Holcim Azerbaijan stands out for its contribution to non-oil sector - VIDEO REPORT

The construction materials industry of Azerbaijan is developing actively today due to the dynamic growth of the construction sector in the republic. It represents one of the essential components of the non-oil economy of Azerbaijan and is crucial for its stable development in the long run.

As one of the most dynamic areas in the country, the construction sector attracts many foreign investments, which contributes to the opening of new enterprises and jobs. One of the first international companies to invest in Azerbaijan’s non-oil sector was the Swiss construction materials company Holcim.

Holcim's activity in Azerbaijan

Represented in 70 countries, the company started operation in Azerbaijan in 1999 and now meets a significant portion of domestic demand for cement with high-quality products that are compliant with both local and international standards. Today Holcim Azerbaijan OJSC is one of the leading cement and clinker producers in the country.

Since July 2015, Holcim Azerbaijan took the next step in company history and became part of a stronger organization called LafargeHolcim (LH). Bringing together two companies Lafarge and Holcim with a combined experience of over 180 years in the cement, concrete, and aggregates sectors, there was created the leading company in the building materials industry, with approximately 115,000 employees.

Company General Director Frederic Guimbal spoke about the plant in an interview with Report: "Since privatization, we have completely rebuilt the new cement plant with the highest level of technology. It was the biggest non-oil investment from a foreign company at that time. We have developed very high-quality products for the bag and bulk segment. Now we are entering into a phase where we start to go into different segments, for example, the road segment. We have developed a range of innovative solutions for the road construction sector, and we have already implemented several projects in Azerbaijan for the highways and agricultural sector".

Creating new system of waste management

Speaking about the company's new projects in Azerbaijan, Guimbal noted that now they are also developing a range of products and solutions for de-pollution, waste management.

"This is going to be our very strong contribution to the country. We have participated in the construction of the major iconic buildings in Azerbaijan. I can name a few of them, like the Baku Olympic stadium, the Crystal hall, Baku metropolitan, Heydar Aliyev international airport which have also been built with our cement".

New projects - new construction enterprises

Speaking about the production capacity of the plant, Holcim Azerbaijan general director noted that the plant has the capacity of 1.7 million ton and production is way below this capacity.

"The cement market in Azerbaijan has a lot of cement suppliers. We have competitors and grinding stations. The total production capacity of the country is about 5.7 million ton but demand from the market is about 3 million ton. Azerbaijan has much more capacity installed than the demand of the cement in the country. But, hopefully, with new projects coming, with more constructions planned, this demand of cement from the market will increase and then we will recover a higher level of capacity utilization of our factory".

Holcim's innovative solutions

Speaking about the innovations Holcim brought to Azerbaijan, the general director of the plant noted that the main criteria for the company is understanding the needs of its customers.

"Of course, we want to be one of the key players in the market. But what is more important for us is the needs of the customer. We try to find the best solution to put in front of those needs. As you know we are a part of a multinational organization; we are in 70 different countries. We have many operations across the world and want to bring this experience to Azerbaijan", - Guimbal said.

Expansion of export potential

Guimbal said that one of the main components of the plant's activity is the export to neighbor countries.

"Currently we are exporting a lot of products to Georgia. We have a partner in Georgia, that is commercializing their products under the name Lafarge, part of the Lafarge Holcim group. We deliver clinker to this partner in large quantities every year. Now we are looking for other opportunities in the surrounding countries of the Caspian Sea, Dagestan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. There are discussions going on, we hope that we will increase our export outside of Azerbaijan, which is great for the country".