Concrete

Concrete Products: Shaping Cement’s Future

Published

8 years ago

July 31, 2018

admin

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

Cement Makers’ Margins To Fall Rs 50-75 Per Tonne Amid West Asia Conflict

Crisil Sees Margins Easing Despite Steady Demand

Published

16 hours ago

July 29, 2026

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Crisil said operating margins of Indian cement manufacturers are expected to decline by Rs 50-75 per tonne (t) this fiscal to Rs 925-950 per t due to higher input costs triggered by the West Asia conflict. The analysis covered 18 cement companies accounting for nearly 90 per cent of India’s domestic cement capacity and noted margins had improved sharply to around Rs 1,000 per t in fiscal 2026.

Crisil noted that the reduction would be driven mainly by higher power and fuel costs, which account for about 30 per cent of total costs, as petcoke and imported coal prices have surged amid geopolitical uncertainties. Freight costs, which account for about a quarter of total costs, are also expected to remain elevated because of higher diesel prices. The impact on profitability is likely to be more pronounced in the first half of the fiscal year before easing commodity prices moderate cost pressures later.

The rating agency said steady domestic demand and strong balance sheets should keep credit profiles stable despite the moderation in margins. Green energy currently accounts for 35-40 per cent of the sector’s total electricity consumption and is expected to partly cushion higher energy costs. Operating cash flows are likely to remain resilient, supported by projected 6-7 per cent growth in cement demand this fiscal.

Crisil highlighted that demand growth will be driven primarily by infrastructure spending, which meets about one-third of sector consumption, and by a nearly 18 per cent higher budgetary allocation for core ministries that should support project execution. Weaker rural housing demand amid pressure on agricultural incomes from a possible below-average monsoon may be offset by improved urban housing demand supported by favourable home-loan rates and a strong pipeline of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban projects. Ongoing capacity additions will keep capital expenditure elevated and may lift net debt to EBITDA to between 1.2 and 1.4 times from around 1.0 time last fiscal, though ratios are expected to remain healthy.

Concrete

UltraTech Board Approves Rs 50 bn Fundraise Via NCDs

Company to issue half a million debentures for expansion plan

Published

2 days ago

July 28, 2026

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UltraTech Cement’s board of directors has approved raising Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 bn) through non?convertible debentures issued in rupees.

The finance committee cleared a proposal to issue up to 500,000 fully paid, unsecured, listed, rated, redeemable, rupee?denominated, non?convertible, non?cumulative debentures of Rs 1 lakh each (Rs 0.1 mn each), aggregating to the Rs 5,000 crore programme.

As of June 2026 the firm reported net debt of Rs 15,875 crore (Rs 158.75 bn) and said its capacity expansion projects under execution are backed by capital expenditure of about Rs 17,000 crore (Rs 170 bn) over the next two to two?and?a?half years.

UltraTech spent Rs 9,500 crore (Rs 95 bn) on capital expenditure in financial year 2026 and in April the group crossed 200.1 mn tonnes per annum of domestic grey cement capacity and 205.5 mn tonnes per annum of global capacity.

The chief financial officer indicated the company would take consolidated capacity beyond 242 mn tonnes per annum, with grey cement capacity reaching 212.7 mn tonnes per annum by the end of financial year 2027. He noted the net debt?to?earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation ratio stood at 0.87 times as of June 2026 and the company was confident of ending financial year 2027 with the ratio below one time.

In the first quarter of financial year 2026?27 UltraTech’s net profit attributable to owners rose 16.8 per cent year?on?year to Rs 2,599.3 crore (Rs 25.993 bn) and revenue from operations increased 15.9 per cent to Rs 24,648.20 crore (Rs 246.482 bn). The board approval is expected to complement internal cash flows as the company advances its expansion programme.

Concrete

Lokesh Lays Stone For Rs 31 Billion Cement Unit In Kadapa

Line-2 expansion to make Kadapa a major cement hub

Published

1 week ago

July 20, 2026

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Andhra Pradesh Education and IT Minister Nara Lokesh on Wednesday laid the foundation stone for the Line-2 expansion of Dalmia Bharat Cement at Chinnakomerla village in Mylavaram Mandal in Kadapa district. The project carries an investment of Rs 31 billion (bn) and is slated for completion by the third quarter of the financial year 2028. The expansion is intended to boost industrial growth and employment generation across the Rayalaseema region.

Once commissioned, the Kadapa facility will become Dalmia Bharat’s largest integrated cement manufacturing ecosystem in southern India, creating over 1,000 direct and indirect jobs and opening new business avenues for regional micro, small and medium enterprises and transport operators. Lokesh said the expansion signalled growing corporate confidence in the state and reflected the practical ease of doing business that secured repeat investment.

He placed the project within the government’s wider economic targets and recalled the Yuvagalam padayatra commitment to generate two million (mn) jobs within five years, noting that the state would cultivate talent while industry created opportunities. Lokesh highlighted Andhra Pradesh’s competitive pursuit of major manufacturing accounts, mentioning past successes and a personal initiative to engage global investors when persuading them to anchor expansion in the state.

The plant will leverage Kadapa’s abundant limestone reserves to scale production and sustainability. Clinker capacity is planned to rise from two point five million tonnes per annum (mn tpa) to six point one mn tpa, while overall cement output will increase from three point six mn tpa to nine point six mn tpa. The unit is designed to operate on over eighty per cent renewable energy and deploy waste heat recovery, zero liquid discharge, water recycling and advanced AI systems to optimise efficiency. Industries Minister TG Bharat, BC Welfare Minister S. Savitha and Jammalamadugu MLA C. Adinarayana Reddy attended the ceremony.