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Voice of change

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Apart from doing his usual business exceptionally well, Rishi Fogla is passionate about his social project. Let us hear from him about his pet project ??oice of Change.??He also shares his thoughts on the role of packaging in building a strong brand.

Kindly introduce your line of businesses to our readers, keeping the focus on cement as a product you serve.
I work in Fogla Corp as Executive Director. At Fogla, we have been catering to the demand of cement industry in the Indian subcontinent. We have two business divisions viz a) chemicals ??we are leading manufacturers and suppliers of surfactant chemicals ??LABSA, AOS, SLS and SLES, which are mainly used by the FMCG sector b) industrial packaging ??manufacturers of PP fabric and bags, FIBCs ??big bags/jumbo bags, HM HDPE drums.

My association with the cement industry is through the industrial packaging division. India is a developing country, which means infrastructure, construction, and building sectors are vital for the economy, which implies that the cement industry will grow exponentially, and hence the demand for packaging will also see a similar growth trajectory. Our products for the cement industry are of the highest quality, and we have been continuously innovating to cater to their needs to meet specific requirements.

Talking of Covid 19 pandemic, the second wave is posing a bigger risk to life and businesses. How has been the packaging industries??response to the second wave more specifically?
Last year, when the coronavirus hit us, we were caught unaware ??what the virus is going to do, how will it impact lives, livelihood and businesses, and what will happen tomorrow? This time because of our earlier experience we are prepared. We are more agile about what is going to happen. We are better equipped in terms of material requirements, we have maintained sufficient stocks of raw materials and other inputs, and we are able to deliver the packaging material to the cement industry on time so that the business connectivity is ensured.

Our SOPs are also integrated for the new wave of coronavirus. The situation is much under control as compared to that of last year even though the second wave is very different compared to the first one. Overall, we are much better off compared to last year. People in head office are working from home, while our factories are operational and working with strict SOPs even though a few positive cases have been reported.

Cement used to be a commodity and right now we are in the transition phase and are moving from commodity to brand. What role packaging can play in this transition?
Packaging is an integral part of ensuring that the brand is portrayed in totality. In the earlier days, cement was classified as a commodity. Today packaging has a vital role to play. If you go to a supermarket what attracts you first is the packaging of a product. It is the packaging of the product that catches your eye first. The customer is then tempted to try out the product.

The packaging comes first and then the content. When cement moves from B2B to B2C sector, the attractiveness of packaging is the first to have an encounter with the customer. The customer expects the packaging to be not just attractive, but more agile, more sophisticated and that is what we do. This is how we have been trying with cement companies for the last four to five years and I even look at it as if I am a cement user myself (we are cement for our various expansion projects). When a brand moves from a standard product to a premium one, packaging is on the preface. It has a role to play from its journey from commodity to brand.

Polypropylene or similar kinds of polymers are used on a very large scale in making bags for the cement industry. Latest packaging techniques such as lamination and other improvements have been carried out on bags. Please inform us more about such latest changes that are happening in the cement industry.
This change in bags is connected with the journey from commodity to brand. The journey has been from PP bags to PP laminated bags to BOPP bags. This change has evolved with our ethos. As an industry, we have to think about what we can do better tomorrow. With this approach, we work on changing the packaging products so as to bring in advantages to the consumer and the cement producer. When we move from PP to laminated PP bags, the quality of printing on the bag is much better. It is a kind of photogenic printing over block printing.

Cement being a hygroscopic material, immediately attracts moisture from the atmosphere. The lamination on the bag provides a kind of shield on the bag that prevents moisture from entering the bag. Lastly, now the bags are machine-made, while earlier the same job was being done by manual labour, therefore the quality of these bags made on machines is much higher and have minimum tolerance. When the bags get self-sealed, there is less loss of product during transit and even reduced dust emission. This results in customer satisfaction, which is our main goal.

How is the demand for PP laminated bags? How has been the transition from PP to PP laminated bags? Has it slowed down during pandemic?
During Covid and post Covid, we can see the buyers prefer PP laminated over PP bags and the numbers have exceeded our expectations.

On the social front, your company has been working on a special project called ??oice of change?? Could you please elaborate on this project?
I will take a little more time on the subject because it is very close to my heart. I find that focus of proper education is lacking in our country. With the population growth and youth coming to the job market in large numbers, only education can make a difference. That is the only asset one can live with it for the rest of his life.

Fogla Foundation was incorporated three years back and the first project we took was the ??oice of Change??connected to educating children. We nurture a few government public schools which are in the backward areas in West Bengal. What we create there is a pseudo parliament run by children in the school. It is same as the moral science of the good olden days. We make sure that whether a boy or a girl, they are able to come out of their shell. Normally because of their background, they do not open up. It is with the understanding that these children will be able to make their own decisions in their lives going forward. What we actually do in the school, is to create a ministry just like that of a government. They have a Prime Minister and other Ministers and they meet every fortnight and discuss about the subjects that affect them. They have a budget which they can decide on how to spend. A midday meal is an example which they get, they can decide how within a given budget they can improve. How wastage of food can be minimised so that maximum children are benefited. Are all the children eating properly? The food minister is supposed to look into these aspects. A home minister will find out why a particular child is not coming to school or has remained absent. This whole process brings in the out-of-the box thinking apart from the bookish knowledge they get. The taboo that exists among the backward people needs to be eliminated. This stratum of the society has to come out of the bubble and dream of something different and big. This approach is bringing in a big change.

I would say the whole exercise is participative and a sort of ownership is being created amongst children, ensuring success. Kindly tell us at what stage is the project at?
At present we are associated with seven schools in South Bengal and next year our budget is to reach out to around fifty schools.

How has been the support from school management and the other teaching fraternity to your project?
We are getting tremendous support. There is a feeling of togetherness amongst all of us, which has helped us to partner with them for achieving the end goal of creating an enlightened environment for the school children.

What is the significance of the name ??oice of change??
Going forward, education can only change our future. The voice of a small child becomes a change factor. We want to facilitate that change.

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Concrete

Cement Margins Seen Rising 12–18 per cent in FY26

Healthy demand and GST cut to boost cement profits per tonne.

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Cement companies’ operating profit for fiscal year 2026 (FY26) is projected to grow by 12–18 per cent, reaching Rs 900–950 per metric tonne (MT), supported by robust demand, improved realisations, and stable input costs, according to ratings agency Icra.
In FY25, operating profit before interest, depreciation, tax and amortisation (OPBIDTA) stood at Rs 806 per MT, declining 16 per cent year-on-year due to weak realisations amid an extended monsoon and subdued government capital expenditure during the general elections.
Icra’s sample covers ACC, Ambuja Cements, JK Cements, JK Lakshmi Cement, The Ramco Cements, UltraTech Cement, Dalmia Bharat, Birla Corporation, Shree Cement, Sagar Cements, and Heidelberg Cement India, which together account for 74 per cent of industry capacity.
The recent GST cut on cement is expected to lower rural housing construction costs by 0.8–1.0 per cent, boosting volumes and supporting additional capacity. Average cement realisations are expected to rise 3–5 per cent in FY26.
Cement volumes increased by 8.5 per cent in the first five months of FY26, driven by strong demand from housing and infrastructure projects, despite early monsoons in some regions. During this period, cement prices rose 7.4 per cent year-on-year, particularly in northern and eastern markets. Input costs, especially for pet coke and freight, remain sensitive to global crude price movements and geopolitical factors.
Anupama Reddy, vice-president and co-group head of corporate ratings at Icra, said: “With the GST rate cut from 28 per cent to 18 per cent expected to be passed on to consumers, the average retail price of cement, currently Rs 350–360 per bag, will offer savings of Rs 26–28 per bag. Driven by strong demand, capacity additions may rise to 41–43 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) in FY26 from 31 MMTPA in FY25, with the eastern region leading the growth in grinding capacity.”

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Adani’s Strategic Emergence in India’s Cement Landscape

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Milind Khangan, Marketing Head, Vertex Market Research, sheds light on Adani’s rapid cement consolidation under its ‘One Business, One Company’ strategy while positioning it to rival UltraTech, and thus, shaping a potential duopoly in India’s booming cement market.

India is the second-largest cement-producing country in the world, following China. This expansion is being driven by tremendous public investment in the housing and infrastructure sectors. The industry is accelerating, with a boost from schemes such as PM Gati Shakti, Bharatmala, and the Vande Bharat corridors. An upsurge in affordable housing under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) further supports this expansion. In May 2025, local cement production increased about 9 per cent from last year to about 40 million metric tonnes for the month. The combined cement capacity in India was recorded at 670 million metric tonnes in the 2025 fiscal year, according to the Cement Manufacturers’ Association (CMA). For the financial year 2026, this is set to grow by another 9 per cent.
In spite of the growing demand, the Indian cement industry is highly competitive. UltraTech Cement (Aditya Birla Group) is still the market leader with domestic installed capacity of more than 186 MTPA as on 2025. It is targeted to achieve 200 MTPA. Adani Cement recently became a major player and is now India’s second-largest cement company. It did this through aggressive consolidation, operational synergies, and scale efficiencies. Indian players in the cement industry are increasingly valuing operational efficiency and sustainability. Some of the strategies with high impact are alternative fuels and materials (AFR) adoption, green cement expansion, and digital technology investments to offset changing regulatory pressure and increasing energy prices.

Building Adani Cement brand
Vertex Market Research explains that the Adani Group is executing a comprehensive reorganisation and consolidation of its cement business under the ‘One Business, One Company’ strategy. The plan is to integrate its diversified holdings into one consolidated corporate entity named Adani Cement. The focus is on operating integration, governance streamlining, and cost reduction in its expanding cement business.
Integration roadmap and key milestones:

  • September 2022: The consolidation process started with the $6.4 billion buyout of Holcim’s majority stakes in Ambuja Cements and ACC, with Ambuja becoming the focal point of the consolidation.
  • December 2023: Bought Sanghi Industries to strengthen the firm’s presence in western India.
  • August 2024: Added Penna Cement to the portfolio, improving penetration of the southern market of India.
  • April 2025: Further holding addition in Orient Cement to 46.66 per cent by purchasing the same from CK Birla Group, becoming the promoter with control.
  • Ambuja Cements amalgamated with Adani Cement: This was sanctioned by the NCLT on 18th July 2025 with effect from April 1, 2024. This amalgamation brings in limestone reserves and fresh assets into Ambuja.
  • Subject to Sanghi and Penna merger with Ambuja: Board approvals in December 2024 with the aim to finish between September to December 2025.
  • Ambuja-ACC future integration: The latter is being contemplated as the final step towards consolidation.
  • Orient Cement: It would serve as a principal manufacturing facility following the merger.

Scale, capacity expansion and market position
In financial year-2025, Adani Cement, including Ambuja, surpassed 100 MTPA. This makes it one of the world’s top ten cement companies. Along with ACC’s operations, it is now firmly placed as India’s second-largest cement company. In FY25, the Adani group’s sales volume per annum clocked 65 million metric tonnes. Adani Group claims that it now supplies close to 30 per cent of the cement consumed in India’s homes and infrastructure as of June 2025.
The organisation is pursuing aggressive brownfield expansion:

  • By FY 2026: Reach 118 MTPA
  • By FY 2028: Target 140 MTPA

These goals will be driven by commissioning new clinker and grinding units at key sites, with civil and mechanical works underway.
As of 2024, Adani Cement had its market share pegged at around 14 to 15 per cent, with an ambition to scale this up to 20 per cent by FY?2028, emerging as a potent competitor to UltraTech’s 192?MTPA capacity (186 domestic and overseas).

Strategic advantages and competitive benefits
The consolidation simplifies decision-making by reducing legal entities, centralising oversight, and removing redundant functions. This drives compliance efficiency and transparent reporting. Using procurement power for raw materials and energy lowers costs per ton. Integrated logistics with Adani Ports and freight infrastructure has resulted in an estimated 6 per cent savings in logistics. The group aims for additional savings of INR 500 to 550 per tonne by FY 2028 by integrating green energy, using alternative fuel resources, and improving sourcing methods.

Market coverage and brand consistency
Brand integration under one strategy will provide uniform product quality and easier distribution networks. Integration with Orient Cement’s dealer base, 60 per cent of which already distributes Ambuja/ACC products, enhances outreach and responsiveness.
By having captive limestone reserves at Lakhpat (approximately 275 million tonnes) and proposed new manufacturing facilities in Raigad, Maharashtra, Adani Cement derives cost advantage, raw material security, and long-term operational robustness.

Strategic implications and risks
Consolidation at Adani Cement makes it not just a capacity leader but also an operationally agile competitor with the ability to reap digital and sustainability benefits. Its vertically integrated platform enables cost leadership, market responsiveness, and scalability.

Challenges potentially include:

  • Integration challenges across systems, corporate cultures, and plant operations
  • Regulatory sanctions for pending mergers and new capacity additions
  • Environmental clearances in environmentally sensitive areas and debt management with input price volatility

When materialised, this revolution would create a formidable Adani–UltraTech duopoly, redefining Indian cement on the basis of scale, innovation, and sustainability. India’s leading four cement players such as Adani (ACC and Ambuja), Dalmia Cement, Shree Cement, and UltraTech are expected to dominate the cement market.

Conclusion
Adani’s aggressive consolidation under the ‘One Business, One Company’ strategy signals a decisive shift in the Indian cement industry, positioning the group as a formidable challenger to UltraTech and setting the stage for a potential duopoly that could dominate the sector for years to come. By unifying operations, leveraging economies of scale, and securing vertical integration—from raw material reserves to distribution networks—Adani Cement is building both capacity and resilience, with clear advantages in cost efficiency, market reach, and sustainability. While integration complexities, regulatory hurdles, and environmental approvals remain key challenges, the scale and strategic alignment of this consolidation promise to redefine competition, pricing dynamics, and operational benchmarks in one of the world’s fastest-growing cement markets.

About the author:
Milind Khangan is the Marketing Head at Vertex Market Research and comes with over five years of experience in market research, lead generation and team management.

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Concrete

Precision in Motion: A Deep Dive into PowerBuild’s Core Gear Series

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PowerBuild’s flagship Series M, C, F, and K geared motors deliver robust, efficient, and versatile power transmission solutions for industries worldwide.

Products – M, C, F, K: At the heart of every high-performance industrial system lies the need for robust, reliable, and efficient power transmission. PowerBuild answers this need with its flagship geared motor series: M, C, F, and K. Each series is meticulously engineered to serve specific operational demands while maintaining the universal promise of durability, efficiency, and performance.
Series M – Helical Inline Geared Motors: Compact and powerful, the Series M delivers exceptional drive solutions for a broad range of applications. With power handling up to 160kW and torque capacity reaching 20,000 Nm, it is the trusted solution for industries requiring quiet operation, high efficiency, and space-saving design. Series M is available with multiple mounting and motor options, making it a versatile choice for manufacturers and OEMs globally.
Series C – Right Angled Heli-Worm Geared Motors: Combining the benefits of helical and worm gearing, the Series C is designed for right-angled power transmission. With gear ratios of up to 16,000:1 and torque capacities of up to 10,000 Nm, this series is optimal for applications demanding precision in compact spaces. Industries looking for a smooth, low-noise operation with maximum torque efficiency rely on Series C for dependable performance.
Series F – Parallel Shaft Mounted Geared Motors: Built for endurance in the most demanding environments, Series F is widely adopted in steel plants, hoists, cranes, and heavy-duty conveyors. Offering torque up to 10,000 Nm and high gear ratios up to 20,000:1, this product features an integral torque arm and diverse output configurations to meet industry-specific challenges head-on.
Series K – Right Angle Helical Bevel Geared Motors: For industries seeking high efficiency and torque-heavy performance, Series K is the answer. This right-angled geared motor series delivers torque up to 50,000 Nm, making it a preferred choice in core infrastructure sectors such as cement, power, mining, and material handling. Its flexibility in mounting and broad motor options offer engineers’ freedom in design and reliability in execution.
Together, these four series reflect PowerBuild’s commitment to excellence in mechanical power transmission. From compact inline designs to robust right-angle drives, each geared motor is a result of decades of engineering innovation, customer-focused design, and field-tested reliability. Whether the requirement is speed control, torque multiplication, or space efficiency, Radicon’s Series M, C, F, and K stand as trusted powerhouses for global industries.

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