LafargeHolcim SWOT and PESTLE Analysis

Strength

1. Largest footprint in building materials and solution business segment: With the global building materials market estimated to be worth CHF 2,500 billion and growing at a rate of 2-3% per annum, LafargeHolcim has realized the potential this market holds and has taken long strides to gain a strong foothold in the same. The key figures of 72,452 employees, 264 cement and grinding plants, 649 aggregates plants and 1,402 ready-mix concrete plants throughout the globe as of early 2020, justifies the fact that LafargeHolcim has the largest footprint in the building materials market. Moreover, to catalyse the growth as well as build on it, the company strives to strengthen its business segments, cement, aggregates, ready-mix and solutions and products.

2. Best-in-class R&D organization in industry: LafargeHolcim has the best-in-class R&D teams involved in the development of advanced and innovative products, solutions, services and manufacturing processes by collaborating with its partners and customers. The main driver of LafargeHolcim’s Research & Development (R&D) activities are its customers. In pursuit of eradicating the major challenges of today that the customers face, the company puts in concerted efforts including achieving energy efficiency, lowering cost of construction, reducing our environmental footprint, and meeting high standards of aesthetics, health, comfort, and well-being. Moreover, the R&D center of LafargeHolcim, located in Lyon is the first of its kind in the entire industry. Because of this innovative culture, LafargeHolcim has more than 1,500 patents or patent applications, local labs network spanning over all five continents with a great variety of in-house expertise including chemists, physicists, engineers, architects, masons, and more.

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Weakness

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Opportunity

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Threats

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Political

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Economic

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Social

1. Rapid pace of digital transformation in the construction sector: The widening of the digital landscape across all sectors has brought about the concept of digital transformation throughout all kinds of business models. With the advent of Industry 4.0 proving highly disruptive to the manufacturing industry, the construction sector is trying its hardest to utilize the full potential of advanced technologies. Lafarge Holcim, believes that the future lies in digital and having committed itself to deliver digital solutions supporting innovation and inter-connectedness, is trying to seize the opportunities in the digital fabrication market. The company has been developing specific construction solutions for three identified markets, namely high value-added architecture, robotic construction of prefabricated building elements, and individual affordable housing projects. Moreover, by leveraging its expertise in R&D, it has been experimenting with concrete mixes for 3D printing.

2. Megatrends like urbanization driving the building materials market: The global building materials market, of the size CHF 2,500 billion as of 2019, is highly fragmented and is growing at a continuous rate faster than most countries’ GDP, that is, at 2-3 percent per annum. These markets, which are fundamentally local, are driven by global megatrends like population growth, urbanization, better living standards, sustainable construction and digitalization. With the global population expected to grow 22% by 2050, from 7.6 billion to 9.7 billion and approximately 2.5 billion people expected to live in cities by 2050, Lafarge Holcim is trying to deliver better customer experience in relation to the demand for better living standards and more efficient infrastructure as well as sustainable construction solutions and increasing resource scarcity, in alignment with the new growth and innovation avenues thrown open by digitalization.

Technological

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Legal

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Environmental

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