Since Louis Vicat discovered artificial cement in 1817, the France-based Vicat group has expanded to be a major cement producer in 12 countries. The family-owned business was founded in 1853 when it launched its first dry-process plant. More recent investments have focussed on Vicat structuring its business around the circular economy, the regeneration of the Ragland plant in USA, the acquisition of Ciplan in Brazil, and greenfield expansion in India and Africa. Supporting revenues also continue to develop from business units covering aggregates, ready-mix and products and services.
From its core business of cement, Vicat has expanded into downstream ready-mix operations, establishing a network of concrete batching plants near consumption centres. In addition, the company has looked to diversify its geographical exposure and to spread its risk through investment in developing countries and emerging countries such as Egypt, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Turkey, Kazakhstan and India.
In 2019 Vicat Group sold cement volumes of 22Mt, of which two-thirds were supplied to customers outside of France. This product volume was generated from 17 integrated cement plants and five grinding units. Vicat employed 9947 people in 2019.
