Concrete

Significant growth in the offing

Published

8 years ago

January 9, 2019

admin

Mohammed Ismail, DGM Process, Bharathi Cement, speaks on the challeneges faced by refractories in India.

As a global player, what are the efficiency improvements that you observed in your products after the adaptation of refractory?
The use of refractories help in many ways in the cement industries, first and foremost it gives good life, it helps avoid unscheduled stoppages of the plant etc. So the selection of the refractory is very important to maximise the benefits. That is where we give more importance and in our plant we have been using magnesia bricks in the kiln (rich alumina content). Preheated area is one of the critical areas and that is were we have used refractories and that helped us to achieve temperatures at 1100 degree centigrade. The high alumina content that are used helped us achieve this temperature levels. It has given us a good life of 5-6 years.

The adaptations we are basically dependant on the imports. How do you see the domestic supply shaping up?
Domestic supply, especially we have been habituated to high alumina content bricks. Refractories can be divided into two parts- one is bricks, and another is monolithic castable. If we take the use of bricks, we have been using basic bricks.As basic bricks have high CCS (Cold Crushing Strength) will be higher, and it sustain in very high temperature. Along with the selection of the fuels or alternative fuels, the type of refractory to be used has also been selected. To cite an example, we use high intensive temperature producing coke as a fuel. Basic brinks are one and the same as the alumina bricks which are produced by moulding only. When installed in our kilns, the temperature can go up to around 1,500-1,600 degree centigrade. At the same time, the flame temperature will be higher than these temperatures levels. So to withstand this, we have introduced refractory.

Second part is what we call as the monolithic castable. Apart from the kiln, these are being used. We are having multi-stream – double stream preheated systems. Triple stream preheated, with six stages with a height of around 180 m. This is divided into six stages. The hot metal move from top to bottom and the cold moves from bottom to top, thus the heat exchange takes place.

As a global player you have seen the adaptation in many countries and then in India. What do you think are the challenges faced in India?
When we depend on imports the major challenge is the lead time is very hig, which is anywhere between four to six months. But if domestic supply is available then the materials can be procured within two to three weeks. Unfortunately, we are still majorly depend on imports in refractories. We are yet to see quality suppliers in the domestic market. Knowing the quality, the cement players still prefer importing.

For refractories, steel is one of the major consumers followed by chemical industry, Cement probably is a small faction. What is the demand growth for next 2-3 years?
There is high demand expected for cement as a segment is expected with the infrastructure growth push from the government. There is more concentration on developing alternative fuels also in the offing. These alternative fuels are having a very high impact on the refractory also. And cement would be one segment that can implement the alternative fuels adaptation.So there is space for significant for refractory in India.

– liza V

Concrete

Jammu Division Begins First Cement Rail Traffic to Anantnag

Cement Loading From Kathua for Anantnag to Begin on September 14

Published

6 hours ago

September 21, 2026

admin

Jammu Railway Division has placed an indent for the first movement of cement by rail within the division, linking Shaheed Captain Sunil Kumar Choudhary Kathua Railway Station with Anantnag Railway Station. Loading for the consignment is scheduled to begin on September 14.

Concrete

Hard Worker Wins Three Honours at Kyoorius Design Awards

Ramco Cements’ brand secures Grand Prix and two Blue Elephant honours.

Published

6 hours ago

September 21, 2026

admin

The Ramco Cements Limited’s construction chemicals brand, Hard Worker, has won three honours at the Kyoorius Design Awards 2026, including the Grand Prix – Grey Elephant in the Design in Action category.

The brand also secured two Blue Elephant honours, one for Design in Action and another for Packaging, recognising the design approach behind its brand identity and packaging.

Launched in 2025, Hard Worker entered the construction chemicals segment with the brand promise, “Hard-working products for hardworking people.” Its visual identity uses animals and birds to represent product benefits. The camel represents the water-retention capability of Hard Worker Eco Plaster, while the cheetah represents the speed and performance of Hard Worker Block Fix.

The visual language has been extended across packaging, retail, communication, literature, digital platforms and other brand touchpoints. Hard Worker uses bold colours, distinctive animal illustrations and simple visual storytelling to communicate product benefits across markets and audiences, including construction workers and applicators.

“For Hard Worker, design was never an afterthought. It was fundamental to how we wanted to build the brand. In a category that is largely functional, we wanted to create a brand that people could recognise, understand and remember instantly. The Kyoorius recognition is a wonderful validation of this design-led approach,” said Mr. AV Dharmakrishnan, CEO, The Ramco Cements Limited.

Mr. Balaji K. Moorthy, Executive Director – Marketing, Ramco Cements said “In a category where communication has traditionally been product-led and functional, we wanted Hard Worker to stand apart by making design an integral part of the brand experience. From the distinctive animal-led packaging to our communication across consumer and trade touchpoints, every element was designed to make the brand more memorable and the product benefits easier to understand.”

Within its first 12 months, Hard Worker crossed Rs 3.5 bn in sales. The latest recognition follows six honours secured by the brand’s campaign at the Kyoorius Creative Awards earlier in 2026, including the Grey Elephant Grand Prix for its Eco Plaster film.

The Kyoorius Design Awards recognise outstanding design work in India’s visual communications sector across multiple categories and platforms. The 2026 awards were announced on 12 September in Goa.

The Ramco Cements Limited is part of the Ramco Group and operates across cement and allied building-material solutions. Hard Worker is its construction chemicals brand, offering solutions across key construction applications.

Concrete

Cement Firms to Invest Rs. 130 bn in Green Energy by FY28

Cement companies plan to expand clean energy capacity to 6 GW by FY28

Published

4 days ago

September 17, 2026

admin

India’s major cement companies are set to raise their clean energy capacity to 6 GW by March 2028 from around 4 GW at the end of March 2026, according to ratings agency ICRA. The planned expansion is expected to involve investments of Rs. 130 bn over the next two years.

The additional capacity could generate annual savings of Rs. 62 bn to Rs. 67 bn, resulting in an estimated payback period of 1.8 to 2.2 years. Cement is an emission-intensive industry, and leading producers have established net-zero roadmaps covering the next 15 to 20 years.

The calcination process accounts for 57 to 60 per cent of the sector’s total emissions, while fuel combustion contributes 27 to 30 per cent and electricity consumption accounts for 10 to 13 per cent. ICRA said the figures highlighted the need for a broad decarbonisation strategy involving green power, blended cement, alternative fuels and improvements in clinker efficiency.

Green energy is considered one of the most commercially attractive decarbonisation options because it can reduce emissions while lowering operating costs. Every 5 per cent increase in green power replacement can reduce power and fuel costs by Rs. 15 to Rs. 16 per tonne. A 25 per cent replacement level could therefore save Rs. 75 to Rs. 80 per tonne and expand operating margins by 140 to 160 basis points.

Cement producers are also assessing carbon capture, utilisation and storage, although high implementation costs, energy requirements and limited transport and storage infrastructure are expected to slow commercial adoption. The government has proposed Rs. 200 bn over five years to support deployment across key sectors. Meanwhile, companies are targeting thermal substitution rates of 10 to 15 per cent over the next three to five years, compared with the current industry level of around 6 per cent.