Displaying items by tag: Holcim

It's official: the big boys are heading to India this week.

First Lafarge head Bruno Lafont announced broad expansion plans in the subcontinent. Then a Holcim presentation emerged from earlier in 2012 projecting that the company expects India's overall construction market to take the global third position after China and the US by 2020.

With the Indian construction share set to rise from US$360bn in 2010 to US$840bn in 2020 that's one massive market share up for grabs. Throw in some interpretation from India's 2011 census and the signs are that its population could overtake China's by 2030. Sounds like an absolutely perfect opportunity for your average embattled European cement corporation!

Except that there's no such thing as a sure bet. As we covered previously, Indian cement consumption fell for the first time in 20 years in August 2011. The cause was put down to political problems holding up infrastructure in key states. In March 2012 we've had two stories that have impacted upon the local industry. First the Railway Board of India hiked the freight rates by 24%. Then the Union Budget for 2012-13 increased the excise and service tax. Clearly everybody wants a piece of the 'inevitable' bonanza. If anything impedes India's growth in the next decade there may be bargains going for cement on the export market.

Elsewhere this week we have stories on the potential cost of a proposed air pollution ruling upon two plants in the US state of Montana, more information on a revival in the Gulf Cooperation Council region and more capacity growth in Indonesia.

Switzerland: Wolfgang Reitzle has been proposed to the Annual General Meeting on 17 April 2012 for election to the board of Holcim Ltd. Reitzle, aged 63 and a German citizen, studied engineering and economics at the Technical University of Munich and holds a degree and a PhD in mechanical engineering.

From 1976 to 1999 he worked for the car manufacturer BMW, where in 1987 he was appointed as a regular member of the Executive Board, responsible for research and development. In 1999, Reitzle took over as CEO of the Premier Automotive Group and Vice President of the US car manufacturer Ford. In 2002, he joined the Executive Committee of Linde, a world-leading gases and engineering company, and became CEO in 2003.

Onne van der Weijde, currently CEO of Ambuja Cements Ltd in India, has been appointed as an area manager and a member of the senior management of Switzerland's Holcim Ltd. He took on his new role on 1 January 2012. Mr van der Weijde remains CEO of Ambuja Cements Ltd and reports directly to Holcim's executive committee member Paul Hugentobler, who is responsible for Holcim operations in South Asia, excluding the Philippines.

A Dutch citizen, Mr van der Weijde holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Accounting from the University of Rotterdam in the Netherlands and an MBA from the University of Bradford in the UK.

Mr van der Weijde was CFO at Holcim Indonesia from 2001 to 2005. In 2005 he was appointed General Manager of Holcim India Ltd and in 2006 he also assumed the CFO function at ACC Ltd until October 2008. Since November 2009 he has been CEO of Ambuja Cements Ltd.