LIGHTWEIGHT, SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION LEADERS EXPAND AFRICAN FOOTPRINT

INDUSTRY NEWS

Saint-Gobain, global leader in lightweight and sustainable construction, continues its commitment to growth on the African continent with recent acquisitions in Kenya, Mauritius and the Ivory Coast. These come shortly after the announcement of the company’s new global strategic plan Grow & Impact, increasing its business stronghold of industrial operations to 10 sub-Saharan countries.

The acquisition of a gypsum plaster plant in Nairobi, Kenya, will serve the growing demand within this area and will also allow for complementary innovative, energy-efficient solutions in the building sector, including further investments in a technical mortar plant. “The dual set-up of plasters and mortars will allow maximum synergies and pooling of resources as the demand grows in both volume and range of products,” says Kennedy Sithole, managing director: East Africa.

In Mauritius, where Saint-Gobain has already had a strong foothold with imported solutions in plaster, plaster board and building glass, the company has concluded the acquisition as a majority shareholder of abe® Indian Ocean, a leading supplier of waterproofing, admixtures and technical mortars in the region. In Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where it was operating an admixtures operations, it has established a new technical mortar plant.

“This geographical expansion aims to better serve our African customers by offering locally made sustainable, energy-efficient and performing solutions to cope with construction challenges within the continent,” says Jean-Claude Lasserre, CEO of Saint-Gobain Africa.

Saint-Gobain is now present industrially in 12 African countries (10 in the subcontinent): SA, Zimbabwe, Angola, Botswana, Mauritius, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Morocco and Egypt. These operations cover a full range of innovative solutions from gypsum board and gypsum plasters to technical mortars, admixtures, waterproofing, metal frames, insulation, building glass, automotive glass and abrasives.