Lafarge Global Supplier Awards

725 Lafarge has announced the winners of its 2014 Global Suppliers Awards that recognise suppliers in the categories of Health & Safety, Performance, Sustainability, Logistics, Product Development, Emerging Market, and Strict Working Capital or Financing Solutions.

Health & Safety

Chryso won the Health & Safety category with its range of patented environment and user-friendly concrete removers. These products facilitate Lafarge Concrete trucks and mixers cleaning operations while reducing the exposure of Lafarge employees to unhealthy and hazardous cleaning agents. More than 70 Lafarge ready mixed concrete plants in four countries (France, UK, South Africa and Poland) have already used this technology.

Sustainability

7577 Haver & Boecker won the Sustainability category, awarded to suppliers that show an ability to operate in a sustainable manner including the deployment of appropriate corrective actions, with its Haver Adams technology for PE bags, installed in the UK. The PE bags used are characterised by their impermeability and resistance to tearing. When compared to paper bags, bag rupture and breakage can be reduced 80 to 90% during normal handling.

Performance

395 Caterpillar won the Performance category, which recognises suppliers who have provided additional value to Lafarge Operations to help reduce Lafarge costs without impacting performance, while Mondi had a special mention. Caterpillar’s Job Site Solutions Team has partnered with Lafarge to provide services to improve efficiency. Caterpillar’s Corporate Accounts and Job Site Solutions teams partnered with Milton Cat to provide production management services at Lafarge’s Ravena quarry in the US. The project included three phases to define the best mine layout for productivity. This involves base lining current performance against benchmarks and building recommendations for closing the gap between current and best case. The improved production had a positive impact on Ravena’s labour and fuel costs, enabling the site to reap a 100% return on investment.

Product development

Billerud-Korsnäs won the Product Development category, which recognises the development of a new product or service at Lafarge locations to increase competitive advantage. The new ‘disappearing packaging’ makes life easier for end-users by reducing time, improving the impact on health and providing superior handling conditions. The project includes the development, implementation and marketing of a dissolving paper sack for both concrete and mortar mixing. The sack has the same performance as current packaging but also dissolves in cement mixers while maintaining the properties of concrete or mortar – positioning Lafarge as a leader in cement products, but also as a leader in cement packaging. The new sack innovation was developed in close partnership between the Lafarge Research Centre and the Billerud-Korsnäs Sack Lab.

Emerging Market

Isiklar was awarded in the Emerging Market category, which recognises suppliers that have implemented sourcing solutions in emerging markets. Isiklar, the first and leading paper sack manufacturer in Turkey, set up a new paper sack factory in Erbil, Iraq, to serve Lafarge in this challenging emerging market. The plant is situated less than three hours from Lafarge plants and commenced production in 2Q13.

Logistics

Aditivos del Cemento won the Logistics category, which recognises suppliers that provide significant value to Lafarge in the improvement of logistic or supply chain costs. To supply Granular Ferrous Sulphate (cement additive for Chromium VI reduction) to plants in France Lafarge has its own warehouse in Caronte (France) that was replenished every eight months with 2,000tonne loaded via a barge in Huelva, Spain. Lafarge was incurring additional costs by using their own warehouse and was holding the debt linked to working capital. Aditivos del Cemento had a warehouse in Tarragona (100km south of Barcelona), from where transport cost to Lafarge plants was non-competitive.

Adice moved its warehouse from Tarragona to Barcelona to offer more competitive transport to plants, allowing Lafarge to use the Caronte warehouse for other raw materials. Using this new supply chain strategy and warehouse, Lafarge significantly reduced its logistic costs. It also ensures lower risks of shortage for this strategic and critical cement’s additive.

Strict Working Capital or Finance Solutions

4860 BASF won the award in this category, which recognises suppliers that contribute to innovative solutions that have helped to improve Lafarge’s Strict Working Capital or innovative financing (off–balance sheet solutions for Capex).
BASF Construction Chemicals Canada has established an Inventory Management Program: this is an innovative yet simple program, very valuable to Lafarge as inventory on approximately 200 sites moves to BASF liability and is therefore freeing up valuable working capital for Lafarge.

Lafarge Canada, BASF Vendor Managed Inventory Program is reviewed on a yearly basis and is related to consignment, e.g. storage tank, pumps, liners, flow meters…as well as installation efforts related to bulk concrete liquid admixture storage and dosage. The last snapshot in time was taken on October 2013, when consignment totals for both Eastern Canada and Western Canada were brought into alignment and into the correct balance. The consignment represents over 10% of Net Sales in Western and East Canada (2013), freeing up the related working capital for Lafarge.