With the supply shortage related to Indonesia’s
ban on sand exports to Singapore in 2007, and
the almost three-fold escalation of sand prices,
Holcim Singapore went to work on recycling. It
found a replacement in concreting sand in the
form of a waste material called Washed Copper
Slag (WCS). The company found a novel way of
encapsulating this waste into concrete. Today,
the use of WCS as a substitute for sand in the
production of concrete is widespread in Singapore
with majority of ready-mixed concrete companies
using it. Holcim Singapore not only survived a
challenging period, it’s innovation benefited other
companies in the industry as well.
Besides producing building materials, Holcim
Singapore also distributes cement, ready-mix
concrete and dry mix products. Currently, it
owns one of the largest storage capacities in
Singapore with 130,000 metric tonnes bulk
cement storage.
Holcim Singapore also takes pride in being
the only ready-mixed supplier that has an established Central Customer Care Center. Aligned
with its front-line services, the Centre receives
customer orders and distributes them efficiently
across the various plants. The professionalism and competence of this
Customer Center has received
high acclaim from numerous
customer segments.
MARKET
Construction plays a critical role in Singapore’s
sustainable urban development. All construction
materials are basically imported. As such the
recycling and reuse of construction materials is
crucial to Singapore as it reduces dependency
on imports, and consumption of virgin materials
and energy.
Holcim Singapore realised that it is critical to
be committed to a triple bottom line in the pursuit
of sustainable development – social, economic
and environment. In this area, Holcim Singapore
is recognised by the construction industry
stakeholders for its expertise, products and
advocacy that address the principles of resourcerecovery and re-use. A range of such products
have been developed to cater to the market’s
green and sustainable way of construction.
RECENT
DEVELOPMENTS
ACHIEVEMENTS
At the heart of Holcim Singapore’s SD efforts
is the development of eco-friendly concrete,
“Holcim Green”. This product replaces sand with
washed copper sand, a substitute that solves a
waste problem while at the same time generates
economic benefits. Today this practice has been
adopted by the ready-mix concrete industry and
has become a national standard for construction.
With such innovative drive, Holcim Singapore was
recognised as the Top Achiever of the Singapore
Environmental Achievement Award 2008/09 by
the Singapore Environmental Council.
Furthermore, Holcim Singapore received a
Bronze Award from Holcim Global Commercial
Awards in 2009. The Global Commercial Awards
recognise best practice in the successful
commercialisation of products, a core
competency within the Holcim Value Chain.
Other than Holcim Green, Holcim Supercrete
is another marvellous product from Holcim
Singapore. The product had a Green label and
using it makes concrete elements of a building
leaner thereby reducing concrete consumption
dramatically. Yet, it is high in strength and ideal
for high rise building construction.
With Holcim Green and Holcim Supercrete,
Holcim Singapore has two products that address
Singapore’s needs for green and sustainable
construction materials supply.
Other recognitions that bolster Holcim’s
reputation as an environmentally conscious
construction materials producer has been
its recognition at the Asian Responsible
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BUSINESS SUPERBRANDS VOLUME 1
Entrepreneurship Award 2009. The company
was awarded the Green Leadership Award by
the Enterprise Asia’s, AREA. Holcim CEO Dr.
Sujit Ghosh received the Responsible Business
Leadership Award for outstanding achievement
in spearheading environment-friendly initiatives.
Holcim Singapore has also been accredited
with ISO 9000, ISO 14001, OSHAS 18001 and
BizSafe Star.
HISTORY
Holcim Singapore was established in 2004
with the acquisition of Eastern Concrete, and
has since been advancing the technology on
concrete manufacturing in the region.
As a result of an internal restructure on 1
July 2010, Holcim Singapore was amalgamated
with JCL Building Materials Pte. Ltd., a wholly
owned subsidiary of Jurong Cement Limited,
creating 14 batching plants strategically located
island-wide and the single largest cement
storage terminal. With this enlarged operation,
Holcim Singapore extended its product range
offerings and almost doubled its workforce that
is trained on standards of the Global Holcim
Group, one of the world’s leading building
materials manufacturer.
Holcim Singapore strives to provide clients
with value added services and innovative
products.
PRODUCT
Holcim Singapore drymix products are premium
quality products that provide excellent structural
performance for maximum productivity under
the trademarks “JURCEM®” and “GEOMIX®.
With increasing expertise in advanced concrete
technology, Holcim now has many products
that have been bestowed the prestigious seal
of “Green Label” by the Singapore Environment
Council. These products are currently in high
demand, especially those under the “Holcim
Green” brand . GEOMIX product range is one
such Green Label product which has wideranging applications including waterproofing,
repairs, façade and flooring.
Holcim is ahead of
market dynamics. It has
developed several novel
products. The one in the
picture is Holcim Lightcrete.
It can be held on fingers
and floats in water. Since its
development, it has seen high
demand from many new customer segments and for new
applications.
As a result of increasing
demand in the industry for
higher productivity in project
management and environmental protection, Holcim
Singapore
introduced
Easecrete, a high flow, low
cementitious, self-compacting
concrete, to the market, as a
product solution aligned with the
productivity programme implemented
by the Building Construction Authority.
As Easecrete does not require a vibrator
machine, it also fulfills stringent regulations
on noise and air pollution for construction
projects in densely populated areas.
Another product from the resource
recovery programme of Holcim Singapore
is the Controlled Low Strength Concrete
(CLSC). This is an innovative way to reuse and
recycle sludge waste material from balance
concrete that was previously disposed. CLSC
is ideal for backfilling operations to optimise
settlement, especially under restricted access
for compaction equipment.
In the operational
front, Holcim Singapore
was the first readymixed company to obtain certifications for
almost all of its operating plants according to
Singapore Accreditation
Council’s SS EN206–1
and SS 544. This new
standard from Building
Construction Authority
ensures quality concrete
from manufacturers.
The
company’s
environment-friendly
philosophy
is
also
extended
to
office
activities. Holcim Singapore monitors energy
efficiency in the office and was awarded the
Green Office Label by Singapore Environment
Council in 2010. Consumption of electricity,
water and paper are monitored, while office waste
is minimised through recycling.
PROMOTION
Holcim Singapore has an
integrated
marketing
communications strategy through focused
advertisements,
and
participation
in trade fairs and
events. The company is committed
to environmentally
sustainable development and leads the
industry in this arena. It
also partners customers to
create powerful stakeholder value
across the board while maintaining
market leadership.
Delivering technical talks and
sharing technology expertise with
designers and engineers make way
for the recognition and acceptance of
the company’s green concrete products
in the market. Holcim Singapore also
supports the contractors and builders to complete their projects with
efficiency and with more environmentally friendly products. Building
relationship with government and
industry authorities through the
sharing of concrete technology
updates and expertise also plays
a role in establishing the company’s brand. Holcim is similarly
committed to nurturing young
minds through education on
environmentally
sustainable construction materials
especially in relevance with
the use of earth-friendly
alternative materials in
concrete technology
and
responsible
business conduct.
BRAND VALUES
Holcim Singapore builds its brand on providing
platforms for environmentally sustainable
construction in the market. The business stands
on three key strategic pillars of innovation,
organisational efficiency, and sustainability.
At Holcim, innovation encompasses the entire
value chain. The main focus is on customerfriendly and environmentally efficient products
and services while at the same time streamlining
the production process. On the product front,
many new and environmentally sustainable
products are developed for the market together
with customised solutions. On the services front,
it is always striving to better serve customers with
on-time delivery and best quality.
Holcim Singapore continuously tries to reduce
its carbon footprint through a broad strategy on
cost-efficient solutions that support environmental
sustainability and quality of life. The company
organises activities and develops products along
environmentally
sustainable
construction
principles that address the concept of resourcerecovery and re-use.
The company sees its people as its valued
assets. Holcim endeavors to provide a healthy
and safe environment, not only to its employees,
but also to their bigger circle of life – the family,
community, and Singapore. Being a socially
responsible company, Holcim Singapore takes
initiatives within its sphere of influence not only for
the benefit of staff members, but also the industry,
environment and economy. The company works
hand-in-hand with the Government and other
stakeholders
in
the green movement, and also
serves the societyat-large to improve
the environment.
www.holcim.com.sg
THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT
HOLCIM
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interests in 70 companies worldwide.
SINGAPORE’S STRONGEST B2B BRANDS
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