India: Following the successful vote to re-structure Holcim's India operations, Ambuja Cements and ACC, the integration of common functions across the two companies has begun.
Holcim wants to eradicate the duplication of roles across the two companies that will aid in savings of US$144m through synergies in supply chain and fixed cost optimisation. The integration will see big changes for some of the two companys' 10,000 employees. Some will be relocated to the group's upcoming facilities as the cement makers have no plans to cut spending.
"The restructuring is about deriving further value from the Indian platform," said Anantharam Gopalkrishnan, vice president for the treasury and tax at Ambuja Cements.
Holcim intends to keep the two brands, Ambuja Cement and ACC, independent. It does not plan to launch the Holcim brand in India or market the two brands with the Holcim tag. When the integration process is completed, which is currently scheduled for 2015, Holcim intends to evaluate the full merger of the operating companies into one unified entity.