Concrete

Concrete Products: Shaping Cement’s Future

Published

8 years ago

July 31, 2018

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Concrete products have the potential to transform the way we use cement.
Although this may sound funny or even out rightly outrageous, cement in itself can not be called a building product per se, unlike steel, glass or aluminium. It can, at best, be called a building material intermediate, because when cement is used, along with other ingredients, to produce concrete, then and only then, a finished building material is created, that can compete on equal terms with peers like steel or wood. To strengthen this argument with an example, when it comes to compare the Carbon Dioxide intensity of competing construction materials, cement is not pitted against steel or wood or glass, but CO2 emitted per unit weight of concrete is compared with other alternatives. So, buildings require concrete, while concrete requires cement. That’s the linkage.
Whenever we think of concrete, we think of casting in position, which is technically called cast in-situ. All the concreting that we conventionally and regularly encounter around us, in most cases, are concrete poured and cast and cured in position. To the lay person like us, concrete means beams, columns, roof slabs, foundations, lintels, and alike. This situation is now a thing of the past. There are a lot a of concrete items which are cast previously and sold as castings for later use in position. In broad terms, these are called concrete Products, also loosely termed as ‘Pre-Cast Concrete’.
The global precast concrete market was valued at approximately $100 billion in 2016 and is projected to expand at a CAGR of more than 5 per cent from 2016 to 2025, according to a new report titled, ‘Precast Concrete Market – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2016-2025”, published by Transparency Market Research. The report concludes that the application of precast concrete in construction reduces the lead time and provides better properties such as durability and sustainability to the construction as compared to the use of conventional in-position casting processes. The report says that such advantages will drive up the precast concrete market during the forecast period, viz. 2016 to 2025.
Asia Pacific and Europe are reportedly the leading markets for precast concrete. Interestingly, the precast concrete market in Asia Pacific is expected to grow at a CAGR of greater than 6% during the same period owing to rise in investments in residential and infrastructural projects in the region. Such projections regarding the prospects of Concrete Products for the Indian market are not readily available, but perhaps one could safely extrapolate from these reported global trends, that directionally, pre-cast concrete will do well in India as well.
In order to better understand and analyse any product-market configuration, there is a need to segment the market/products in an effective manner. The segmentation of Concrete Products can be done in various different ways, some of which are as follows :By structure system

Beam and column system
Floor and roof system
Bearing wall system
Fatade system
Others

By end-use
Building works
Residential
Non-residential
Civil works
Hydraulic works
Transportation works
Power plants and communication works
Specialised works

By geography
Asia Pacific
Americas
Europe
Africa, etc

However, the one way of categorisation of the concrete products that we like, is standard products and customised/tailormade products. Examples of standard concrete products are like paver blocks, concrete railway sleepers, concrete pipes, decorative balustrades or grills, etc.
On the other hand, customised products are designed and cast specifically for the needs of a customer or a given construction project. These are normally large concrete castings, requiring casting yards to be set up near the project sites, but these help speed up on site construction. Pre-cast beams, slabs, columns, lintels and aerated autoclaved concrete blocks.
All concrete products have the advantage of delivering better consistency and quality, because these have the benefit of controlled manufacturing conditions like in a factory, as against the harsh conditions prevalent at a construction site.
Previously, larger cement companies thought that having control over downstream cement consumer industries was very important, in order to have influence over the delivery channels. On the basis of this strategy, some global cement companies acquired or developed upstream as well as downstream businesses such as aggregate mines, ready-mixed concrete plants, and concrete products, both standard and custom-made. In time, they discovered that scale and technology are not competitive advantages in these industries, but proximity to the markets is. Today in India, most of these industries downstream of cement are mainly served by small and medium sized companies or larger construction companies.

Concrete

Assam Cabinet Approves Rs. 110 bn JK Lakshmi Cement Investment

ADB-backed project to restore 102 community beels also approved

Published

13 hours ago

September 28, 2026

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The Assam Cabinet has approved an investment of Rs. 110 bn by JK Lakshmi Cement for a clinker manufacturing unit and four associated cement grinding units in the state. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced the decision on 24 September 2026, along with approvals covering wetland restoration and industrial support.

The proposed cement investment is expected to generate around 2,000 direct jobs. The project forms part of the state government’s latest measures to attract manufacturing activity and strengthen industrial infrastructure. The Cabinet also approved a State Capital Investment Subsidy for eligible manufacturing units covered by the substantive provisions of the Uttar Poorva Transformative Industrialization Scheme, or UNNATI, 2024.

The subsidy will apply to units that qualified under the scheme but were unable to secure registration by the extended deadline of 30 September 2026. The measure is intended to support eligible businesses that missed the registration process while continuing to meet the scheme’s substantive requirements.

The Cabinet also cleared an Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded project for the restoration and rehabilitation of at least 102 derelict community beels across Assam. The ADB loan component is Rs. 6.38 bn, while the Assam government’s contribution will be Rs. 1.59 bn.

In another decision, the Cabinet approved a rent-based or pro bono arrangement for constructing a laboratory and ancillary infrastructure for the Spices Board under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The facility will be built at Ulubari in Guwahati, with the Agriculture Department coordinating with the Public Works Department (Buildings) to construct it according to designs and specifications provided by the board.

Concrete

JSW Cement Receives Rs. 2.3 bn GST Demand Notice

JSW Cement faces a GST demand over alleged incorrect classification.

Published

13 hours ago

September 28, 2026

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JSW Cement has received a show-cause notice proposing a Goods and Services Tax (GST) demand of Rs. 2.3 bn, along with applicable interest and a 10 per cent penalty, over an alleged incorrect classification of transactions. The notice was issued by the Additional Commissioner of Central Tax, Belagavi Audit Commissionerate, on September 24, 2026.

The proposed demand relates to the period from April 2022 to March 2024 and has been issued under Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017. The company disclosed the notice in a filing with the stock exchanges and said the matter involved an alleged short payment of GST.

The proposed amount comprises Integrated GST (IGST) of Rs. 1.22 bn, Central GST (CGST) of Rs. 540.5 mn and State GST (SGST) of Rs. 540.5 mn. The department has also cited alleged contraventions of Sections 9, 37 and 39 of the CGST Act, with interest proposed under Section 50 and the penalty under Section 73.

JSW Cement said the financial impact of the notice would be limited to the proposed tax demand, applicable interest and penalty. However, it assessed that the matter would not have a material impact on the company. The cement manufacturer is preparing its reply to the show-cause notice.

The notice was issued to JSW Cement, which is part of the Sajjan Jindal-promoted JSW Group. The company reiterated that the total proposed GST demand stood at Rs. 2.3 bn, excluding the applicable interest and 10 per cent penalty, and that the proceedings remained at the show-cause stage.

Shares of JSW Cement ended at Rs. 115.65 on the BSE on Thursday, down Rs. 2.60, or 2.20 per cent, from the previous close. The stock movement came as the company disclosed the proposed tax demand and its intention to respond to the department’s notice.

Concrete

Montra Electric, Wonder Cement Deploy 250-Vehicle EV Fleet

Fleet to haul cement on a 1,450-km corridor across four states

Published

13 hours ago

September 28, 2026

admin

Montra Electric and Wonder Cement have begun commercial operation of a 250-vehicle deployment of Rhino 5538 EV 4×2 tractor-trailers on an electric freight corridor linking Rajasthan with ports in Gujarat. The companies said the fleet is being used for regular cement logistics rather than a limited pilot, making it one of the largest heavy-duty electric truck deployments by an Indian industrial company.

An initial 30 trucks were introduced from Wonder Cement’s plant in Nimbahera, Rajasthan, in July 2026. They are hauling full payloads on daily routes between Nimbahera and Dahej Port and between Nimbahera and Tuna Port, covering approximately 1,450 km across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. The vehicles operate to schedules comparable with those of the company’s conventional diesel fleet.

The corridor is supported by 13 dedicated charging stations positioned to enable long-distance duty cycles within industrial turnaround times. The Rhino 5538 EV is available with a 55 t Gross Combination Weight option and is designed for cement, coal and clinker transport. Its specifications include a 282 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery, a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor producing 280 kW and 2,000 Nm of torque, 18 per cent continuous gradeability and a 6-speed Automated Manual Transmission.

The vehicle has a stated range of 198 km under specified test conditions, with one side loaded and the other empty. It can charge from 20 to 100 per cent State of Charge in 60 minutes and is supported by more than 95 per cent assured uptime. Montra Electric and Wonder Cement said the deployment would assess electrification through payload capacity, turnaround performance and daily availability in live freight operations.

Montra Electric said the same operating model could support steel, mining, infrastructure and port haulage, where fixed routes and predictable turnaround windows are common. The company has more than 750 heavy-duty electric vehicles on Indian roads and has covered over 30 mn km across its deployments. Montra Electric operates as the clean mobility arm of the Murugappa Group, with businesses spanning heavy commercial vehicles, smaller commercial vehicles, three-wheelers and electric tractors.