Economy & Market

Big business in the offing

Published

15 years ago

February 5, 2011

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The Rs 2,000-crore Indian cement plant and machinery industry is poised for a big leap in the coming years as cement projects entailing an investment of Rs 135,000 crore are in the pipeline. These projects will bring in 480 million tonne of cement capacity in the next four years. As of end-April 2011, there are 102 cement projects under implementation entailing an aggregate capacity of 183 million tonne. The total investment envisaged in these projects is Rs 70,200 crore. Another 240 projects have been announced by various companies and are under implementation with a total capacity of 480 million tonne envisaging an investment of Rs 131,000 crore. Even if half of these intentions are implemented, the total investment works out to about Rs 130,000 crore over the next 3-4 years. This implies demand for plant and machinery of around Rs 30,000 crore per annum during the project implementation period.

Currently, there are only six major suppliers of complete cement plant machinery in the organised sector. They together have an installed capacity of around Rs 600 crore per annum and are fully capable of meeting the domestic demand. Including the unorganised sector, the production of cement machinery is estimated at Rs 2,000 crore for 2010.

This industry is de-licensed and foreign direct investment (FDI) of up to 100 per cent, under automatic route as well as technology collaboration, is allowed free. Import of old and new machinery too is allowed free. However, the industry has made no significant progress in importing or exporting cement plants in the past five years.

Plant and machinery gross block of 23 cement majors aggregated Rs 44,000 crore as of March 2011. This was Rs 4,000 crore higher than the gross block of March 2010. Thus, these cement companies have added plant and machinery worth Rs 4,000 crore during the year, over and above Rs 6,100 crore worth of addition in 2009-10. Plant and machinery assets of these companies had jumped Rs 6,500 crore in the year ending March 2009. In 2010-11, cement majors, ACC and Ambuja Cements added close to Rs 2,000 crore worth of plants and machinery, implying a major leap for cement machinery suppliers.

Concrete

WCA Welcomes SiloConnect as associate corporate member

Published

6 days ago

April 13, 2026

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The World Cement Association (WCA) has announced SiloConnect as its newest associate corporate member, expanding its network of technology providers supporting digitalisation in the cement industry. SiloConnect offers smart sensor technology that provides real-time visibility of cement inventory levels at customer silos, enabling producers to monitor stock remotely and plan deliveries more efficiently. The solution helps companies move from reactive to proactive logistics, improving delivery planning, operational efficiency and safety by reducing manual inspections. The technology is already used by major cement producers such as Holcim, Cemex and Heidelberg Materials and is deployed across more than 30 countries worldwide.

Concrete

TotalEnergies and Holcim Launch Floating Solar Plant in Belgium

Published

6 days ago

April 13, 2026

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TotalEnergies and Holcim have commissioned a floating solar power plant in Obourg, Belgium, built on a rehabilitated former chalk quarry that has been converted into a lake. The project has a generation capacity of 31 MW and produces around 30 GWh of renewable electricity annually, which will be used to power Holcim’s nearby industrial operations. The project is currently the largest floating solar installation in Europe dedicated entirely to industrial self-consumption. To ensure minimal impact on the surrounding landscape, more than 700 metres of horizontal directional drilling were used to connect the solar installation to the electrical substation. The project reflects ongoing collaboration between the two companies to support industrial decarbonisation through renewable energy solutions and innovative infrastructure development.

Concrete

Cortec® Corporation applauded for its strong safety performance

Published

6 days ago

April 13, 2026

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Cortec® Corporation has been recognised for its strong safety performance, receiving its sixth Governor’s Workplace Safety Award for its outstanding performance in 2025. As a Silver Achievement recipient, the company continues to maintain safety metrics well above national industry averages, an impressive accomplishment for a chemical manufacturing organisation. This achievement reflects Cortec’s proactive approach to workplace safety, focused on early hazard detection and employee involvement. The company will be formally recognised at the Minnesota Safety and Health Conference in May, highlighting how industrial companies are effectively strengthening workplace safety standards.