Economy & Market

A perfect distribution?

Published

11 years ago

September 30, 2015

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The distribution of cement to the end user from the manufacturer is a major cost factor in the landed cost of cement at the user end. ICR takes a look at the major obstacles in cement distribution.

Till 80s cement was available only as a commodity, and the production and distribution of cement was controlled by the Government. One had to apply to a district collector to get cement allotted for a job. It is only during the late 80s that cement was decontrolled and as a result many players entered into cement production, triggering competition into the cement industry.

It has been almost 28 years since cement has been decontrolled. Since then industry has witnessed high level of competition which has forced all the players to create their brand image in the minds of the customer so they can fetch premium price over competitors. But slowly all the companies have started replicating the activities undertaken by any pioneer company and so the companies were forced to control their cost in order to ensure reasonable profits during the lean period, i.e., when the demand is low and prices are under pressure. It is important to note the recent development of selling cement through online shops like Snapdeal, etc.

Mechanics of distribution channels
Companies invariably hire carry and forwarding agents (CFAs) to transport cement to their own or dealers? warehouses, which is either done via road or railways. From CFAs or warehouses, the cement is then transported to dealers/distributors and further to sub dealers who finally sell it to the end user. The physical ownership of goods every time does not get transferred. In the other case, dealers and sub dealers take order from buyers and place it to the companies, distributors coordinate and monitor for the timely dispatch of said orders, transportation of goods and final delivery and in return get their commission. It must be borne in mind that it is high volume and low margin business as stated by both – Nikhil Phadke, Partner, Vaidya & Co, and Senan Shah, Om Swastik Trading.

Distributor network in cement industry is highly dominating, and companies are compelled to hire the services as they rarely have any rapport or contact with the end consumer of their product. Apart from this, distributors have storage facilities, which enable them to control the supply chain. Therefore it becomes an important link in the business chain.

Three major factors affect the cost of cement. These include: logistic (20 to 22 per cent), excise and VAT of which excise and VAT are Government duties and thus cannot be controlled by the manufacturer. So only cost that is in the hands of manufacturer is the logistic cost, and in order to reduce the logistic cost, the companies try to sell their production in the nearby areas.

Moreover as the cement plant has to be installed nearby limestone deposits, plants of various companies are located very near to each other. This creates an intense competition in the nearby areas as all the companies try to sell their product with minimal logistic cost. Largely this is applicable to all the cement plants but as the big companies have huge production capacity at the single plant they have low cost of production and so they can afford to distribute their product at far off places at a slightly higher price. But the small players have limited production capacity so they try to increase their profits by saving on the logistic cost by selling in a limited area, and this technique of saving on logistic cost is shrinking their area of operation. This can be experienced in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Thus intense competition is experienced in local areas as big players have to sell some part of their production in local area to get higher realisation and the local companies have to sell in local areas as they cannot afford to sell in far-off places due to increasing logistic cost. Moreover the transportation cost always has an increasing trend, so every company prefers to sell their maximum possible production in the nearby area which increases competition to a great extent.

Today we can say, in all the developed countries, cement is still treated as a commodity whereas in India it is somewhere between commodity and brand. In short, for a retail buyer, companies sell it as a brand whereas for institutional buyers it is sold as a commodity. The dealer is extremely important for both buyer and manufacturer.

Distribution Channel: Cement v/s FMCG
The business is driven on relationship more than that of a brand. The market is extremely price-sensitive and therefore the brand cannot fetch a value beyond a certain level. Typically the institutional buyers squeeze the manufacturers and dealers to a maximum. The systems of payment and collection are better in FMCG sector than that of cement. The channel has to improve on that. Many a times as referred by Phadke, deliveries are effected just on telephone calls without any documentation and dealers have been exposed to a great risk. Probably the younger generation has to learn from it and correct their actions.

According to Rahul Akkara, Associate Vice President – Brand, JSW Cement, "In the cement business, the dealer is accountable for expanding the base across his/her territory and for doing this, he/she needs to have a good sub dealer base, which would help him achieve this. Also the dealer should also have good networking with influencers such as contractors, engineers, masons and builders, who are also equally responsible to increase business for a cement brand in his territory."

Exclusivity so called is meaningless and forced only by the companies even though they understand that exclusive dealers are doing business with other brands, may be in equal volumes only under different names. Secondly as expressed by Phadke, it is not legally enforceable but still cement companies are going on creating exclusive dealers. It needs second thinking.

Cement bags does not carry an expiry date but it does not mean that the old stock can be put to use for any job like casting a slab or column. Here it differs far from that of FMCG products and procedures. Leftover or damaged products are returned to the manufacturers, however it does not apply to cement. Another major difference with that of FMCG products is that the manufacturer scores over that of the distributor and he is dominant where as in cement business chain the dealer is more valued than the manufacturer.

The other issue raised by Phadke is very valid but has no immediate answer. CFAs are becoming cement dealers and competing with traditional channel members. It is important to remember that as CFAs have access to very vital information about the dealers customers and that can be used to compete with them. Even legally it will not be possible for any one to stop such entry but what can be done is they can be allotted different territory for doing business so as to protect the interest of the existing dealers. On the other hand some of the existing dealers have been investing money to have their own transport but it has not been very common.

Surprisingly no one has talked about the loss of cement either by the way of using hooks or because of transloading of shipment. The quantum of loss is significant but since it is a high volume business no one seems to be worried.

Economy & Market

Leonard Unveils Dual-Head Robotic Arm for Hazardous Industrial Demolition

Published

1 week ago

October 30, 2026

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Leonard unveils Descender Duo, a dual-head robotic demolition arm designed to improve industrial safety and reduce shutdown time by up to 50 per cent.

Industrial robotics and refractory services specialist Leonard has launched Descender Duo, a dual-head robotic demolition arm designed to improve safety, accelerate maintenance and reduce shutdown times in hazardous industrial environments. The system made its debut at Lisahally Power Station in Northern Ireland, removing 25 tonnes of slag material within hours.

Developed for the cement, metals, waste-to-energy and petrochemical industries, Descender Duo enables remote-controlled refractory demolition, anchor cutting and welding, and refractory spraying inside boilers, calciners and silos. Its vertical-access design eliminates the need for personnel to enter confined, high-risk spaces during these operations.

Weighing less than two tonnes, the pre-assembled system requires an access opening of just 1.2 m². Supported by an external overhead hoist, it uses electrically operated hydraulic stabilising legs to secure itself inside vessels. The robotic arm offers 360-degree rotation and is suited to vessels approximately 9 m in diameter, with its operating reach extendable through strategically positioned access points.

Equipped with two independently controlled robotic heads, Descender Duo can perform identical or different tasks simultaneously, including refractory demolition, anchor cutting and spraying. Its remote-control system incorporates live camera feeds, allowing operators to monitor operations without entering hazardous environments.

According to Leonard, the technology can deliver time savings of up to 50 per cent compared with manual methods. Its ability to operate at temperatures exceeding 100°C allows maintenance to begin as early as 24 hours after burner shutdown. An all-electric power supply further supports cleaner and more cost-efficient operations.

First Deployment Demonstrates Shutdown Efficiency

The system was first deployed at Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor’s (BWSC) Lisahally Power Station in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The facility generates electricity from grade C waste wood, supplying approximately 40,000 homes and businesses.

Leonard and BWSC collaborated to develop a customised solution for the plant’s 26-metre furnace, where extensive external pipework created significant access challenges.

Mark Leonard, Managing Director, Leonard, said, “It required new thinking and rather than step away from the problem we were committed to solving it for the customer, with the customer. We’re relentless in our approach to tackling complex challenges, head-on. We took our years of cement plant experience, coupled with our working knowledge of the BWSC plant, and designed, engineered and tested a completely new vertical solution within just seven weeks from that initial conversation with the customer. That solution was the Descender Duo as we know it today.”

Traditionally, the furnace required a cooling period of up to 36 hours before preparatory work could begin, followed by manual slag removal using rope-access personnel. With Descender Duo, work commenced just 24 hours after shutdown, reducing downtime by up to one day.

The deployment removed 25 tonnes of slag within hours, eliminated the need for at least six workers to enter the hazardous furnace interior and saved 26 hours in the shutdown programme.

“The effectiveness exceeded expectation,” said Martin Doran, Plant Manager at Lisahally Power Station.

“When the Descender Duo concept was first discussed, we had to spend some time with the team from Leonard looking at how it was going to be moved into the furnace. Every site is different and that presented its own challenges, but nothing that the team couldn’t overcome. Once it was installed we were hugely impressed by its efficiency.”

Expanding Industrial Robotics Applications

Descender Duo joins Leonard’s existing portfolio of robotic maintenance solutions, including the Axis horizontal-access arm, Nano confined-space access arm, Charger cement mill media recharging system and Calibre cement mill media grading system.

Headquartered in Northern Ireland, Leonard provides robotic refractory demolition, installation, inspection and industrial maintenance services across the cement, metals, energy, biomass, glass and civil engineering sectors.

Formerly known as G Leonard, the company has more than 35 years of industry experience and operates across Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific.

The latest innovation reinforces Leonard’s focus on replacing hazardous manual processes with robotic systems that improve workforce safety, enhance operational efficiency and minimise industrial downtime.

Concrete

Martin Engineering Appoints Ashwini Khunte as India General Manager

Published

1 week ago

October 30, 2026

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Martin Engineering names Ashwini Khunte India General Manager to strengthen operations and drive growth across key bulk material handling sectors.

Pune

Martin Engineering, a global provider of bulk material handling solutions, has appointed Ashwini Khunte as General Manager of its India business, strengthening its leadership as the company expands its presence across the country’s cement, mining, steel, power and infrastructure sectors.

Khunte brings more than a decade of experience with Martin Engineering, having joined its Indian operations in 2013 as a Design Engineer, shortly after the company established its presence in the country in 2012.

A mechanical engineer by qualification, she spent her initial five years developing bulk material handling solutions in collaboration with the company’s operations team. During this period, she gained extensive experience addressing operational challenges in the steel, cement and coal industries. She subsequently moved into project engineering, managing major engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) projects from initial enquiry to commissioning. Her responsibilities later expanded to overseeing Martin Engineering’s conveyor product portfolio in India, involving customer engagement, technical presentations and site visits across heavy industries.

In 2024, Khunte was promoted to Head of Sales & Marketing for the company’s Europe, Middle East, Africa and India (EMEAI) region. The position broadened her international market exposure and strengthened her strategic and commercial leadership capabilities.

Commenting on her appointment, Ashwini Khunte, General Manager, Martin Engineering India, said: “India represents a tremendous opportunity for Martin Engineering. The country’s continued investment in cement, mining, steel, power and infrastructure is creating increasing demand for safer, cleaner and more productive bulk material handling, and that’s exactly what we do. My priority will be to build on the strong foundations already established in India, while continuing to develop our people, strengthen customer relationships and bring practical solutions to the challenges faced by our industry.”

Robert Whetstone, Area Vice President – EMEAI, Martin Engineering, highlighted Khunte’s technical expertise, market understanding and leadership experience.

“Ashwini brings an exceptional combination of technical understanding, customer knowledge and commercial leadership. She has grown as Martin Engineering has grown, and has consistently demonstrated outstanding capability to transform her expertise into practical solutions. Her knowledge of the Indian market, together with her international experience, makes her ideally suited to lead our India business through its next stage of growth for years to come.”

Since establishing its Indian business in 2012, Martin Engineering has expanded its local workforce, manufacturing capabilities and dealership network. The company supplies conveyor products, transfer point solutions, material flow aids, training and technical support to bulk material handling industries. Khunte’s appointment positions the company to further strengthen customer relationships and expand its solutions portfolio in India’s growing industrial and infrastructure markets.

Concrete

Fornnax Wins AIRIA’s Special Export Award for Rubber Machinery in 2025-26

Published

3 weeks ago

October 19, 2026

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Fornnax Technology Pvt. Ltd. has been honoured with the Special Export Award – Rubber Machinery for 2025–26 by the All-India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA), in recognition of its highest exports of tyre recycling plants to the European region.

With more than a decade of experience in India’s tyre recycling industry, Fornnax has contributed to the development of advanced recycling technologies and infrastructure. The company currently holds a 90% market share in India’s domestic tyre recycling sector, while exports account for 30% of its business, spanning markets such as Europe, Australia and the GCC.

The award marks another milestone for Fornnax, whose tyre recycling lines and advanced shredding technologies are supporting the growth of the circular economy in India and international markets.

Commenting on the recognition, Mr. Jignesh Kundaria, Founder and Director of Fornnax, said:

“This honour from AIRIA is a reflection of an incredible journey we have undertaken over the years. When we started Fornnax, there was no established recycling industry in India to follow. We chose to build for the future instead. Today, when you see India’s tyre recycling sector, it has already transformed into a dynamic, high-growth industry and we are extremely proud to have played our part in building it.”

Unlike standalone equipment suppliers, Fornnax focuses on developing complete, high-capacity recycling infrastructure. Its integrated systems combine multiple stages of shredding and size reduction to enable efficient, continuous operations. This system-level engineering approach helps recycling operators improve throughput, equipment reliability and operational consistency.

The recognition reinforces Fornnax’s commitment to developing engineering technologies that contribute to a more efficient and circular recycling ecosystem.

Looking ahead, the company aims to expand its international presence while continuing to develop advanced shredding and recycling solutions to address the growing volumes and evolving requirements of the global recycling industry.

For more information, visit: www.fornnax.com