Building Materials Insights

In this episode, Mario Gonzalez is talking about the roots of CSR in CEMEX (some projects date back to the 90ties), what his favorite SDGs are - and how women in one of the latest projects turn concrete into usable pieces of art.

​The influence of buildings (and therefore the impact of building materials) on some of the most urgent challenges is obvious. Climate change, urbanization, affordable housing and other global trends will require building materials and construction industry to contribute. As there is no unlimited access to new materials and new workforce, change will need to happen on a process level. BIM will be part of this fundamental change - and as Thomas explains - we shouldn't be in a reactive mode - but in an active contributor.

Dormakaba's products are simple in one hand- everybody knows what a door is - on the other hand the products are extremely complex from a technical and functional point of view. Putting themselves in the shoes of their customers, Alexander Bradfisch lead the efforts to digitize the offering and add value for all stakeholders involved - leading to EntriWorX.

​In this episode, we are taking a look at building material/demolition waste and why we should care about this challenge. At Fraunhofer, Dr. Volker Thome are working on a method to deconstruct concrete into its original ingredients. This could potentially save huge amounts of sand and CO2.

Supply chains in the building industry are complex - and still the communication is very manual in a lot of cases. Marc Graner and Jens Büschl from Axians give insights into their experience from numerous projects in the industry.

Not being able to finish the renovation project 'new deck' at his house on time, made Christopher Glander, Industry Value Advisor (SAP Americas) investigate on the supply chain of lumber and where this supply chain is having shortages and what could be done to improve the situation for the different players. His investigation is backed by the following publications: Despite Lumber Boom, Few New Sawmills Coming - WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/articles/despite-lumber-boom-few-new-sawmills-coming-11621243982 | Lumber Prices Soar, But Logs Are Still Dirt Cheap, TimberMart Reports - Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-20/lumber-s-version-of-a-crack-spread-is-exploding-from-cheap-trees

Building materials industry could be considered as conservative - materials haven't changed as rapidly as in other industries. But this would not capture the situation accurately. Jerry Lewis, Executive Partner IBM ES & IX and Lead Account Partner bp, shares his experience with building materials manufacturers and why digital transformation is necessity. His thoughts have also been published in this paper: Unlock digital transformation in your cement (or any industrial) business… | by Jerry Lewis | Mar, 2021 | Medium: https://jerry-lewis.medium.com/unlock-digital-transformation-in-your-cement-or-any-industrial-business-989535b0189

Etex, a traditional building materials manufacturer, is working on transforming the construction industry. The emerging market for offsite lightweight and modular buildings is the core of Etex division 'New Ways'. Cristian Montes (head of New Ways) and Ronaldo Passeri (head of finance Etex/New Ways) are sharing their view on this changing industry.

​Planners, craftsmen, distributors and end customer all have different needs in the interaction with Egger Holzwerkstoffe. From paper-based catalogs to online product finders - a variety of measures can be taken to support customers. Take a look at Eggers approach to combine different measures into a complete portfolio.

​In a study McKinsey has taken a look at Imagining construction’s digital future (Imagining construction’s digital future | McKinsey: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/imagining-constructions-digital-future). The trends identified in this study are not relevant only for the construction industry, but have a huge impact on how the building materials industry will work with this important stakeholder in the business. In this episode, we take a look at the opportunities for this supply chain.

​Coming from HighTech and Software companies, SiE is also a topic for the Building Materials industry. In this episode, we take a look at what is happening in this context overall and what Building Materials companies are already doing and where the next steps may be.

hansgrohe, a well-known sanitary ware brand and company, is looking into smart living. The company is changing from a pure hardware manufacturer to a solution provider for the smart bathroom. This has its own challenges - and also pleasant surprises.

Kai Aldinger (Lead for Industry 4.now and innovation in Mill Products & Mining) shares his knowledge of Industry 4.now and where it can support the strategic priorities of Building Materials companies, including industry examples.

China is one of the biggest economies - so it is time to take a closer look at what is going on in the industry - from the size of the sector to governmental programs, Xu Meng is discussing his view on the status and future of the Building Materials industry in China. Please let us know your thoughts and feedback, using our social media channels, e.g. Twitter : https://twitter.com/SAPMillMining LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4532949/

Circular Economy is high on the agenda of cement producer LafargeHolcim. The nature of cement production creates high impact on the environment, so a new way of approaching not only production is needed to future-proof the business. Eva Carranza takes us on the journey of LafargeHolcim. Please let us know your thoughts and feedback, using our social media channels, e.g. Twitter : https://twitter.com/SAPMillMining LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4532949/

​Building Information Modelling(BIM) is all over the place in construction and building materials industry. But what is it all about? And why is it so important? In this episode SAP experts of the industry talk about their experience with BIM and how it is changing the way the industry works. Please let us know your thoughts and feedback, using our social media channels, e.g. Twitter : https://twitter.com/SAPMillMining LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4532949/

​​Oziel Gonzales, Industry Value Advisor at SAP Mexico shares his insights into trends in the Building Materials. Industry in Mexico.Please let us know your thoughts and feedback, using our social media channels, e.g. Twitter : https://twitter.com/SAPMillMining LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4532949/

Description: With the cement industry (being high on the list of w/w CO2 emissions), climate 21 is high on the agenda in building materials industry. Stefan Weisenberger (Lead of Industry Business Unit Mill Products & Mining) shares his point of view of how the industry can work on it and where digitization may help to improve. Please let us know your thoughts and feedback, using our social media channels, e.g. Twitter : https://twitter.com/SAPMillMining LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4532949/

What are Building Materials companies doing to transform business and pave the way to a sustainable future? Tune in to listen to Folkert Haag and Ursula Grün, Global Leads for Building Material Industry @SAP. Please let us know your thoughts and feedback, using our social media channels, e.g. Twitter : https://twitter.com/SAPMillMining LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4532949/

In this podcast for the building materials industry, you can expect: Insights from players in the industry Open discourses Topics of the podcast will be relevant for strategies, innovation and digitization in the building materials industry. We will talk about climate 21, circular economy, the impact of events such as Covid-19 and other subjects. You can expect a new episode every two weeks. Please let us know your thoughts and feedback, using our social media channels, e.g. Twitter : https://twitter.com/SAPMillMining LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4532949/