Expertise and organization

 

Lafarge's research is closely linked to the needs and specifications of the markets where the Group operates. Lafarge has put into place an international R&D network, which includes a Research Center near Lyons (France) and Technical centers and laboratories around the world for the development and industrialization of solutions at local level.

The Lafarge Research Center: innovation in motion

The Lafarge Research Center (LCR) gathers 250 researchers. "It brings together, on a single site, all of the scientific experts who are needed to master materials: chemists, physicists, powder specialists, rheologists, etc.", as Gilles Chanvillard, Materials & Modeling Scientific Director explains. 

Over the past 20 years, the R&D teams have developed a scientific approach to building materials.

With today's sophisticated technology, Lafarge researchers can study the structure of materials down to the nano-scale, in other words, at an infinitely small scale. This has given them a greater understanding of the mechanisms which determine their mechanical strength, durability etc. allowing them to develop better-structured products with considerably improved properties.

The magic of fluid concrete

Product development to meet local market requirements

The Research Center works closely with Technical centers, development laboratories and with different Group countries. 

Lafarge has 4 Technical centers for Cement located in:

  • Vienna,Austria, and Lyon,France, serving Europe (Europe Technical Center - ETC),
  • Montreal,Canada, serving the Americas (Corporate Technical Services - CTS). The CTS has a branch in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil,
  • Beijing,China, serving Asia (Asian Technical Center - ATC). The ATC has a branch in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia,
  • Cairo,Egypt, serving Africa and the Middle-East (Cairo Technical Center - CTC).

Map of Lafarge cement Technical centers

Lafarge also has a number of concrete development laboratories, which work in close partnership with the Lafarge Research Center to carry out testing to adapt new products to local market conditions.

The Group opened two labs dedicated to "construction development", one in Lyons (France) and the other in Chongqing (China). A third of those labs was opened in 2012 in Mumbai (India). These laboratories support the Group's international R&D international network, and allow an even more local approach to the construction markets. They also allow the development of new systems and solutions fitting perfectly with the needs of the field.

Lab dedicated to "construction development" in Chongqing (China)