Lafarge Boral Gypsum India, a joint venture (JV) between the French cement company Lafarge

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and the Australian company Boral, is now balancing two its most matured markets — the US and France with two emerging economies India and China, when it comes to the business of Lagyp – the gypsum board brand of Lafarge. Gypsum boards are used as a replacement for brick, especially in high-rise buildings. The JV company sells around 5 million sq m of gypsum boards in India.

Explaining the rationale behind choosing India as one of the four countries to launch the Lafarge Global Architect Campaign, Olivier Chaudet, chief executive officer, Lafarge Boral Gypsum India, told Financial Chronicle in Kolkata on Saturday, “The four countries selected this year are India, China, France and the US. The choice was to balance two mature markets along with two emerging economies. India and China are the fastest emerging countries today and will have the biggest gross domestic product (GDP) in the world in the next 20 to 30 years, along with the US”.

“Emerging economies like India and China definitely have a considerable environmental and financial impact globally. Not only is India witnessing a massive infrastructure development but also strong financial growth, which in turn attract more construction. This was one of the reason for having India as part of this campaign this year apart from the growing exchanges that are happening between India and France,” he said. The company has so far included 800 architects from across India in this programme and it is in the process of adding more to this number. This campaign by Lagyp is the first campaign for architects, being conducted by the cement company in India.

Chaudet said this campaign, initiated 15 years ago, has so far been organised in over 30 countries with specific programmes in more than 15 countries. This year, India is among the four countries selected by Lafarge. “This programme definitely helps to build our brand because it provides direct interaction with architects. It is aimed at sharing our expertise in gypsum board solutions with architects so that they are fully aware of the possibilities with Lagyp, which in turn will get incorporated into actual projects. Such a programme will insist on the innovative and sustainable yet affordable solutions with Lagyp,” Chaudet said.

“Gypsum boards have numerous advantages compared to traditional materials, the main being they are 9-10 times lighter than brick, three-four times faster to install and has fire resistance and acoustic insulation. Other advantages include flexibility and site cleanliness,” he said.