.804 billion end 2014 1 number of employees 63 000 end 2014 1 parent lafargeholcim website www.lafarge.com bags of lafarge cement . note the blue circle logo . lafarge is a french industrial company specialising in three major products cement construction aggregates and concrete . on 10 july 2015 lafarge merged with holcim a swiss cement company . on 15 july the new company was officially launched around the globe under the name of lafargeholcim creating a new leader in the building materials sector . 2 contents 1 history 1.1 merger 2 environmental concerns 3 board of directors 4 financial data 5 see also 6 external links 7 references history edit lafarge was founded in 1833 3 by joseph auguste pavin de lafarge in le teil ard che to exploit the limestone quarry in mont saint victor between le teil and viviers . the limestone is white and argillaceous and yielded an eminently hydraulic lime . in 1864 lafarge signed its first international contract for the delivery of 110 000 tonnes of lime to the suez canal construction project . 3 in 1980 lafarge joined with the belgian coal coke and fertilizer company copp e to become sa lafarge copp e. lafarge purchased a plant from the national gypsum company in early 1987 . 4 ten years later it bought redland plc a leading british quarry operator . 5 in 1999 lafarge acquired 100 % shareholding in hima cement limited the second largest cement manufacturer in uganda with installed capacity of 850 000 metric tonnes annually as of january 2011 . 6 in 1999 lafarge entered the indian market through its cement business with the acquisition of tata steel s cement activity.this acquisition was followed by the purchase of the raymond cement facility in 2001 . 7 in 2001 lafarge then the world s second largest cement manufacturer acquired blue circle industries bci which at the time was the world s sixth largest cement manufacturer to become the world leader in cement manufacturing . 3 in 2006 lafarge north america shareholders accepted a 3 billion tender offer from lafarge group which gave the parent company full control over the north american business removing lna from the new york stock exchange . previously the group had owned 53 % of lna shares . 8 in 2007 it divested its roofing division selling it to a private equity group in a deal that resulted in lafarge retaining a 35 % equity stake . 3 in december 2007 lafarge announced the purchase of the orascom cement group an egyptian based cement producer with operations across africa and the middle east from orascom construction industries oci . 9 on 15 may 2008 lafarge acquired larsen & toubro ready mix concrete rmc business in india for 349 million . 10 in 2010 lafarge strengthened its presence in brazil agreement with lafarge and strabag to create a common company in cement in central europe . in 2011 lafarge sa announced it would build a cement plant in langkat north sumatra indonesia with investment up to rp 5 trillion 585 million . 11 lafarge launched three plants in hungary syria and nigeria and created a joint venture with anglo american in the united kingdom . the group sold most of its european south american asian and australian gypsum operations . 12 13 14 in april 2013 lafarge adopted a new brand baseline building better cities . 15 it reflects the group s ambition to contribute to the improvement of cities by developing innovative construction products solutions and systems . lafarge s contribution to better cities addresses some key challenges of urbanization 16 contribute to more housing in cities ; contribute to more compact cities ; contribute to more durable cities ; contribute to more connected cities ; contribute to more beautiful cities . in september 2013 lafarge agreed to the sale of its 53.3 per cent stake in its honduras subsidiary lafarge cementos sa de cv to cementos argos for 232m . 17 merger edit main article lafargeholcim on 7 april 2014 lafarge and holcim announced they had agreed to terms on a merger of equals . 18 the exchange ratio will be based on 9 holcim shares for 10 lafarge shares . 19 the new company would be based in switzerland and have a manufacturing capacity of 427 million tons a year would vastly exceed the 227 million ton capacity anhui conch the current industry leader in that category . 20 lafarge chief executive officer bruno lafont and holcim s chairman wolfgang reitzle will be co chairmen of the new group . 21 eric olsen current lafarge executive vice president in charge of operations will be the future ceo of the new group . 22 executives from both companies said the deal would save the new company 1.4 billion euros us 1.9 billion annually and create the most advanced group in the building materials industry . 20 the deal will face significant regulatory obstacles as 15 different jurisdictions could potentially raise objections . the cement market in europe is already tightly consolidated and antitrust scrutiny of deals has been commonplace since the 1970s . 20 to meet regulatory concerns holcim and lafarge plan to sell or spinoff assets that generated about 5 billion euros us 6.9 billion of revenue in 2013 in areas of large overlap between the two companies . 21 lafont said the merger was aimed at rebalancing operations not cutting costs . he said overlapping businesses would be sold not closed so industry job losses would be minimal . 20 industry analysts said the deal would combine holcim s marketing strength with lafarge s edge in innovation while providing significant cost savings but cautioned the road to merger clearance will be a long complex and uncertain one . 23 others said the deal could lead to further mergers within the industry and give competitors a chance to pick up assets at a bargain price . 21 most analysts surveyed by reuters felt the merger would be approved in the end . 23 the acquisition will turn it into the world s third biggest building materials supplier . analysts said that although it was broadly anticipated by the market . the additional assets expand the company s footprint in eastern europe and into brazil and the philippines . given the well flagged nature of the deal however these benefits are largely reflected in the price at current levels alan breen of cantor fitzgerald ireland said . on 10 july 2015 lafarge merged with holcim a swiss cement company . on 15 july the new company was officially launched around the globe under the name of lafargeholcim creating a new leader in the building materials sector . 2 environmental concerns edit cement plant in frontignan france . on 11 july 2008 the albany times union reported that lafarge s ravena new york plant was the greatest source of mercury emissions in new york from 2004 to 2006 24 according to the story plans have been made to upgrade the plant to reduce the mercury emissions . a second story published the following day stated that the factory had emitted 400 pounds 181 kg of mercury annually from 2004 to 2006 . 25 in november 2010 lafarge together along with other companies opposes new epa regulations that require mercury emissions reductions at cement plants . 26 preliminary data published by the epa for the year 2009 showed 145 pounds of mercury were recorded for the ravena plant total on and off site disposals . the plant has continued to perform within permitted limits . 27 in july 2013 the new york state department of health nys doh in partnership with the federal agency for toxic substances and disease registry completed a public health assessment for communities near the lafarge cement plant in ravena new york . 28 major findings and results from the nys doh lafarge cement plant health assessment breathing the ground level air concentrations of metals e.g. mercury polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons polychlorinated biphenyls carbon monoxide lead particulate matter dioxins furans hydrocarbons volatile organic compounds and ammonia released in cement kiln stack emissions is not expected to harm people s health . for the general public breathing ground level air concentrations of sulfur dioxide or nitrogen dioxide released in the kiln stack emissions is not expected to harm people s health . touching breathing or accidentally eating dust that originated from the ravena cement plant and other sources is not expected to harm the health of people who reside work or attend school in the community . current health status of the communities near the cement plant is similar to the health status of other areas in the region and state . on 23 july 2013 under an agreement with the u.s. environmental protection agency the u.s. department of justice and the state of new york lafarge north america inc. agreed to fund 1.5 million in projects to reduce air pollution in the community surrounding its ravena new york cement plant . 29 the agreement also amends a march 2010 consent decree that the federal environmental protection agency new york and 11 other states entered into with lafarge requiring the company to limit pollutant emissions from its 13 plants nationwide . 30 under the agreement lafarge north america will adhere to an updated schedule that provides lafarge an additional 18 months to finish construction of a new modernized facility by 1 july 2016 . at that time the existing ravena plant which remains in compliance with all current environmental requirements will be taken offline . 31 details of the agreement include that lafarge north america will invest 1.5 million in projects benefiting the local environment ; make additional improvements to the environmental infrastructure at the existing ravena plant ; adopt new stricter emission limits for so2 and hg ; and set a strict new timetable complete the ravena plant modernization project . board of directors edit the board of directors of lafarge has 15 members appointed by the annual shareholders meeting for a period of four years 32 chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer bruno lafont vice chairman of the board of directors oscar fanjul directors philippe charrier juan gallardo ian gallienne mina gerowin j r me guiraud luc jeanneney g rard lamarche h l ne ploix baudouin prot christine ramon michel rollier ewald simandl v ronique weill . honorary chairmen bertrand p. collomb and bruno lafont former members of the board guilherme frering rapha l de lafarge michael blakenham jean pierre boisivon alain joly bernard kasriel jacques lef vre eric de waubert de genlis michel p bereau pierre de lafarge g rald fr re michel bon thierry de rudder colette lewiner philippe dauman paul desmarais fils nassef sawiris hillary clinton . financial data edit the following is a summary of data 33 34 35 financial data in millions of euro year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 sales 13 698 14 610 13 658 14 436 15 969 16 909 17 614 19 033 15 884 14 834 15 284 15 816 15 198 12 843 ebitda 2 862 3 101 2 820 3 028 2 920 3 610 4 183 4 618 3 600 3 614 3 217 3 450 3 102 2 721 net results 750 446 728 868 1 096 1 372 1 909 1 598 736 827 593 432 601 143 net debt 9 332 8 544 6 734 7 017 7 221 9 845 8 685 16 884 13 795 13 993 11 974 11 317 10 330 9 310 staff 82 892 77 547 75 733 77 075