The Indian cement industry has been passing through a rough patch with a host of issues haunting the industry like, volatility in cement prices, high input costs and raw material costs, irrational import duties on raw materials and so on. Amidst these unfavourable circumstances, Binani Cement stood tall with its performance over the years, be it the scale of production, new manufacturing facilities, spreading wings in overseas markets, etc. Read on to know how the company has transformed its imagination and vision into reality.
Genesis
Binani Cement started operations in 1996 under the name Dynasty Dealer Pvt Ltd and manufacturing began in 1997. The name was changed to Binani Cement Pvt Ltd on April 23, 1998 and subsequently converted into a public limited company, bearing the name Binani Cement Ltd on October 6, 1998. The company is certified with ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 within a short span of commencement, an achievement that clearly illustrates its commitment to quality, efficiency, and environment. Binani Cement has set a global benchmark with presence in countries like China, Dubai, Mauritius, etc. The company’s product portfolio includes Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), Pozzolana Portland Cement (PPC) and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS in Dubai). The products are marketed under the premium ‘Binani Cement’ brand name and enjoy significant market share in Rajasthan and other regions in northern and western India, sharing top-notch status with many of the nation’s leading cement brands.
Transformation
For Binani Group, cement business is a means to transform imagination and vision into reality. To transform this dream into reality, the company established manufacturing facility in Sirohi, Rajasthan and clinker grinding unit, Neem Ka Thana at Sikar, Rajasthan. The company’s cement plant located at Pindwara, Sirohi, is in close proximity to the customers in the state and also caters extensively to markets in Gujarat, Haryana and the north central region. The company has two limestone mines in village Amli and Thandiberi located at a distance of 2 km and 7 km respectively from the plant premises. These mines are leased to the company by the Government of Rajasthan initially for a period of 20 years which is renewable after every 20 years. The total estimated reserves in both the mines till date is 175 million tonne. The Sirohi plant was set up in April 1997 with an initial production capacity of 1.65 MTPA, which was later increased to 4.85 MTPA through modifications and de-bottlenecking.
In order to consolidate its presence in north Indian markets, Binani Cement increased its clinker production capacity by 2.3 MTPA with the commissioning of a separate cement manufacturing facility (Line-2) at the existing sites in July 2007 along with a 44.6 MW (2 x 22.3 MW) captive power plant. The clinker manufacturing capacity was further increased to 2.7 MTPA in May 2010 through process improvement.
The clinker grinding plant lies in close proximity to the customers of eastern Rajasthan and nearby states of northern India. The facility is well-connected by road and rail. The plant was set up with the technical support from FL Smidth, Denmark. The unit commenced its commercial production in March, 2008 with an installed capacity of 1.40 MTPA cement grinding. The unit acquired, stand-alone third-party certifications conforming to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 for its quality, environment and OHS management systems, respectively from Intertek Systems Certification, Ahmedabad in July 2009.
The unit has obtained separate environment clearance from the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) and all other consents from the State Pollution Control Board for manufacturing 1.40 MTPA of cement. The environmental performance of the unit in terms of control on air, water and land pollution is monitored by the MoEF and RSPCB.
Global presence
Binani Cement has spread its wings towards overseas markets with plants in China, the Middle East and Mauritius. The company formed Shandong Binani Rongan Cement Co Ltd (SBRCCL) after acquiring management control of Rizhao Rongan Construction Materials Co Ltd, a two-year old operational 1,100 TPD clinker manufacturing unit. The plant is strategically located within close proximity to the two operating ports of Rizhao and Lanshan and the upcoming port of c, in Shandong Province. The plant was upgraded from 1,100 TPD to 1,600 TPD with the addition of a cement grinding unit of 0.3 MTPA in 2008. SBRCCL is currently implementing a brownfield expansion for clinker manufacturing, which starts from limestone crushing till clinker dispatch and it is also constructing a split grinding station of 0.98 MTPA of bulk and bagged cement.
The Binani Cement Factory LLC, established in 1996, is located in the Jebel Ali Industrial Area. With its close proximity to the major ports, and a construction hub, it serves as a perfect vantage point for Binani Cement to tap the potential markets. In 2006, responding to the ever-increasing demands, Binani Cement showcased its unmatched capabilities by expanding the capacity of its plant from 0.5 million tonne to an overwhelming 1 million tonne of OPC and GGBFS. Subsequently, in 2007 grinding capacity was increased to 1.2 MTPA. In 2009, slag-grinding facility has been added and total production capacity increased to 2 MTPA by adding third clinker grinding line. A subsidiary, Binani Cement Factory (SFZ) Ltd has been established in Sudan for marketing cement produced in Dubai plant. To capitalise on the demand of cement in East African and other neighbouring countries, the company has set up marketing offices through its subsidiaries in Sudan, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kuwait and other East African countries.
Binani Cement Factory (Mauritius) Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Binani Cement Factory LLC, Dubai, UAE. The plant in Mauritius is part of Binani Cement’s aggressive overseas expansion plans and it will create employment for various local communities and will also generate additional revenue for both the port as well as the economy of Mauritius.
World-class technology
Binani Cement has set up plants with internationally acclaimed technologies from leading firms. Major equipment and technology for cement plant was sourced from FL Smidth, Denmark while those in the thermal plants were sourced from Shin Nippon, Japan, Cethar Vessels Ltd, AEG Siemens and Stork Cattle, Sweden. Major plant and machinery consists of one cement mill (180 TPH capacity), one electronic packer (240 TPH capacity), clinker, fly ash, cement storage silos, etc. The unit has its own railway siding, which was commissioned in mid 2009.
The unit is licensed to manufacture Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC 43 and 53 Grades) and Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC). Currently it is producing 100 per cent PPC for which clinker is supplied from the parent unit, ie, Binani Cement Ltd, Binanigram while fly ash is sourced from the thermal power plants located at NTPC, Dadri (Haryana), Suratgarh (Rajasthan), Bhatinda (Punjab), etc.
Looking ahead
Binani Cement has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Gujarat Government to invest Rs 4,200 crore for setting up a greenfield cement plant of 5 MTPA capacity. The company has recently delisted from the India Stock. Binani Cement is actively scouting for new business in emerging markets in Africa and other countries. The company is well placed financially and with large infrastructure and housing projection coming up, Binani is poised for a giant leap.
Awards
Binani Cement has won many wards and recognition both national and international which include:
- ITC CII Sustainability Award 2009
- Greentech Environment Excellence Gold Award 2009
- National Award for Excellence in Water Management 2009
- National Award for Excellence in Energy Management 2009
- Certificate of Merit for 2007-08 for Productivity Improvements
- Certificate of Excellence
- Udyog Bharati Award 2009 and Indian Achievers Award for Quality Excellence