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The demand was created by the economic reforms that started in early 1990s

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Sumit Banerjee, Vice Chairman, Reliance Cementation, discusses the cement industry from its infancy to growth, prospects of value-added products, environmental issues and future in an interview with Indian Cement Review.What was the major impact of decontrol? The most favourable impact of decontrol was that it pushed the industry’s growth to a higher trajectory. The process began in 1982 with partial decontrol and by 1989 the industry was completely out of government control. Had the industry been under control, prices would have still remained administered and, it would have not grown enough.Post-delicensing what course did the cement industry take in terms of capacity and demand? The capacity build-up happened in the 1990s, which was necessary to meet the increasing demand generated by liberalisation of the Indian economy. The buoyant economic growth and step up in investments created enormous demand for cement, which attracted investment into the cement industry. Increasing number of players and market determined pricing resulted in greater competitiveness, higher efficiency and increased productivity. The economies of scale expanded. The industry started setting up of one million tonne capacity plants, which was a complete novelty at that time. On hindsight, one could say that the industry did not do much for promoting demand. One more interesting thing that has emerged from decontrol is that India today is the second largest cement producer in the world and also the most efficient producers in terms of blended cement and therefore, of fuel and energy consumption.What were the factors for attracting investments in cement? The first point is the demand. Post delicensing, the cement industry could generate surplus cash, which they reinvested in setting up new capacities. Money was spent on state-of-the-art plants, innovation, expansion, etc. However, the demand was created by the economic reforms that started in early 1990s. Cement is one of the industries that made most of this opportunity.What is the comparative cost of production viz-a-viz other countries like China, given the increase in mining lease, royalty, coal prices in recent years?To compare costs of cement production across geographies, one should consider the differences in cost of labour, power, interest, taxation inherited by different economies. Hence the comparison should really be done considering two parameters – one cement price and, the other profitability of the cement industry in those economies. Prima facie, going by the efficiency of large cement plants, India should be in the top quartile of cost planet globally. There would be very few countries where the cost could be lower. China is one of those countries, where the comparative cost would be lower. But of course there are few reasons to it. Firstly, the interest cost is much lower and second there is a lot of inland water transportation there. Nevertheless, profitability of many Chinese cement companies is much lower as compared to India. Indonesian cement companies are quite profitable and so are the companies in New Zealand which are even more profitable. But the highest cement prices are in New Zealand although the market there is quite small.In India, there are certain things that work against the industry. Here, tax incidence is very high and logistic efficiency is low. In China and USA, cement is hardly hauled by road over long distances. There cement is transported in bulk, by waterways and, only the last mile is by road. So logistics cost, which is one of the large components of the cost structure in India, is lower in these countries, on apple to apple basis.What about input costs?Regarding energy, the Indian cement companies have somehow managed to resolve the problems. For example, look at the captive power plants. Nowhere in the world, power plants of 30 MW or 60 MW are set up for captive use. Indian cement companies have time and again been able to justify captive power plants on the twin considerations of cost & reliability. To address the issue of high coal cost, high power cost, the industry has found solutions in other areas of the cost structure. For example, India has reduced cost through adoption of blended cement. India is the highest amongst the major cement producing countries in terms of blending ratio, and is the lowest in the clinker factor. Blended cement, both fly-ash and slag blends, have been very well accepted in many applications. Ash blending can go up to 35 per cent while in case of slag it can go up to 55 per cent.What about composite cement, are they cheaper than blended?Composite cement is a blend of both flyash and slag. The Bureau of Indian Standards as of now, has approved only blends of either flyash-based PPC or slag-based PSC cement. In Europe, America and in some of the Asian countries, composite cement has already been approved, with controls on the proportion of blending depending on the properties required for different applications.Bureau of Indian Standards is a body where all the stake holders come from different spheres comprising of users, manufacturers, technical experts, etc. So far, in BIS, there is no unanimity on introduction of composite cement. But I guess it will be only a matter of time when composite cement will also be introduced in India.What are the growth drivers for cement in coming years? I think the growth drivers would be infrastructure, industrial, commercial and housing. Urban housing will not show magical growth while industrial and commercial growth will be tardy. Our big hope is pinned on infrastructure and rural housing. A good monsoon this year and year on year, will also generate demand growth for rural housing.What is the proportion of branded and unbranded cement?Cement is a branded commodity in India because 80-85 per cent is still sold in bags. Cement is sold in retail, thus it has to be branded. Even bulk buyers prefer branded cement. The buyers trust a given brand for quality and are therefore ready to pay premium price for top brands. There are some national brands which are lesser known in some regions while there are localised brands which perform well since they are regional leaders. There is brand hierarchy in every market, but in the retail segment there is no cement without a brand name.What about value-added products? Are they catching up?Apart from ready-mix concrete (RMC) the demand for value-added products are very low in India. Prefab which includes concrete pavements, concrete hume pipes, railway sleepers, etc are termed as concrete products. Currently, the market size of these concrete products is very small but has tremendous potential to grow. There are countries like Netherlands, that are leaders in concrete products, where the houses are completely built using prefab concrete whereas, in India most constructions are still made using on-site concrete.Are cement companies foraying into prefab business, especially RMC? Cement companies are not that keen on investing in the prefab business because of its small current market size. Ultimately, the concrete product will become a value-added product and will have to be made nearer to the consumption point. Therefore, smaller players will develop this segment, like in case of RMC. RMC industry has grown faster than cement consumption. If cement consumption is growing at 5-9 per cent, RMC is growing at 25-30 per cent, particularly in larger cities. Other value-added segments are insignificant today.RMC is a low capital industry but profit margins are absolute wafer thin. An RMC plant can be set up by investing Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 5 crore. There is no entry barrier at this cost. In terms of the growth, the future is bright. Today the RMC penetration has just touched 10-15 per cent. The returns will maximize when this grows beyond 50 per cent, and also industry consolidation happens.What are the environmental issues facing the cement industry? Cement industry, globally has got a bad name in the climate change debate, because it generates 4-5 per cent of the CO2 globally. This apart, the most important environmental benefit of cement manufacturing is the possibility of incineration of hazardous materials. In Europe, the debate is intense and companies are keenly looking at alternative sources of disposal of these hazardous materials. So, with the pressure of CO2 and the urgent need for safe disposal of hazardous material, European companies have recognised that cement kiln is a better way to dispose hazardous wastes instead of an incinerator and this has been technically verified. In Europe, rules on hazardous waste disposal are very stringent. In India, the rules are inadequate, but they will become tough over time, opening up this as a great opportunity for the cement industry.What about use of green energy in cement industry? To begin with ‘Green Energy’ is a debatable subject because of its unclear definition. For example, I would state that bio-fuel is not green. Green energy will rather include all those sources that can substitute fossil fuel or non-renewable sources, like wind, solar and, hydel power. They are green because they serve two purposes. Firstly, they are non depleting natural resources, and secondly they do not generate CO2. In case of cement industry, green energy will be used only when there is permitting and regulatory environment which will incentivise its use. The beginning has been made but in a small way. We have few examples of companies like ACC and Madras Cement, which have set up wind farms.In Europe, there are cement companies completely running on non-conventional fuels and many plants have substituted conventional fuels to the extent of 25-30 per cent. In India, the substitution rate has just reached 1-2 per cent.Many of the upcoming projects have captive power plant? Will there be cases where wind/solar power plants will come up meet all the energy needs? Unless the permitting and regulatory environment nudges investment in that direction, nothing magical will happen. There will only be stray cases of green energy usage in cement plants. In a smaller move, a legal requirement is being introduced wherein any power generator using conventional sources will have to generate a certain percentage of power from green sources or, will have to buy credit from other green generators. To make this smoother, there has to be a market for credits of green power generation. There is huge investment potential in solar power and when these plants come up, the credit market for green power could open up.About Reliance Cement Reliance Cement is setting-up its first two cement plants – one each in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra with a combined capacity of 10 million tonnes a year with satellite grinding plants. Financial closure for one has been achieved. Land has already been acquired and, letters of intent for the major & critical equipment issued. The construction work will begin in the current financial year and will be completed by 2013.

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Concrete

Adani’s Strategic Emergence in India’s Cement Landscape

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5 days ago

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September 16, 2025

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Milind Khangan, Marketing Head, Vertex Market Research, sheds light on Adani’s rapid cement consolidation under its ‘One Business, One Company’ strategy while positioning it to rival UltraTech, and thus, shaping a potential duopoly in India’s booming cement market.

India is the second-largest cement-producing country in the world, following China. This expansion is being driven by tremendous public investment in the housing and infrastructure sectors. The industry is accelerating, with a boost from schemes such as PM Gati Shakti, Bharatmala, and the Vande Bharat corridors. An upsurge in affordable housing under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) further supports this expansion. In May 2025, local cement production increased about 9 per cent from last year to about 40 million metric tonnes for the month. The combined cement capacity in India was recorded at 670 million metric tonnes in the 2025 fiscal year, according to the Cement Manufacturers’ Association (CMA). For the financial year 2026, this is set to grow by another 9 per cent.
In spite of the growing demand, the Indian cement industry is highly competitive. UltraTech Cement (Aditya Birla Group) is still the market leader with domestic installed capacity of more than 186 MTPA as on 2025. It is targeted to achieve 200 MTPA. Adani Cement recently became a major player and is now India’s second-largest cement company. It did this through aggressive consolidation, operational synergies, and scale efficiencies. Indian players in the cement industry are increasingly valuing operational efficiency and sustainability. Some of the strategies with high impact are alternative fuels and materials (AFR) adoption, green cement expansion, and digital technology investments to offset changing regulatory pressure and increasing energy prices.

Building Adani Cement brand
Vertex Market Research explains that the Adani Group is executing a comprehensive reorganisation and consolidation of its cement business under the ‘One Business, One Company’ strategy. The plan is to integrate its diversified holdings into one consolidated corporate entity named Adani Cement. The focus is on operating integration, governance streamlining, and cost reduction in its expanding cement business.
Integration roadmap and key milestones:

  • September 2022: The consolidation process started with the $6.4 billion buyout of Holcim’s majority stakes in Ambuja Cements and ACC, with Ambuja becoming the focal point of the consolidation.
  • December 2023: Bought Sanghi Industries to strengthen the firm’s presence in western India.
  • August 2024: Added Penna Cement to the portfolio, improving penetration of the southern market of India.
  • April 2025: Further holding addition in Orient Cement to 46.66 per cent by purchasing the same from CK Birla Group, becoming the promoter with control.
  • Ambuja Cements amalgamated with Adani Cement: This was sanctioned by the NCLT on 18th July 2025 with effect from April 1, 2024. This amalgamation brings in limestone reserves and fresh assets into Ambuja.
  • Subject to Sanghi and Penna merger with Ambuja: Board approvals in December 2024 with the aim to finish between September to December 2025.
  • Ambuja-ACC future integration: The latter is being contemplated as the final step towards consolidation.
  • Orient Cement: It would serve as a principal manufacturing facility following the merger.

Scale, capacity expansion and market position
In financial year-2025, Adani Cement, including Ambuja, surpassed 100 MTPA. This makes it one of the world’s top ten cement companies. Along with ACC’s operations, it is now firmly placed as India’s second-largest cement company. In FY25, the Adani group’s sales volume per annum clocked 65 million metric tonnes. Adani Group claims that it now supplies close to 30 per cent of the cement consumed in India’s homes and infrastructure as of June 2025.
The organisation is pursuing aggressive brownfield expansion:

  • By FY 2026: Reach 118 MTPA
  • By FY 2028: Target 140 MTPA

These goals will be driven by commissioning new clinker and grinding units at key sites, with civil and mechanical works underway.
As of 2024, Adani Cement had its market share pegged at around 14 to 15 per cent, with an ambition to scale this up to 20 per cent by FY?2028, emerging as a potent competitor to UltraTech’s 192?MTPA capacity (186 domestic and overseas).

Strategic advantages and competitive benefits
The consolidation simplifies decision-making by reducing legal entities, centralising oversight, and removing redundant functions. This drives compliance efficiency and transparent reporting. Using procurement power for raw materials and energy lowers costs per ton. Integrated logistics with Adani Ports and freight infrastructure has resulted in an estimated 6 per cent savings in logistics. The group aims for additional savings of INR 500 to 550 per tonne by FY 2028 by integrating green energy, using alternative fuel resources, and improving sourcing methods.

Market coverage and brand consistency
Brand integration under one strategy will provide uniform product quality and easier distribution networks. Integration with Orient Cement’s dealer base, 60 per cent of which already distributes Ambuja/ACC products, enhances outreach and responsiveness.
By having captive limestone reserves at Lakhpat (approximately 275 million tonnes) and proposed new manufacturing facilities in Raigad, Maharashtra, Adani Cement derives cost advantage, raw material security, and long-term operational robustness.

Strategic implications and risks
Consolidation at Adani Cement makes it not just a capacity leader but also an operationally agile competitor with the ability to reap digital and sustainability benefits. Its vertically integrated platform enables cost leadership, market responsiveness, and scalability.

Challenges potentially include:

  • Integration challenges across systems, corporate cultures, and plant operations
  • Regulatory sanctions for pending mergers and new capacity additions
  • Environmental clearances in environmentally sensitive areas and debt management with input price volatility

When materialised, this revolution would create a formidable Adani–UltraTech duopoly, redefining Indian cement on the basis of scale, innovation, and sustainability. India’s leading four cement players such as Adani (ACC and Ambuja), Dalmia Cement, Shree Cement, and UltraTech are expected to dominate the cement market.

Conclusion
Adani’s aggressive consolidation under the ‘One Business, One Company’ strategy signals a decisive shift in the Indian cement industry, positioning the group as a formidable challenger to UltraTech and setting the stage for a potential duopoly that could dominate the sector for years to come. By unifying operations, leveraging economies of scale, and securing vertical integration—from raw material reserves to distribution networks—Adani Cement is building both capacity and resilience, with clear advantages in cost efficiency, market reach, and sustainability. While integration complexities, regulatory hurdles, and environmental approvals remain key challenges, the scale and strategic alignment of this consolidation promise to redefine competition, pricing dynamics, and operational benchmarks in one of the world’s fastest-growing cement markets.

About the author:
Milind Khangan is the Marketing Head at Vertex Market Research and comes with over five years of experience in market research, lead generation and team management.

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Concrete

Precision in Motion: A Deep Dive into PowerBuild’s Core Gear Series

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1 month ago

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August 16, 2025

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PowerBuild’s flagship Series M, C, F, and K geared motors deliver robust, efficient, and versatile power transmission solutions for industries worldwide.

Products – M, C, F, K: At the heart of every high-performance industrial system lies the need for robust, reliable, and efficient power transmission. PowerBuild answers this need with its flagship geared motor series: M, C, F, and K. Each series is meticulously engineered to serve specific operational demands while maintaining the universal promise of durability, efficiency, and performance.
Series M – Helical Inline Geared Motors: Compact and powerful, the Series M delivers exceptional drive solutions for a broad range of applications. With power handling up to 160kW and torque capacity reaching 20,000 Nm, it is the trusted solution for industries requiring quiet operation, high efficiency, and space-saving design. Series M is available with multiple mounting and motor options, making it a versatile choice for manufacturers and OEMs globally.
Series C – Right Angled Heli-Worm Geared Motors: Combining the benefits of helical and worm gearing, the Series C is designed for right-angled power transmission. With gear ratios of up to 16,000:1 and torque capacities of up to 10,000 Nm, this series is optimal for applications demanding precision in compact spaces. Industries looking for a smooth, low-noise operation with maximum torque efficiency rely on Series C for dependable performance.
Series F – Parallel Shaft Mounted Geared Motors: Built for endurance in the most demanding environments, Series F is widely adopted in steel plants, hoists, cranes, and heavy-duty conveyors. Offering torque up to 10,000 Nm and high gear ratios up to 20,000:1, this product features an integral torque arm and diverse output configurations to meet industry-specific challenges head-on.
Series K – Right Angle Helical Bevel Geared Motors: For industries seeking high efficiency and torque-heavy performance, Series K is the answer. This right-angled geared motor series delivers torque up to 50,000 Nm, making it a preferred choice in core infrastructure sectors such as cement, power, mining, and material handling. Its flexibility in mounting and broad motor options offer engineers’ freedom in design and reliability in execution.
Together, these four series reflect PowerBuild’s commitment to excellence in mechanical power transmission. From compact inline designs to robust right-angle drives, each geared motor is a result of decades of engineering innovation, customer-focused design, and field-tested reliability. Whether the requirement is speed control, torque multiplication, or space efficiency, Radicon’s Series M, C, F, and K stand as trusted powerhouses for global industries.

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Concrete

Driving Measurable Gains

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1 month ago

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August 16, 2025

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Klüber Lubrication India’s Klübersynth GEM 4-320 N upgrades synthetic gear oil for energy efficiency.

Klüber Lubrication India has introduced a strategic upgrade for the tyre manufacturing industry by retrofitting its high-performance synthetic gear oil, Klübersynth GEM 4-320 N, into Barrel Cold Feed Extruder gearboxes. This smart substitution, requiring no hardware changes, delivered energy savings of 4-6 per cent, as validated by an internationally recognised energy audit firm under IPMVP – Option B protocols, aligned with
ISO 50015 standards.

Beyond energy efficiency, the retrofit significantly improved operational parameters:

  • Lower thermal stress on equipment
  • Extended lubricant drain intervals
  • Reduction in CO2 emissions and operational costs

These benefits position Klübersynth GEM 4-320 N as a powerful enabler of sustainability goals in line with India’s Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) guidelines and global Net Zero commitments.

Verified sustainability, zero compromise
This retrofit case illustrates that meaningful environmental impact doesn’t always require capital-intensive overhauls. Klübersynth GEM 4-320 N demonstrated high performance in demanding operating environments, offering:

  • Enhanced component protection
  • Extended oil life under high loads
  • Stable performance across fluctuating temperatures

By enabling quick wins in efficiency and sustainability without disrupting operations, Klüber reinforces its role as a trusted partner in India’s evolving industrial landscape.

Klüber wins EcoVadis Gold again
Further affirming its global leadership in responsible business practices, Klüber Lubrication has been awarded the EcoVadis Gold certification for the fourth consecutive year in 2025. This recognition places it in the top three per cent
of over 150,000 companies worldwide evaluated for environmental, ethical and sustainable procurement practices.
Klüber’s ongoing investments in R&D and product innovation reflect its commitment to providing data-backed, application-specific lubrication solutions that exceed industry expectations and support long-term sustainability goals.

A trusted industrial ally
Backed by 90+ years of tribology expertise and a global support network, Klüber Lubrication is helping customers transition toward a greener tomorrow. With Klübersynth GEM 4-320 N, tyre manufacturers can take measurable, low-risk steps to boost energy efficiency and regulatory alignment—proving that even the smallest change can spark a significant transformation.

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