Sanjeev Arora, President – Motion Business & IEC LV Motors Division, ABB India, discusses efficient drive powertrain technology for cement manufacturing, which is powering India’s next phase of sustainable growth.

India’s growth story is being written at an unprecedented scale. From highways and airports to smart cities, metros, renewable energy parks and industrial corridors, infrastructure development is accelerating rapidly. At the heart of this transformation lies one of the country’s most foundational industries – cement. India is already the world’s second largest cement producer, and demand is expected to rise significantly over the next decade as investments in urbanisation, housing, manufacturing and public infrastructure continue to expand. However, the cement industry also finds itself at a defining crossroads. It must scale production while simultaneously reducing emissions, improving efficiency, strengthening reliability and ensuring operational excellence.
This is where technology will play a decisive role. For decades, motors and drives have quietly powered every stage of cement manufacturing, from crushers, kilns and conveyors to mills, fans and packing units. They have become strategic enablers of sustainability, digitalisation, safety and profitability. The future of cement manufacturing will be defined by plants that are not only more productive, but also more intelligent, energy efficient and resilient.
In many ways, the journey toward a leaner and cleaner cement industry begins with how motion systems are designed, monitored and optimised.

Decarbonising cement
A substantial share of electricity consumption within a cement plant comes from motor driven systems such as fans, pumps, compressors, conveyors and grinding mills. Globally, electric motors account for nearly 45 per cent of the world’s electricity consumption in industrial applications. This makes energy efficient motor systems one of the fastest and most impactful levers available for decarbonisation.
In India, where industrial energy demand continues to grow alongside economic expansion, improving motor efficiency can create meaningful environmental and business outcomes. Replacing IE2 motors with high efficiency IE4 and IE5 motors, combined with variable speed drives (VSDs), can significantly reduce energy consumption while improving process control. ABB’s latest generation of IE5 ultra-premium efficiency motors and synchronous reluctance motor technologies are helping industries achieve substantially lower energy losses compared to conventional systems.
Compared to the commonly deployed IE2 motors, IE5 motors can achieve nearly 50 per cent lower energy losses across several operating ranges, making them particularly relevant for energy intensive sectors such as cement where motors operate continuously at scale. In large scale industrial applications, it is estimated that upgrading to IE5 motor systems can deliver energy savings significant enough to enable payback periods of nearly one to two years, depending on operating hours and load conditions.
The impact goes beyond energy bills. Lower energy consumption directly contributes to reduced carbon emissions and supports India’s broader sustainability ambitions, including the country’s commitment toward net zero pathways and industrial decarbonisation. At ABB in India, our installed base of motors and drives has already contributed to significant annual energy savings across industries. According to our estimates, ABB motors and drives installed over last 12 years, save nearly 20 TWh of electricity annually in India, equivalent to roughly half of Delhi’s annual electricity consumption.

Rise of the digital plant
As cement plants become larger and more automated, operational continuity has become critical. Unplanned downtime in a cement facility can lead to significant production losses, supply chain disruptions and maintenance costs. This is driving a major shift toward digitally connected operations.
The next generation of motors and drives is embedded with intelligent monitoring capabilities that enable real time visibility into equipment performance, energy consumption and operating conditions. Combined with Industrial IoT, advanced analytics and predictive maintenance solutions, plant operators can now move from reactive maintenance to proactive asset management. In practical terms, this means maintenance teams can detect anomalies such as overheating, vibration imbalances or bearing degradation long before equipment failure occurs.
Predictive maintenance technologies are especially important in cement manufacturing because of the extreme conditions in which equipment operates. Dust, vibration, fluctuating loads and high ambient temperatures place enormous stress on rotating equipment. Digital condition monitoring systems can continuously assess equipment health, identify performance deviations and help optimise maintenance schedules, reducing downtime, extending equipment life and improving operational reliability.
As cement manufacturers navigate fluctuating energy prices, changing market demand and sustainability targets, intelligent motor systems provide the flexibility needed to optimise production dynamically.

Toward total cost of ownership
One of the most significant shifts taking place in industrial decision-making today is moving away from evaluating equipment based solely on upfront capital cost toward understanding total cost of ownership (TCO). In a typical motor system, the purchase price often represents only a small fraction of the total lifecycle cost however energy consumption, maintenance requirements, downtime and operating efficiency account for the vast majority of long-term operational expenses. For cement manufacturers operating in highly competitive markets, this distinction is critical.
A high efficiency motor paired with an appropriately configured variable speed drive may require a higher initial investment, but the long-term benefits are substantial. Reduced electricity consumption, lower maintenance needs, longer service intervals and improved process stability can deliver faster payback and stronger profitability over time.
In addition to reducing energy use, optimised drive powertrain also minimises mechanical stress on equipment. This improves reliability and reduces wear on bearings, couplings and connected systems.
As sustainability reporting and energy benchmarking become increasingly important
across industries, forward looking cement manufacturers are recognising that investments in efficient drive powertrain create both operational and environmental value.

Engineering reliability
Cement applications demand robust insulation systems, superior thermal management, advanced sealing technologies and durable mechanical construction. ABB’s heavy-duty motors and drives are engineered specifically to withstand these extreme operating environments while maintaining efficiency and performance.
Equally important is the ability to maintain serviceability over long operating lifecycles.
In sectors such as cement, where plants are expected to operate continuously for decades, lifecycle support becomes a strategic consideration. Modernisation, retrofitting and service solutions are therefore playing an increasingly important role in helping operators improve efficiency with minimal upgradation and without requiring complete infrastructure replacement.
ABB’s Motion Services portfolio supports customers through predictive maintenance,
performance optimisation, digital diagnostics
and lifecycle management solutions designed to maximise uptime and equipment longevity. Reliability in cement manufacturing is no longer simply about avoiding breakdowns. It is about ensuring continuity, protecting productivity, enabling operational confidence and excellence.

Safety-productivity connection
Industrial safety and operational productivity are deeply interconnected. As cement plants become more automated and digitally integrated, modern motor and drive technologies are also contributing to safer work environments. Remote monitoring capabilities reduce the need for personnel to physically inspect equipment in hazardous or hard to access areas. Intelligent systems can provide alerts, diagnostics and performance insights remotely, improving both safety and maintenance response times.
Advanced drive technologies also support safer operations through smoother start-and-stop, controlled acceleration and reduced mechanical shocks. These capabilities not only protect equipment but also reduce operational risks for plant personnel. Additionally, digitally enabled systems improve visibility into operational conditions, helping teams respond more effectively to potential safety issues before they escalate. In many ways, the modern cement plant is evolving into a more connected and collaborative ecosystem where automation, digital intelligence and motion technologies work together to improve both human safety and operational excellence.

India’s infrastructure ambitions
The cement industry is entering a transformative phase. As India advances toward becoming a global manufacturing and infrastructure powerhouse, the sector will need to balance growth, competitiveness and sustainability simultaneously. It is an opportunity for us to help industries outrun leaner and cleaner. By combining energy efficiency, digital intelligence and engineering innovation, the cement sector can accelerate its transition toward a more sustainable and resilient future while continuing to power India’s growth ambitions. And that journey has already begun.

About the author
Sanjeev Arora, President – Motion Business & IEC LV Motors Division, ABB India comes with nearly three decades of experience in industrial motion technologies, energy-efficient motor systems, and driving sustainable industrial transformation across India and the Middle East & Africa.

Girish Hanchate, Director – Industrial Market, India, SKF India (Industrial), explains how intelligent bearings, predictive maintenance, and digital technologies are helping cement manufacturers unlock higher reliability, lower maintenance costs, and improved sustainability.

As India’s cement industry gears up for significant capacity expansion, the reliability of rotating equipment has become a critical determinant of plant performance. Girish Hanchate, discusses how advanced bearing technologies, automated lubrication systems, condition monitoring, and Industry 4.0 enabled predictive maintenance are transforming asset management. He highlights how innovations that extend equipment life, reduce grease consumption by up to 99 per cent, and improve energy efficiency are helping cement plants enhance uptime, lower operating costs, and support long-term sustainability goals.

How are advanced bearing and drive technologies improving the reliability and efficiency of cement plant operations?
India’s cement sector is undergoing unprecedented expansion, with production jumping 9.4 per cent year on year in April 2026. This massive surge, fuelled by national infrastructure initiatives, places immense pressure on plants to maintain continuous, high volume output. In this environment, advanced bearing and drive technologies are no longer just mechanical components—they are core drivers of industrial efficiency. Modern innovations, such as our newly engineered sealed spherical roller bearings for High Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGRs), are custom built to survive intense radial loads. By integrating smart geometry and heavy duty sealing, these technologies drastically reduce friction and lower operational temperatures. When integrated with SKF Insight, these bearings provide continuous visibility into critical operating parameters, including load, speed, vibration, and temperature. This real time intelligence enables maintenance teams to move from reactive interventions to predictive maintenance, helping improve equipment reliability, extend service intervals, and minimise unplanned downtime across cement operations.
Practically, this delivers double the traditional asset lifespan and reduces grease consumption by up to 99 per cent. For an industry operating under tight timelines, cutting down grease waste and extending service intervals means moving away from constant manual maintenance toward highly reliable, self sustaining machinery. Ultimately, this allows Indian cement manufacturers to scale up production and protect their margins without compromising their strict sustainability goals.

What are the biggest challenges faced by rotating equipment in the harsh operating conditions of cement manufacturing?
Cement manufacturing is famously brutal on machinery. Rotating equipment must constantly endure what we at SKF refer to as the big three industry challenges: abrasive dust contamination, heavy vibrating loads, and extreme thermal spikes. As Indian cement makers aggressively add an estimated 160 to 170 million tonnes of capacity between 2026 and 2028, equipment is being pushed harder than ever before. When fine clinker dust penetrates a traditional bearing housing, it acts like sandpaper, causing rapid premature wear and lubrication starvation.
Furthermore, the rising adoption of Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) to control motor speeds has introduced a hidden, modern threat: stray electrical currents that cause devastating electrical erosion inside motor bearings. At SKF India Industrial, we tackle these harsh realities head on. By engineering specialised solutions like our VA9A1 series, which features increased internal space for higher grease retention, CeraDrive bearings with ceramic elements that eliminate 99 per cent of electrical erosion, locally engineered VA029 series for Crushers and Gear Boxes, we help plants defend their vital machinery against these aggressive elements and prevent catastrophic failures.

How is predictive maintenance reshaping the management of gears, drives, and motors in modern cement plants?
Historically, cement plants operated on a rigid, time based schedule, routinely shutting down machinery and replacing components whether they genuinely needed it or not. Today, with India’s domestic capacity utilisation holding at a high 70 per cent to meet aggressive infrastructure demands, unplanned downtime is an expensive financial risk that industry leaders must actively eliminate. Predictive maintenance (PdM) is completely rewriting this traditional playbook by replacing manual guesswork with real time, data backed strategy. Instead of waiting for a critical kiln drive, motor, or heavy duty gearbox to fail catastrophically, we utilise advanced AI driven remote diagnostics to monitor microscopic changes in vibration, temperature, and mechanical stress.
A vital pillar of this modern transformation is integrating SKF Automatic Lubrication Systems directly into the plant’s overall predictive framework. Manual, periodic regreasing often introduces human error, leading to dangerous over lubrication or premature wear from under lubrication. Our automated systems remove this risk by delivering the precise quantity of clean, uncontaminated lubricant to critical bearings at the exact right operational interval. This seamless combination of continuous health tracking and automated machinery care shifts the factory floor from crisis management to strategic preservation. Ultimately, it empowers engineering teams to synchronise component maintenance perfectly with planned plant turnarounds, turning maintenance into a predictable driver of profitability.

In what ways can intelligent condition monitoring help reduce downtime and extend equipment life?
Intelligent condition monitoring acts as a continuous digital health check for critical machinery operating across the entire cement value chain. By deploying a connected network of wireless sensors, analytical software, and cloud based platforms, we gather real time data from deep within rotating machinery. This constant stream of information helps us catch microscopic defects, such as a hairline flaw in a bearing raceway—weeks before it can trigger an operational shutdown. In heavy exposure applications like conveyor systems, combining this digital insight with targeted physical innovations, such as the SKF Three barrier solution, delivers remarkable results.
This specialised solution provides a triple layer of physical defence: an outer housing equipped with heavy duty taconite mechanical seals, a grease filled housing cavity that traps incoming particles, and an inner sealed SKF Explorer bearing as the final line of defence. This unified approach allows operators to monitor the inner workings of the equipment via smart sensors while the physical barriers aggressively prevent abrasive clinker dust ingress. Consequently, manual regreasing intervals can be safely reduced from once a week to just twice a year, saving up to 90 per cent of maintenance time and grease costs. Addressing mechanical and thermal stress early stops minor flaws from compounding into catastrophic failures that damage adjacent
gears and shafts. Ultimately, intelligent monitoring eliminates unexpected shutdowns, maximises asset
lifecycle, and enables operators to sync maintenance windows perfectly with planned plant turnarounds, ensuring a highly predictable, high performance production environment.

How important is energy efficient drive technology in supporting the cement industry’s sustainability goals?
Energy efficient drive technology has become a critical enabler in helping the cement industry achieve its sustainability and decarbonisation objectives. Cement manufacturing is highly energy intensive, with motors and drives accounting for a significant share of total power consumption across operations such as grinding, crushing, conveying, and kiln systems.
Advanced drive technologies, including variable frequency drives (VFDs) and high efficiency motors, enable plants to optimise energy usage by matching motor speed and torque to actual process requirements. This not only reduces electricity consumption but also lowers carbon emissions and operational costs. Alongside these systems, SKF’s AEM31 energy efficient bearings are engineered to reduce bearing friction by up to 25 per cent, helping improve the power efficiency of rotating equipment such as motors and pumps.
In addition, energy efficient drives improve equipment reliability, minimise mechanical stress, and extend machinery life, contributing to overall plant productivity and reduced maintenance interventions. As the industry moves towards greener manufacturing practices, integrating intelligent and efficient drive systems will be essential for achieving both environmental compliance and long term operational resilience.

What role do lubrication, alignment, and vibration control play in optimising the performance of critical cement plant machinery?
Lubrication, alignment, and vibration control are fundamental pillars of reliable rotating equipment performance in cement plants. Given the harsh operating conditions, including high temperatures, heavy loads, and dust contamination, maintaining machinery health is essential to ensuring uninterrupted production.
Proper lubrication reduces friction and wear, protects bearings and critical components, and significantly enhances equipment lifespan. Equally important is precision alignment, which minimises unnecessary stress on shafts, couplings, and
bearings, thereby improving efficiency and reducing energy losses.
Vibration control and condition monitoring provide early insights into potential equipment issues such as imbalance, misalignment, looseness, or bearing failures. By identifying these problems before they escalate, plants can move from reactive maintenance to predictive maintenance strategies, reducing unplanned downtime and improving
asset availability.
Together, these practices help cement manufacturers improve operational efficiency, lower maintenance costs, enhance safety, and maximise overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).

How do you see digitalisation and Industry 4.0 influencing the future of rotating equipment management in the cement sector?
Digitalisation and Industry 4.0 are transforming the way cement plants manage rotating equipment by enabling smarter, data driven decision making. The integration of intelligent sensors, real time monitoring systems, predictive analytics, and AI powered diagnostics is helping manufacturers shift from time based maintenance to condition based and predictive maintenance models.
Connected technologies allow operators to continuously monitor parameters such as vibration, temperature, lubrication condition, and energy consumption across critical assets. This real time visibility helps identify performance deviations early, optimise maintenance schedules, and prevent costly equipment failures.
In the future, we expect digital twins, remote diagnostics, and cloud enabled asset management platforms to play an even larger role in improving reliability, efficiency, and sustainability. Industry 4.0 will not only enhance plant uptime and operational agility but also support the cement industry’s broader goals of energy optimisation, resource efficiency, and reduced environmental impact.
At SKF India Industrial, we believe the future of rotating equipment management lies in combining domain expertise with intelligent technologies to create more resilient, efficient, and sustainable industrial operations.

Satish Maheshwari, Chief Manufacturing Officer, Shree Cement, explains how intelligent drive systems, predictive maintenance, and digitalisation are transforming gears, drives, and motors from mechanical assets into strategic enablers of reliability, efficiency, and plant performance.

In a cement industry where a single gearbox, motor, or drive system failure can disrupt production, asset reliability has become a critical business priority. Satish Maheshwari discusses how advancements in gear design, energy-efficient motors, variable frequency drives, and Industry 4.0 technologies are helping manufacturers improve uptime, optimise energy consumption, and extend equipment life.
He highlights the growing importance of predictive maintenance, condition monitoring, and lifecycle management in building resilient, future-ready cement operations.

How are modern gear, drive, and motor technologies improving efficiency and reliability in cement manufacturing operations?
Modern gear, drive, and motor technologies are improving efficiency and reliability through compact, high power-density designs and optimised system integration. Advanced gear systems are designed to maintain low Hertzian contact stress and ensure positive torque transmission, which helps reduce transmission losses.
The use of case-hardened gears, profile modifications, and improved surface finishing minimises friction and micro-pitting. These improvements reduce thermal loading and wear rates, thereby extending equipment service life.
In addition, high-efficiency motors and drives improve power factor, load matching, and overall energy utilisation. Collectively, these advancements contribute to higher uptime, reduced maintenance requirements, and improved process reliability.

What are the biggest operational challenges cement plants face today in maintaining critical drive systems and heavy-duty motors?
Cement plants face several challenges in maintaining critical drive systems and heavy-duty motors due to extreme duty cycles and highly abrasive operating environments. Large heavy-duty gearboxes with high torque ratings are often difficult to access and maintain, making reliability and maintainability important considerations.
Achieving the right balance between AGMA design standards, service factor, and factor of
safety is critical for ensuring long-term durability. Severe operating conditions, including dust ingress, thermal variation, and shock loads, further accelerate equipment degradation.
Additionally, issues such as shaft misalignment, lubrication contamination, and vibration resonance can lead to equipment failures. Addressing these challenges requires effective condition monitoring, root cause analysis (RCA), and predictive maintenance strategies.

How is digitalisation transforming the monitoring and predictive maintenance of gears, drives, and motors in cement plants?
Digitalisation is fundamentally transforming asset management in cement plants by enabling real-time monitoring, advanced diagnostics, and predictive maintenance. Industry 4.0 technologies, coupled with IIoT-enabled sensors and cloud-based platforms, provide continuous visibility into the health and performance of critical equipment.
Key operating parameters such as vibration acceleration (g), velocity (mm/s), displacement are continuously monitored. Advanced diagnostic techniques, including FFT spectrum analysis, help identify issues such as gear defects, imbalance, misalignment, and bearing faults at an early stage.
Cloud-based systems facilitate remote monitoring, trend analysis, and AI-driven insights, allowing maintenance teams to make informed decisions based on actual equipment conditions rather than fixed schedules. Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) models further support residual life estimation, while tools such as bearing L10 life calculations and lubrication monitoring enhance lifecycle planning.
These capabilities help shift maintenance strategies from reactive to predictive, reducing downtime, improving asset availability, and optimising maintenance costs.

What role do energy-efficient motors and variable frequency drives play in reducing power consumption and operational costs?
Energy-efficient motors and Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) have become essential tools for reducing energy consumption and improving operational efficiency in cement manufacturing.
Modern high-efficiency motors are designed to minimise electrical losses, including I²R losses, core losses, and stray load losses. This results in better thermal performance, longer insulation life, and improved overall reliability.
VFDs further enhance efficiency by enabling precise speed and torque control based on process requirements. Instead of operating continuously at full speed, equipment can run at optimal RPM levels, significantly reducing energy consumption across various applications such as fans, conveyors, and grinding systems.
Additionally, VFDs help minimise inrush currents during start-up, reduce mechanical stress on equipment, and lower peak power demand. Together, energy-efficient motors and VFDs contribute to substantial energy savings, lower operating expenditure, and improved process control throughout the plant.

How are evolving production demands influencing the design and selection of gearboxes and drive systems for cement plants?
Increasing production and throughput demands are driving the need for high torque-capacity, compact gearbox designs that can operate reliably under continuous-duty conditions. The design focus is increasingly centered on achieving high reliability factors and optimised service factors to support sustained plant operations.
Modern gearboxes are also being engineered with modular designs that facilitate ease of maintenance during short shutdown periods. In addition to performance requirements, selection criteria now include maintainability, Mean Time to Repair (MTTR), and the availability of maintenance resources.
The use of advanced materials and coatings further enhances fatigue strength and improves resistance to wear and corrosion. Overall, the industry approach is moving towards robust, efficient, and maintenance-optimised gearbox and drive systems.

In what ways can automation and smart drive technologies contribute to improved plant productivity and process optimisation?
Automation plays a critical role in ensuring closed-loop process control and real-time optimisation of plant operations. Advanced DCS and PLC platforms help enhance grinding efficiency and improve throughput by enabling better control of key process parameters.
Smart drives contribute by providing adaptive speed and torque control based on real-time process feedback. Their integration with SCADA systems allows centralised monitoring and control of operations across the plant.
In addition, condition-based monitoring enables early fault detection and helps reduce unplanned downtime. By reducing human intervention, process variability, and operational risk, automation and smart drive technologies contribute to higher productivity, optimised energy use, and more stable process performance

How important is lifecycle management and aftermarket support in ensuring long-term performance of gears, drives, and motors?
Lifecycle management is essential for ensuring the long-term reliability, availability, and maintainability (RAM) of gears, drives, and motors. Regular inspections, lubrication audits, and timely upgrades help extend Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) and support sustained equipment performance.
OEM support is equally important, providing access to genuine spare parts, technical diagnostics, and refurbishment expertise. Planned shutdowns, combined with predictive maintenance practices, help reduce the likelihood of catastrophic failures and minimise downtime.
Additionally, aftermarket solutions such as retrofitting, digital upgrades, and performance optimisation initiatives help improve equipment effectiveness over time. Together, these measures contribute to a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and improved asset lifecycle performance.

• –Kanika Mathur