Lafarge targets costs savings of €1.3bn between 2012-15

The proposed merger of the Swiss cement producer Holcim and its French competitor Lafarge is expected to bring about cost savings amounting to €1.4 billion/year it has been claimed. In this way, the competitiveness of the resulting entity will be strengthened. Holcim and Lafarge also plan to sell off plants and business segments that have become unprofitable due to the lower demand for construction materials as a result of the financial crisis.

Caterpillar has announced significant restructuring and cost reduction actions that are expected to lower the US construction equipment manufacturing giant’s operating costs by around $1.5 billion annually. The cost reduction steps, including the loss of thousands of jobs, will begin in late 2015 and are said to reflect recent, current and expected market conditions.

Caterpillar has been hit particularly hard by the drop mining activity and the drop in the oil price. It's underground and surface mining

Lafarge has claimed that 47% of its produced cement will have a reduced CO² level by the end of 2012.
The pledge is part of the French construction materials group’s PRO-Eco initiative, designed to facilitate sustainable construction for building professionals. The initiative is based around three areas: training and information to help professionals make smarter choices; reducing the environmental impact of its products; and developing efficient and economical building systems for sustainable construction

The world’s two largest cement producers, Lafarge and Holcim, have agreed a multi-billion merger of equals in the industry's biggest ever tie-up. The merger, planned for completion in the first half of 2015 will create LafargeHolcim, “the most advanced group in the building materials industry.”

Lafarge and Anglo American have agreed to sell a portfolio of Tarmac and Lafarge construction materials operations in the UK and Tarmac's 50% ownership interest in Midland Quarry Products (MQP) to Mittal Investments, the private investment vehicle of the Lakshmi N. Mittal family. Steel magnate Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, 62, is the chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel-making company, of which he owns 41%. He is said to be the richest man living in Europe and is Britain’s wealthiest with a