Lafarge Africa
A Nigerian building-materials company producing and distributing cement, aggregates, ready-mix concrete, and related construction products.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Lafarge Africa Plc is a Nigerian building-materials company headquartered in Lagos and associated with the Holcim Group. Its principal business is the manufacture, distribution, and sale of cement and other materials used in construction. The company’s Nigerian operations include the historical West African Portland Cement business, commonly known as WAPCO, together with assets and brands connected with UniCem, Ashaka Cement, Atlas Cement, and Lafarge Ready-Mix. Its wider corporate history also included Lafarge’s South African operations before those holdings were sold. The company’s roots are in the development of Nigeria’s domestic cement industry. West African Portland Cement was formally established in 1959 as a joint venture involving Blue Circle, United Africa Company of Nigeria, and the government of Nigeria’s Western Region. The company began operations at Ewekoro in 1961, producing Elephant-branded Portland cement. Its creation reflected the effort to expand local cement production and reduce dependence on imported material, particularly as other Nigerian producers entered the market. WAPCO later expanded its manufacturing footprint. A plant at Shagamu was opened in 1978 and ultimately reached annual production of about one million tonnes. As the original Ewekoro facility aged and productivity declined, the company commissioned a replacement plant in 2003 using a wet-process production system, with an annual capacity of approximately 1.32 million tonnes. By 2004, WAPCO was described as Nigeria’s largest cement producer. Lafarge entered the company’s ownership structure in 2001 after acquiring Blue Circle, and the business adopted the Lafarge Cement WAPCO name in 2008. Lafarge invested further in Nigeria during the following decade. In 2011, WAPCO commissioned an additional 2.2-million-tonne plant at Lakatabu in Ogun State, alongside a power facility intended to support the new kilns. The company formally launched a ready-mix division in 2010, broadening its business beyond bagged and bulk cement into concrete supplied for construction projects. Its product portfolio also came to include building aggregates and specialized concrete and cement products. The present Lafarge Africa structure was created in the context of the 2014 merger between Lafarge and Holcim. In June 2015, the resulting group announced the consolidation of selected African assets under Lafarge Africa, combining WAPCO and other Nigerian operations with Lafarge’s South African activities. In 2017, additional Nigerian holdings were brought together when Atlas Cement, the Port Harcourt operation, and United Cement Company of Nigeria, or UniCem, were merged into Lafarge Africa. The company subsequently sold its stake in Lafarge South Africa to Caricement in mid-2019. At the operating level, Lafarge Africa has been organized around cement manufacturing, aggregates, ready-mix concrete, and associated distribution activities. Its Nigerian brands have included Elephant and Superset from WAPCO, UniCem, and Ashaka Portland limestone cement manufactured in Gombe State. Products associated with the South African business included Artevia decorative concrete, Buildcrete, DuraBuild, Dura-Pozz, Fast-Cast, Pozz-Fill, Powercrete Plus, and SuperPozz. Reported 2016 capacity was 14.1 million tonnes of cement, five million metric tonnes of aggregates, and 3.5 million tonnes of ready-mix concrete. The company therefore represents both a national Nigerian cement platform and a historical consolidation of Lafarge’s regional construction-materials assets.
History
Lafarge Africa’s corporate history is rooted in West African Portland Cement, or WAPCO, one of the formative businesses in Nigeria’s modern cement industry. WAPCO was formally established in 1959 as a joint venture between Blue Circle, United Africa Company of Nigeria, and the government of Nigeria’s Western Region. Blue Circle, previously known as Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers, was already a major cement supplier and participated in the venture partly in response to the emergence of locally owned Nigerian production. WAPCO began operations at Ewekoro in 1961 and produced Portland cement under the Elephant brand. The business expanded through new production assets. In 1978, WAPCO opened a plant at Shagamu. That facility eventually produced approximately one million tonnes annually. The company later faced declining productivity at its older Ewekoro plant and responded by constructing a replacement facility. Commissioned in 2003, the new Ewekoro plant used a wet-process production method and had capacity of approximately 1.32 million tonnes per year. WAPCO had become Nigeria’s largest cement producer by 2004. A major ownership change occurred in 2001, when Lafarge of France acquired Blue Circle and inherited its interest in WAPCO. The Nigerian company was renamed Lafarge Cement WAPCO Plc in 2008. Lafarge then expanded Nigerian capacity, commissioning a 2.2-million-tonne plant at Lakatabu in Ogun State in 2011. A dedicated power plant was built alongside the new production facility to provide energy for the kilns. In parallel, the company diversified into downstream construction materials: it formally launched a ready-mix division in 2010 and developed activities in aggregates and concrete supply. The Lafarge Africa structure emerged from the 2014 merger of Lafarge and Holcim. As the combined group reorganized its African portfolio, it created Lafarge Africa in 2015 by combining Nigerian WAPCO assets with Lafarge’s South African operations. This made the company more than a single cement producer: it became a regional platform containing cement, aggregates, ready-mix, and related product businesses. Nigerian operations included WAPCO, UniCem in Calabar, Ashaka Cement in Gombe State, Atlas Cement, and Lafarge Ready-Mix. The portfolio included Elephant and Superset cement, UniCem, Ashaka Portland limestone cement, aggregates, and concrete products. South African products associated with the group included Artevia decorative concrete, Buildcrete, DuraBuild, Dura-Pozz, Fast-Cast, Pozz-Fill, Powercrete Plus, and SuperPozz. In 2017, Lafarge Africa consolidated more of its Nigerian interests when Atlas Cement, the Port Harcourt operation, and United Cement Company of Nigeria were merged into the company. The South African component was later reduced when Lafarge Africa sold its stake in Lafarge South Africa to Caricement in mid-2019. The company’s reported 2016 capacities were 14.1 million tonnes of cement, five million metric tonnes of aggregates, and 3.5 million tonnes of ready-mix concrete. Lafarge Africa’s development illustrates the consolidation and industrial expansion of Nigeria’s cement sector. It evolved from a joint-venture cement plant into a large integrated building-materials company through successive plant investments, acquisitions, brand extensions, and corporate reorganizations. Its core commercial role has remained the supply of cement and related materials to Nigeria’s housing, infrastructure, commercial construction, and general building markets.
- 2019
Lafarge South Africa stake is sold
[1]Lafarge Africa sells its stake in Lafarge South Africa to Caricement.
- 2017
Additional Nigerian holdings are merged
[1]Atlas Cement, the Port Harcourt operation, and UniCem are merged into Lafarge Africa.
- 2015
Lafarge Africa is created
[1]Following the Lafarge–Holcim merger, Lafarge’s Nigerian and South African assets are consolidated under the Lafarge Africa structure.
- 2011
Lakatabu expansion is commissioned
[1]A 2.2-million-tonne cement plant is commissioned at Lakatabu in Ogun State, together with a power plant for the new kilns.
- 2010
Ready-mix division launches
[1]The company formally establishes a ready-mix concrete division.
- 2008
WAPCO adopts the Lafarge Cement WAPCO name
[1]The company’s corporate name changes to Lafarge Cement WAPCO Plc.
- 2003
Replacement Ewekoro plant is commissioned
[1]A new Ewekoro facility using the wet process is commissioned with capacity of approximately 1.32 million tonnes.
- 2001
Lafarge acquires Blue Circle
[1]Lafarge acquires Blue Circle and obtains its interest in WAPCO.
- 1978
Shagamu plant opens
[1]The company opens a cement plant at Shagamu, which later reaches annual production of about one million tonnes.
- 1961
Ewekoro operations begin
[1]WAPCO begins cement production at Ewekoro in Nigeria, producing Elephant-branded Portland cement.
Products and positioning
A major Nigerian construction-materials supplier serving infrastructure, commercial construction, housing, and general building markets.
Cement
Elephant Cement
Elephant is the principal historical cement brand associated with WAPCO and the company’s Ewekoro production heritage. It represents the company’s mainstream Portland cement offering for general construction and distribution through the Nigerian market.
Cement
Superset Cement
Superset is a Lafarge Africa cement brand produced through the Nigerian business. It forms part of the company’s branded cement portfolio serving building and construction applications.
Cement
Ashaka Portland limestone cement
Ashaka-branded Portland limestone cement is produced in Gombe State through the Ashaka Cement operation. It is one of the Nigerian cement products incorporated into Lafarge Africa’s consolidated portfolio.
Cement
UniCem
UniCem is the cement business historically associated with the United Cement Company of Nigeria in Calabar. Its assets were merged into Lafarge Africa in 2017, expanding the company’s Nigerian production and distribution footprint.
Ready-mix concrete · 2010
Lafarge Ready-Mix
Lafarge Ready-Mix supplies prepared concrete for construction projects. The division was formally launched in 2010 and extends the company from cement manufacturing into a more downstream construction-materials service.
Construction aggregates
Aggregates
Lafarge Africa’s aggregates activities supply granular construction materials used in concrete, roads, foundations, and other civil-engineering applications. Aggregates formed one of the company’s principal capacity categories in its broader building-materials portfolio.
Decorative concrete
Artevia
Artevia is a decorative concrete product line associated with Lafarge’s former South African operations within the Lafarge Africa portfolio. It is intended for architectural and surface-finishing applications rather than ordinary structural cement alone.
Cement
Buildcrete and DuraBuild
Buildcrete and DuraBuild were cement products associated with Lafarge South Africa and included among the products linked to Lafarge Africa’s regional portfolio before the South African stake was sold.
Controversies
Brand decisions
2019
Sale of Lafarge South Africa stakeM&ABackground
After operating a portfolio that included South African assets, Lafarge Africa adjusted its regional holdings.
Action taken
The company sold its stake in Lafarge South Africa to Caricement.
Aftermath
The transaction reduced Lafarge Africa’s direct South African exposure and left Nigeria as the central operating market described in the company’s profile.
2017
Merger of additional Nigerian holdingsM&ABackground
Lafarge Africa continued integrating its Nigerian portfolio after the creation of the regional entity.
Action taken
Atlas Cement, the Port Harcourt operation, and UniCem were merged into Lafarge Africa.
Aftermath
The transaction further concentrated the company’s Nigerian cement and distribution assets within one corporate structure.
2015
Creation of a consolidated Lafarge Africa platformStrategyBackground
The Lafarge–Holcim merger prompted the consolidation of selected Lafarge assets in Africa.
Action taken
The company combined WAPCO and other Nigerian assets with Lafarge’s South African operations under the Lafarge Africa structure.
Aftermath
Lafarge Africa became a regional building-materials platform with cement, aggregates, ready-mix, and related operations.
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