What are the key takeaways from this In Good Company with Nicolai Tangen episode?

Key insights include: **European Housing Recovery:** Europe faces a shortage of approximately 10 million homes, but permit approvals have accelerated notably in the past two months across key markets. The EU's affordable housing plan aims to boost supply by streamlining permitting rules, signaling a near-term construction rebound.; **AI Predictive Maintenance:** Holcim deploys proprietary AI algorithms across cement factories averaging 1,000 by 500 meters to analyze operational data and flag equipment failure risks before they occur. This predictive approach enables planned shutdowns and optimized maintenance scheduling, targeting 200 million Swiss francs in net benefits by 2028.; **Waste-to-Energy Cost Strategy:** Holcim simultaneously reduces costs and CO2 emissions by accepting industrial waste materials, processing them into alternative fuel sources, and replacing traditional fossil fuels in cement production. This circular model generates revenue from waste intake while cutting both energy expenses and carbon output.

What did Miljan Gutovic discuss on In Good Company with Nicolai Tangen?

Miljan Gutovic, CEO of Holcim, one of the world's largest building materials companies, covers Europe's housing recovery, AI-driven operational savings targeting 200 million Swiss francs by 2028, and cement's path toward net-zero by 2050. Key topics include: **European Housing Recovery:** Europe faces a shortage of approximately 10 million homes, but permit approvals have accelerated notably in the past two months across key markets. The EU's affordable housing plan aims to boost supply by streamlining permitting rules, signaling a near-term construction rebound.; **AI Predictive Maintenance:** Holcim deploys proprietary AI algorithms across cement factories averaging 1,000 by 500 meters to analyze operational data and flag equipment failure risks before they occur. This predictive approach enables planned shutdowns and optimized maintenance scheduling, targeting 200 million Swiss francs in net benefits by 2028..

How long is this episode of In Good Company with Nicolai Tangen?

This episode is 10 minutes long. SignalCast provides an AI-generated summary so you can get the key insights in about 3 minutes.

In Good Company with Nicolai Tangen

HIGHLIGHTS: Miljan Gutovic - CEO of Holcim

June 26, 2026

10 min episode · 2 min read

Miljan Gutovic

Episode

10 min

Read time

2 min

Topics

Health & Wellness, Fundraising & VC, Leadership

AI-Generated Summary

Published Jun 26, 2026

Key Takeaways

✓European Housing Recovery: Europe faces a shortage of approximately 10 million homes, but permit approvals have accelerated notably in the past two months across key markets. The EU's affordable housing plan aims to boost supply by streamlining permitting rules, signaling a near-term construction rebound.
✓AI Predictive Maintenance: Holcim deploys proprietary AI algorithms across cement factories averaging 1,000 by 500 meters to analyze operational data and flag equipment failure risks before they occur. This predictive approach enables planned shutdowns and optimized maintenance scheduling, targeting 200 million Swiss francs in net benefits by 2028.
✓Waste-to-Energy Cost Strategy: Holcim simultaneously reduces costs and CO2 emissions by accepting industrial waste materials, processing them into alternative fuel sources, and replacing traditional fossil fuels in cement production. This circular model generates revenue from waste intake while cutting both energy expenses and carbon output.
✓Defense and Ukraine Reconstruction Opportunity: Rising European defense budgets will drive infrastructure spending on roads and rail networks, directly benefiting building materials suppliers. A potential end to the Ukraine conflict would additionally unlock large-scale reconstruction demand, with Holcim positioned through operations in Poland, Romania, Moldova, and Hungary.

What It Covers

Miljan Gutovic, CEO of Holcim, one of the world's largest building materials companies, covers Europe's housing recovery, AI-driven operational savings targeting 200 million Swiss francs by 2028, and cement's path toward net-zero by 2050.

Key Questions Answered

•European Housing Recovery: Europe faces a shortage of approximately 10 million homes, but permit approvals have accelerated notably in the past two months across key markets. The EU's affordable housing plan aims to boost supply by streamlining permitting rules, signaling a near-term construction rebound.
•AI Predictive Maintenance: Holcim deploys proprietary AI algorithms across cement factories averaging 1,000 by 500 meters to analyze operational data and flag equipment failure risks before they occur. This predictive approach enables planned shutdowns and optimized maintenance scheduling, targeting 200 million Swiss francs in net benefits by 2028.
•Waste-to-Energy Cost Strategy: Holcim simultaneously reduces costs and CO2 emissions by accepting industrial waste materials, processing them into alternative fuel sources, and replacing traditional fossil fuels in cement production. This circular model generates revenue from waste intake while cutting both energy expenses and carbon output.
•Defense and Ukraine Reconstruction Opportunity: Rising European defense budgets will drive infrastructure spending on roads and rail networks, directly benefiting building materials suppliers. A potential end to the Ukraine conflict would additionally unlock large-scale reconstruction demand, with Holcim positioned through operations in Poland, Romania, Moldova, and Hungary.

Notable Moment

Gutovic notes that cement production consumes more of any material globally than everything except water, with roughly 30 billion tons used annually — a scale that reframes cement as civilization's foundational resource, not a commodity.

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