Lafarge Group Research Centers
Lafarge is aware that its long term growth depends heavily on its investments in R&D. As a result, it dedicates significant resources to research, the development of innovative products and the improvement of industrial processes.
Product development based on real needs
The decentralized network of Technical centers means product innovation can easily be adapted to the needs of local markets.
Technical centers and application laboratories work with factories, country teams and Businesses to:
- develop products suited to local needs,
- improve industrial performance.
With excellent knowledge of local markets and local needs, laboratories and technical centers are ideally placed to communicate local requirements to the LCR. For example, Avancrete bagged cement was launched in Malaysia having been developed at the Asian Technical Center, which is based in Kuala Lumpur.
Factories throughout the world can also call on a network of local experts to intervene rapidly to improve processes in plants, for example by optimizing formulas to reflect the availability of local raw materials.
4 Technical centers
Lafarge has 4 Technical centers for Cement located in:
- Vienna, Austria, serving Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East (Cement Technical Center - CTEC),
- L'Isle d'Abeau, France, serving Western Europe and Africa (Technical Center Europe and Africa - TCEA),
- Montreal, Canada, serving the Americas (Corporate Technical Services - CTS). The CTS has a branch in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, serving Asia (Asian Technical Center - ATC). The ATC has a branch in Beijing, China.
In Asia, units take also profit of a Ressearch Laboratory, adjacent to Lafarge Shui On Chinefarge plant in Beijing (China).
The Technology Center: the Group's showcase
The Lafarge Technology Center at L'Isle d'Abeau, near Lyon, employs 500 people of 20 different nationalities in:
the Research center,
several key entities of the Cement Business:
- the Western Europe and Africa Technical Center,
- the Cement Performance Department,
- the Training Department,
the Intellectual Property Department,
the Technological Watch Department,
the Group IT Department.
Each year, the Technology Center welcomes nearly 20,000 visitors from around the world!
For more details, please visit Lafarge Group website.
