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Message from the MD, Jean-Paul Croze

Building solutions for life

 

It seems only a short while ago that I was introducing you to the first edition of the Lafarge Newsletter, and subsequently what a busy, event -filled quarter it has been.

 

Despite the continuing lull in the industry, Lafarge has seen increased activity with new projects coming to fruition. Lafarge Gypsum was proud to announce its listing on Ecospecifier South Africa. This effectively means that all our plasterboards are listed as green products and comply with the Green Ratings outlined by the new SANS 204 energy efficiency regulation.

 

Equally exciting is that we are working on achieving green listings for all our compounds, and ceiling and partition systems. This, we believe, will catapult us into a domain where green buildings are occupying a greater space in the built environment.

This positive news coincided well with the Customer Event we hosted at Monte Casino for our customers, captains of industry, architects and contractors/developers. We used this platform to launch our 2012 Marketing Campaign aptly titled "Building Solutions for Life". We expect that the elements of the campaign will communicate to the marketplace that Lafarge Gypsum South Africa is committed to premium quality, innovation and tailor-made solutions offerings.


We alluded to sustainable partnerships with rural communities in our first newsletter. We are proud to report that Lafarge Gypsum has since donated a complete light steel frame home, complete with sanitation, to a deserving family in Nkandla, KwaZulu Natal.

In addition, our involvement in the Orange Farm Aids Orphanage and The New Jerusalem Children's Home is underway.

We anticipate that 2012 may continue to feel the effects of the global economic volatility, however, I'd like to leave you with this message: "We at Lafarge are dedicated to service excellence and customer orientation, and despite these embattled times we face we will continue to offer you quality and innovation, never compromising what is most important to Lafarge - the customer."

We look forward to a productive last quarter and trust that our mutually beneficial partnership will grow from strength to strength. 

Jean-Paul Croze, Managing Director of Lafarge Gypsum South Africa, at the company's recent customer event at Montecasino.

 

A show of support for local communities

Lafarge has always recognized its responsibility to participate in the life of the communities where it operates. Lafarge believes that its operations wherever they are, run in line with its Principles of Action, helping people to improve their living standards, their education and their general awareness.

Lafarge Gypsum South Africa is currently involved with two special projects to uplift local communities in Kayelitsha, Cape Town, and Diepsloot in Gauteng. Working with Chris Taylor of CT Ceilings & Partition Warehouse, Lafarge Gypsum committed to the skills development and training of the Diepsloot Community in July by providing materials and expertise to train on installing and fabricating ceilings.

In a second project in Cape Town, the Business Unit donate ceiling boards, cornices and ceiling accessories for the renovation of the SACLA Home in Khayelitsha which had been vandalized. The SACLA home is a centre providing treatment, care, food and shelter for disabled children.

Lafarge Gypsum first to produce 15mm Plasterboard in South Africa

Lafarge Gypsum South Africa is the first plasterboard manufacturer locally to produce a 15mm plasterboard.


The thicker plasterboard benefits customers by offering:
• Better acoustics properties;
• More resistance to impact than a 12mm standard plasterboard; and
• Better insulation properties.

 

The 15mm plasterboard was initially developed for a specialised retail application in Sandton which proved highly successful because of the distinguishing product features.

 

The thicker Lafarge Plasterboard is also used in Steel Frame Building applications and is suitable for use in environments where there is high traffic.

 

The strength of the board may be favourable for other segment specific reasons, especially shopping malls. These include:
•The ability of the Lafarge Plasterboard to carry the weight of wall hangings/racks for merchandising, and
•Resistance to damage when bumped in high traffic areas. The 15mm board will require less maintenance.

 

Lafarge Gypsum South Africa recently announced the official listing of its Plasterboard on ecospecifier South Africa. 

The range of 6.4mm, 12mm and 15mm Lafarge Plasterboards have been labeled ‘green', in addition to Lafarge's technical fire-check and moisture-check boards.

 

According to Jean-Paul Croze, Managing Director of Lafarge Gypsum South Africa, the key focus for the company is to create a sustainable environmental footprint through products profiled for the future. 

"We want to provide solutions as close to specification requirements as possible to allow architects and interior designers the flexibility to adapt design concepts without compromising the environment."

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Ecospecifier listing for Lafarge Plasterboard makes headlines on CNBC Africa