Alkern sets course for low carbon and business valorization

Remember that with more than 1.000 employees, the Group has a regional network of 57 production sites (55 in France and 2 in Belgium), reinforced following the acquisition of Normandy Tub in early 2024.

Indeed, since 2018, Alkern, thanks, among other things, to the acquisitions made, has built a much more balanced breakdown of its activities, positioning the group in a way that is much less exposed to the construction market than before. If the year 2023 is marked by the fall in the construction of new French housing (cumulative high rates, high inflation and an end to state aid), the building segment of Alkern's activity only accounts for 33% (vs. 48% in 2018). Conversely, its exterior design activity grew from 20 to 27% and that of public works increased from 25 to 35%.

For Xavier Janin: “Thanks to the repositioning of ALKERN, we are succeeding in continuing to develop and protecting ourselves from the cyclical risks of certain markets like the one we are currently experiencing for construction. This demonstrates the relevance of our strategy and our capacity for resilience. Thanks to our unique portfolio of solutions, we wish to continue to provide immediate, accessible and available responses to the major challenges of climate change and land use planning. »

Alkern, the low carbon revolution

Committing to anticipate the scarcity of mineral resources through the introduction of non-quarry alternatives, Alkern, one of the founding members of Écominero, is also aiming for the recovery or recycling of 90% of mineral waste resulting from deconstruction. of buildings. By replacing all or part of its aggregates with a source of recycled materials, the manufacturer saves, de facto, non-renewable natural resources, a source of preservation of quarrying and active protection of local biodiversity. . Its new Re-Source® range (available for all its activities, building, exterior design and public works) uses aggregates from the deconstruction of concrete structures or scrap. It should be noted that they can also be in the form of waste or other co-products from third-party industrial activities, such as scallops.

Alkern is therefore experiencing a real technological revolution to decarbonize structures and fight against global warming by replacing, for example, shuttered walls with block walls (rectified or not) and brick walls with rectified blocks, including R1 insulation. .

In the same logic, by drastically reducing the use of clinker in their manufacturing, Alkern low-carbon block solutions are intended to be particularly competitive compared to other existing solutions on the market such as poured concrete walls and even brick, without changing constructive habits. Indeed, a wall made of glued blocks has a weight of 10 kg CO2 eq per m2, compared to 45 for a shuttered wall (i.e. a reduction of 78%), 18 for a brick wall (- 44%) and 13 for a wall made from traditional blocks. Benefits which also apply to land development since Alkern has offers allowing surface water management and actively combating heat islands. An activity which has also increased on average by + 34% per year since 2020, with, in 2023, more than 400.000 m2 of permeable surface through the implementation of draining products.

New products

Natur R1 block: the biosourced solution to concrete arguments! A new response to an insulating, low-carbon Alkern block that incorporates biosourced materials

Displaying an RE 2020 carbon footprint (dynamic ACV) reduced by up to 30% compared to its existing offer, i.e. almost two times lower than the R1 terracotta bricks on the market, Alkern's new Natur R1 block (patent pending) is intended for the construction of collective, tertiary buildings and individual houses. Displaying a thermal resistance R1, a fire resistance REI 90 (including 3rd family buildings), it also ensures notable acoustic reduction (47 dB for a bare wall up to 68 dB with 100 mm wood fiber lining).

Its installation is glued (faster with 30% productivity gain because without a concrete mixer, cleaner and less noisy) and it can be coated with a single-layer OC3 exterior coating. Combined with Alkern insulating planks (for seismic zones or not), it constitutes a constructive solution with efficient treatment of thermal bridges. The Natur R1 block also displays a mechanical resistance of fb = 8,9 MPa, fk = 5,1 MPa in B60. Made in France with a cold-pressed block process, therefore without cooking and naturally dried, the Natur R1 block has FDES (carbon footprint of 12,8 kg CO2 eq/m2) and is 100% recyclable. In addition, it claims a storage of 10,3 kg of CO2 of biogenic origin trapped per m2 of masonry. Finally, note that it is the subject of a Technical Approval request (in progress) and is available in two formats (20 x 20 x 50 cm and 20 x 25 x 50 cm – lxhxl).

Kosmo City block: an improvement of – 21% kg CO2 eq/m2

Note that Alkern has initiated a switch to new binders (CEM I to CEM II for the entire Kosmo block filled with Airium foam). The industrialist thus claims an improvement in the carbon footprint of its block of -21%, going from 20,7 to 16,3 kg CO2 eq/m2 over the entire life cycle (FDES in static LCA). Remember that this carrier block has an R = 1,7, which is particularly insulating.

The E-Massif: a variant of recycled aggregates

The electrification of the French vehicle fleet involves the annual installation of some 100.000 electrical terminals. With its E-Massif concept, an anchoring mass optimized for charging stations up to 22 KW, Alkern supports professionals in the massification of charging station installations intended for electric vehicles. Developed by or for installers, E-Massif notably displays exemplary handling for two people (80 kg distributed over the two parts, base and plate). Alkern's E-Massif solution is particularly compact (50 cm wheelbase and 40 cm for the slab) also stands out for its ecological nature since its weight and the quantity of cement used are optimized thanks to a factory manufacturing process. . The variant incorporating recycled aggregates from the deconstruction of concrete structures has also joined its Re-source offer, for even greater environmental benefit.

Economical and quick, its installation is carried out in a single operation, with no need to secure the site during drying. If its two-element design ensures broad compatibility with all charging stations on the market, it should be noted that the standard slabs have a choice of a reservation for a D63 sheath or a reservation for the passage of two sheaths. And to go even further, let us point out that Alkern offers a universal solution to order thanks to a slab with custom-made pre-installed anchors in the factory.

New developments on the institutional side, with a new brand concept, a corporate film and a business promotion campaign to boost recruitment

Alkern has also just completed a major project concerning positioning and brand image. Far from a world where concrete suffers from a negative image both on its factories and its products, Alkern wanted to promote its production of useful and necessary works for the more virtuous development of the territory, also to promote the work of its collaborators in the factories. This brand concept will be visible very soon through a national brand campaign and ultralocal multi-media recruitment campaigns.

With slogans such as "don't look for a job, find a job that has everything to please you", "I just needed a job, today I am essential to the production line", the Recruitment posters highlight people and professional/personal life balance.

These campaigns highlight the characteristics of the professions that applicants will be able to find at Alkern more than the abilities that the industrialist could expect from them to take these positions.