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Insmart’s cost-effective sampling solutions

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With Insmart automatic sampling systems, hourly/half hourly representative sample collection for correct time period and frequency is essential, and is possible only with automation in sampling transportation.

Established more than two and a half decades ago with market leadership in bulk commodity sample collection and preparation for analysis and characterisation, Insmart Systems [today] has created its niche in the field of sampling sciences and is known for sampling automation. It is well known in the industry as an indigenous (practicing Make in India since 1993) manufacturer of state-of-the-art-equipment for various sampling and analysis needs in bulk commodities like limestone, coal, iron ore and other bulk material used in cement, iron and steel, aluminum, zinc, copper, mining and mineral industries.

Key business areas
Today, Insmart Systems offers a wide range of sampling solutions like automatic sample collection systems, automatic sample transportation systems, and turnkey sample preparation laboratories for cement plants, robotic labs for cement and steel plants, containerised labs, conventional standalone sample preparation systems, mineral beneficiation labs and many more.

Insmart Systems offer reliable sample collection to sample analysis solutions for every stage of cement manufacturing right from the quarrying to packaged product stage.

Insmart Systems have developed the expertise to automate the old cement and steel plant for their quality assurance needs to produce the constant higher quality product.

Over the decades, Insmart systems-under the aegis of its Managing Director, RK Bisen-has endeavored to ensure a seamless, trouble-free implementation of quality assurance systems that integrate into overall cement manufacturing process. The company’s commitment is to provide the best project management services in the industry.

Insmart’s association with cement plants
Insmart has been successfully offering:
"Backed by its indigenous designs and time-tested services, Insmart has been offering the cost-effective sampling solutions to more than 202 cement plants in India "Insmart today enjoys a collaborative, team-based approach with its customers "Insmart’s commitment to quality is widespread and its in-house sampling equipment manufacturing and comprehensive sourcing support base has helped the company introduce three to four new products on a year-on-year basis "R&D: Cube making automatic up to assessing the cold crushing strength of cubes and production of repor Generally, it is conceived that the old cement and steel plant cannot be automated in the field of quality assurance system and Insmart has been able to break the perception. On the analysis front, Insmart Systems" turnkey labs for physical and wet chemical labs provide a sequential analysis of the produced cement and helps ascertain the quality of produce. This ensures better quality cement reaches market.

Timely, man-less, quick, repeat accuracies provided by Insmart Systems – turnkey sampling solutions have tremendously helped cement and clinker process plants enhance their operational efficiencies and increase their production and reduce their energy costs. In the present scenario, lab automation is essential for any cement plant with more than 1 million MT capacities.

For manufacture of superior cement, good quality of clinker is needed. To manufacture a good clinker, the kiln feed needs to be operated with high consistency and with minimum deviations or low standard deviations in chemical parameters. Similarly, in order to get high productivity, low specific heat consumption and low power consumption should be attained. Insmart Systems’ sampling automation solutions like automated cross belt samples for limestone sample collection and in-process samplers like continuously sampling and homogenising units. These key factors are easily achievable with auto labs and are poised to increase overall cement plant productivity with profitability.

Cement making is a pyro process and optimum utilisation of the energy resources is paramount for the profitability of the cement plants.

Insmart lab automation solutions have been helping the cement plants in achieving:

  • Minimum quality deviations
  • Lowest KCal/kg of clinker
  • Higher production level
  • High reliability factor for kiln, uniform granulometry of clinker
  • Optimum power consumption for clinkerisation and milling
  • Optimum free-lime with lowest possible litre weights
  • Ideal and soft clinker morphology for the efficient possible finish grinding
  • Saving of high grade limestone
  • Improve the mines life, improvement in PI/ fly ash consumption
  • Reduction of manpower from hazards during manual sample collection
  • Preparation and analysis, good customer rating due to consistent cement quality
  • Raw meal proportionating, enhancing material balancing and production

    • Balancing the variations in the limestone and additives composition in an earlier process phase and control of subsequent factors needs continuous control. With Insmart, raw meal samplers with continuous sampling of raw meal streams and homogenisation of the collected sample the customers have ascertain low variations in raw meal fineness, and control the physical and chemical parameters in terms of residues on 90 microns and maintaining the standard deviation of raw meal quality parameters within the defined range.

    With Insmart automatic sampling systems, hourly/half hourly representative sample collection for correct time period and frequency is essential and is possible only with automation in sampling transportation, and analysis for fast corrective action of raw mix-within 10 mins-results in consistency in material quality and drastic reduction in standard deduction in all control parameters e.g. silica modulus, lime saturation factors, alumina modulus and achieve targets values within six to eight hours.

    In the absence of any such automation sampling, transportation, analysis and corrective actions of raw mix would take more than 40 mins. The representativeness of the manually collected sample may not the representing the period of collection (error of manual collection). Resulting in inconsistencies in raw meal quality parameters and high standard deviation and achieve target values in 16-20 hours or more time.

    General delay due to manual sample collection, transportation, preparation and analysis are known to increase the operators- reaction time by 30 to 40 mins for control of free lime in clinker.

    Here auto packing of automatically collected sample ensures time and location stamping of the samples and supports the sample traceability to the minutest details. Insmart auto sample transportation network guarantees swift and quick sample transportation of all site samples of raw meal, kiln feed, clinker, cement mill discharge, packing region to the auto labs. Thus, samples reach auto lab in no time and are location and time specific.

    Another advancement introduced by Insmart systems in clinker sampling has been consistently helping cement plants in bringing consistency in clinker quality management. With the help of sampling automation, the cement manufacturing units have been able to produce clinker with increased quality and increased production. Truly representative sample collection from the grate cooler discharge and timely corrective action also leads to reduction in specific heat consumption (approximately 10 kCal per kg of clinker), i.e., low fuel consumption.

    Reduction in clinker specific heat consumption due to consistency in kiln operation could lead to a reduction in coal consumption of approximately 2,096 MT of coal per year.

    Another important aspect of sampling automation is auto sampling and integration of automatically collected sample with automatic sample transportation and analysis. Insmart Systems provided sampling automation facilitates corrective action within six minutes; in case of manual sample collection, the same will take 20-25 mins for correction.

    Thus, hourly monitoring of composite samples of cement mill provides ample possibilities to increase the fly ash/slag percentage in the cement milling process. This tool can be aggressively used to improve the profitability up to five to six per cent.

    Another parameter for cement is fineness. If we ground the cement more than the required fineness, it is a loss of productivity and energy consumption. Hence monitoring of cement samples on hourly basis at right time and fast analysis will improve the quality and productivity, and Insmart systems integrated onsite sampling solutions have been helping cement plants meet this feat and improve quality and increase productivity.

    Once considered waste products, alternative fuels are now being considered as valuable fuel resources. Carbon fuel such as residues, wastes or biomass in solid or semi solid form are becoming increasingly important as our country strives to reduce its carbon emissions and its dependency on fossil fuels as well as overcoming waste disposal challenges.

    Here, cement plants efforts for creating new facilities to process AFR is laudable. Insmart is fully aware of the importance of alternative fuel sources and is proud to involve with the customer move. The company has experienced engineers and state-of-the-art equipment manufacturing facility to support the growing demand for sampling of alternate fuels.

    As cement plants start using alternative fuels, they make new stocks ready for calciner firing. Given the heterogeneity of alternate fuels there is a constant need to inspect quality of these supplies by assessing the calorific values, moisture, volatile and ash content, metallic aluminium, determination of H, C, and N content, etc… This is to be completed by taking representative samples at periodic intervals.

    Thus, Insmart Systems has developed automatic sampling of alternative fuel material and adopt asample collection system that provides representative samples from a moving belt. Insmart Systems full bed collection system is able to collect samples from the entire cross section of the belt conveyor, thus facilitating a full bed sample analysis for all types of residue, wastes biomass in semi solid, pasty and liquid forms in a safe manner.

    Given the fact that in every cement plant 100s of similar looking sample are collected and processed on a daily basis, processing them in a time bound error-free manner has been a challenging feet for the QA manager. Insmart systems ultimate solution insampling automation has been their indigenously developed robotic sample preparation labs.

    Insmart has been successful in converting all the lab sample preparation processes to robotic automation. It has been able to robotise all the processes that are composed of repetitive movements like picking and placing of sample during various stages of sample preparation, material feeding and removal, location cleaning and dust extraction to avoid cross contamination, material transfer, testing, etc.

    Insmart has been able to provide its customers the most significant advantages of robotic labs by providing high speed operation, high process efficiency, and minimal wastage, and task reproducibility, strict adherence to set sampling process norms, high productivity and improved safety for laboratory personnel. Insmart robotic labs are high speed sampling system integrators where the integrate sample crushing, sample grinding, particle size analysis and elemental analysis in a sequential manner. Thus, the sample quality results have been fast and reliable. Industry too has recognized, and over the years, Insmart has received many awards for its innovative product designs and reliability of its products.

    Insmart has received some of the most prestigious awards like…

  • Bharat Vikas Award by International Business Council
  • Atomic Minerals Directorate Award
  • Small Scale Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Hyderabad Management Association
  • Minerals Metals Metallurgy & Materials Award
  • Society for Technologically Advanced Materials Award for Indigenization of Hitech equipment for scientific research
  • International Mineral Processing Congress Award for Design & Concept Today a marvel of indigenous designs, hands on experience and human accomplishment illuminates the path and a new era of engineering solutions and commerce is ushered with celebrations and lot of foresight.

    • ABOUT THE AUTHOR: The article is authored by R. K. Bisen, Managing Director of insmart Systems, Hydrabad.

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    Price hikes, drop in input costs help cement industry to post positive margins: Care Ratings

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    4 years ago

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    October 21, 2021

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    Region-wise,the southern region comprises 35% of the total cement capacity, followed by thenorthern, eastern, western and central region comprising 20%, 18%, 14% and 13%of the capacity, respectively.

    The cement industry is expected to post positive margins on decent price hikes over the months, falling raw material prices and marked drop in overall production costs, said an analysis of Care Ratings.

    Wholesale and retail prices of cement have increased 11.9% and 12.4%, respectively, in the current financial year. As whole prices have remained elevated in most of the markets in the months of FY20, against the corresponding period of the previous year.

    Similarly, electricity and fuel cost have declined 11.9% during 9M FY20 due to drop in crude oil prices. Logistics costs, the biggest cost for cement industry, has also dropped 7.7% (selling and distribution) as the Railways extended the benefit of exemption from busy season surcharge. Moreover, the cost of raw materials, too, declined 5.1% given the price of limestone had fallen 11.3% in the same aforementioned period, the analysis said.

    According to Care Ratings, though the overall sales revenue has increased only 1.3%, against 16% growth in the year-ago period, the overall expenditure has declined 3.2% which has benefited the industry largely given the moderation in sales.

    Even though FY20 has been subdued in terms of production and demand, the fall in cost of production has still supported the cement industry by clocking in positive margins, the rating agency said.

    Cement demand is closely linked to the overall economic growth, particularly the housing and infrastructure sector. The cement sector will be seeing a sharp growth in volumes mainly due to increasing demand from affordable housing and other government infrastructure projects like roads, metros, airports, irrigation.

    The government’s newly introduced National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), with its target of becoming a $5-trillion economy by 2025, is a detailed road map focused on economic revival through infrastructure development.

    The NIP covers a gamut of sectors; rural and urban infrastructure and entails investments of Rs.102 lakh crore to be undertaken by the central government, state governments and the private sector. Of the total projects of the NIP, 42% are under implementation while 19% are under development, 31% are at the conceptual stage and 8% are yet to be classified.

    The sectors that will be of focus will be roads, railways, power (renewable and conventional), irrigation and urban infrastructure. These sectors together account for 79% of the proposed investments in six years to 2025. Given the government’s thrust on infrastructure creation, it is likely to benefit the cement industry going forward.

    Similarly, the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana, aimed at providing affordable housing, will be a strong driver to lift cement demand. Prices have started correcting Q4 FY20 onwards due to revival in demand of the commodity, the agency said in its analysis.

    Industry’s sales revenue has grown at a CAGR of 7.3% during FY15-19 but has grown only 1.3% in the current financial year. Tepid demand throughout the country in the first half of the year has led to the contraction of sales revenue. Fall in the total expenditure of cement firms had aided in improving the operating profit and net profit margins of the industry (OPM was 15.2 during 9M FY19 and NPM was 3.1 during 9M FY19). Interest coverage ratio, too, has improved on an overall basis (ICR was 3.3 during 9M FY19).

    According to Cement Manufacturers Association, India accounts for over 8% of the overall global installed capacity. Region-wise, the southern region comprises 35% of the total cement capacity, followed by the northern, eastern, western and central region comprising 20%, 18%, 14% and 13% of the capacity, respectively.

    Installed capacity of domestic cement makers has increased at a CAGR of 4.9% during FY16-20. Manufacturers have been able to maintain a capacity utilisation rate above 65% in the past quinquennium. In the current financial year due to the prolonged rains in many parts of the country, the capacity utilisation rate has fallen from 70% during FY19 to 66% currently (YTD).

    Source:moneycontrol.com

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    Wonder Cement shows journey of cement with new campaign

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    4 years ago

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    October 21, 2021

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    The campaign also marks Wonder Cement being the first ever cement brand to enter the world of IGTV…

    ETBrandEquity

    Cement manufacturing company Wonder Cement, has announced the launch of a digital campaign ‘Har Raah Mein Wonder Hai’. The campaign has been designed specifically to run on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

    #HarRaahMeinWonderHai is a one-minute video, designed and conceptualised by its digital media partner Triature Digital Marketing and Technologies Pvt Ltd. The entire journey of the cement brand from leaving the factory, going through various weather conditions and witnessing the beauty of nature and wonders through the way until it reaches the destination i.e., to the consumer is very intriguing and the brand has tried to showcase the same with the film.

    Sanjay Joshi, executive director, Wonder Cement, said, "Cement as a product poses a unique marketing challenge. Most consumers will build their homes once and therefore buy cement once in a lifetime. It is critical for a cement company to connect with their consumers emotionally. As a part of our communication strategy, it is our endeavor to reach out to a large audience of this country through digital. Wonder Cement always a pioneer in digital, with the launch of our IGTV campaign #HarRahMeinWonderHai, is the first brand in the cement category to venture into this space. Through this campaign, we have captured the emotional journey of a cement bag through its own perspective and depicted what it takes to lay the foundation of one’s dreams and turn them into reality."

    The story begins with a family performing the bhoomi poojan of their new plot. It is the place where they are investing their life-long earnings; and planning to build a dream house for the family and children. The family believes in the tradition of having a ‘perfect shuruaat’ (perfect beginning) for their future dream house. The video later highlights the process of construction and in sequence it is emphasising the value of ‘Perfect Shuruaat’ through the eyes of a cement bag.

    Tarun Singh Chauhan, management advisor and brand consultant, Wonder Cement, said, "Our objective with this campaign was to show that the cement produced at the Wonder Cement plant speaks for itself, its quality, trust and most of all perfection. The only way this was possible was to take the perspective of a cement bag and showing its journey of perfection from beginning till the end."

    According to the company, the campaign also marks Wonder Cement being the first ever cement brand to enter the world of IGTV. No other brand in this category has created content specific to the platform.

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    In spite of company’s optimism, demand weakness in cement is seen in the 4% y-o-y drop in sales volume. (Reuters)

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    October 21, 2021

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    Cost cuts and better realizations save? the ?day ?for ?UltraTech Cement, Updated: 27 Jan 2020, Vatsala Kamat from Live Mint

    Lower cost of energy and logistics helped Ebitda per tonne rise by about 29% in Q3
    Premiumization of acquired brands, synergistic?operations hold promise for future profit growth Topics

    UltraTech Cement
    India’s largest cement producer UltraTech Cement Ltd turned out a bittersweet show in the December quarter. A sharp drop in fuel costs and higher realizations helped drive profit growth. But the inherent demand weakness was evident in the sales volumes drop during the quarter.

    Better realizations during the December quarter, in spite of the 4% year-on-year volume decline, minimized the pain. Net stand-alone revenue fell by 2.6% to ?9,981.8 crore.

    But as pointed out earlier, lower costs on most fronts helped profitability. The chart alongside shows the sharp drop in energy costs led by lower petcoke prices, lower fuel consumption and higher use of green power. Logistics costs, too, fell due to lower railway freight charges and synergies from the acquired assets. These savings helped offset the increase in raw material costs.

    The upshot: Q3 Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) of about ?990 per tonne was 29% higher from a year ago. The jump in profit on a per tonne basis was more or less along expected lines, given the increase in realizations. "Besides, the reduction in net debt by about ?2,000 crore is a key positive," said Binod Modi, analyst at Reliance Securities Ltd.

    Graphic by Santosh Sharma/Mint
    What also impressed analysts is the nimble-footed integration of the recently merged cement assets of Nathdwara and Century, which was a concern on the Street.

    Kunal Shah, analyst (institutional equities) at Yes Securities (India) Ltd, said: "The company has proved its ability of asset integration. Century’s cement assets were ramped up to 79% capacity utilization in December, even as they operated Nathdwara generating an Ebitda of ?1,500 per tonne."

    Looks like the demand weakness mirrored in weak sales during the quarter was masked by the deft integration and synergies derived from these acquired assets. This drove UltraTech’s stock up by 2.6% to ?4,643 after the Q3 results were declared on Friday.

    Brand transition from Century to UltraTech, which is 55% complete, is likely to touch 80% by September 2020. A report by Jefferies India Pvt. Ltd highlights that the Ebitda per tonne for premium brands is about ?5-10 higher per bag than the average (A cement bag weighs 50kg). Of course, with competition increasing in the arena, it remains to be seen how brand premiumization in the cement industry will pan out. UltraTech Cement scores well among peers here.

    However, there are road bumps ahead for the cement sector and for UltraTech. Falling gross domestic product growth, fiscal slippages and lower budgetary allocation to infrastructure sector are making industry houses jittery on growth. Although UltraTech’s management is confident that cement demand is looking up, sustainability and pricing power remains a worry for the near term.

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