Concrete

Organised retailer

Published

5 years ago

March 5, 2021

admin

Shankara Building Products is a leading organised retailer of home improvement and building products in India, operating under the brand name ??hankara Buildpro?? It runs 100+ stores spread across Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Puducherry. It started in 1995, and is headquartered in Bengaluru. It is listed on NSE and BSE with a turnover of Rs 2,640 crore.

It sells over 30,000+ SKUs across the entire home construction and renovation lifecycle through its retail stores. The products are spread across categories of construction materials, plumbing and sanitary ware, flooring, electrical, interior-exterior finishing and Irrigation. It has a tie up with leading brands across categories. The products are also available its website: Buildpro Store.

The list of customers include homeowners as well as professional customers like architects, interior designers, contractors, developers, plumbers, electricians, tile layers, masons, carpenters, painters, etc. as well as small enterprises. The customers are spread across tier 1, 2 and 3 locations.

In addition to the retail segment, it has two other legacy business segments ??enterprise and channel. In the enterprise segment, it caters to requirements of large end-users, contractors and OEMs. In the channel segment, it caters to dealers and other retailers through its branch network. The common theme across all segments is the customer-centric approach to business.

Back-end operations

The back-end operations provide support to its front-end business segments. It has its own steel processing facilities, which help to provide customised, in-time solutions. It has its own supply chain capabilities with owned warehousing and vehicles to provide efficient and speedy delivery to the customers. Its presence across the value chain of processing, channel, enterprise, retail, and supply chain gives it a lot of strength and unique advantages.

Processing unit

It has a processing unit for steel pipes and tubes (including precision tubes and galvanized pipes), color coated roofing sheets, galvanised strips and cold rolled strips. The units are 12 in number and are located near key demand centres. These are Hyderabad (3), Bengaluru (4), Hubli, Chennai, Coimbatore, Pune and Vijaywada. It has an installed capacity of approximately 325,000 tonne per annum.

The processing units carry key certifications like ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2015, OHSAS 18001:2007 and BIS. The product specifications adhere to international standards and the facilities are approved by a number of prestigious clients. It processes a number of steel based products based on the requirements of our customers.

Pipes and tubes

The company produces CRCA, GI, GP and HR pipes and tubes. It is equipped with advanced mills for precision quality products in tube processing. In CRCA, it processes materials conforming to IS 3074 and automotive requirements (HSLA) series materials. In HR, it has certifications conforming to standards viz. IS 1239; IS 1161; IS 3601 and IS 4923.

Roofing Sheets

The company makes a wide range of roofing, cladding and rainwater systems. The products are designed to provide flexibility to suit any construction need, be it home, office, business or factory. It provides attractive colours and the products are made from high quality raw materials to ensure low maintenance and resistance to extremities of weather. Over and above the products are environmentally friendly and fireproof.

Supply chain

Efficient storage and movement of goods are critical to business operations. The company has over +6 lakh sq ft of warehousing space, a large part of it is owned by them. It has +75-owned trucks to ensure efficient movement of goods. In addition, it has a large number of independent vehicles wholly aligned to serve the logistics needs. It keeps building the supply chain infrastructure to ensure a strong foundation to scale the business.

The enterprise hub of Shankara

In addition to sales from retail stores, the products are sold directly to enterprises for their end users. In this segment, it caters to the requirements of large end users, contractors, and OEMs. The enterprise segment is closely linked with its processing units. This helps to serve the bespoke requirements of customers depending on specifications, quality and delivery timelines. It also offers kit based, cut-to-size, ready-to-use products as well for customers. The range of products include frames for airports, metro stations and malls, city skywalks, airport tubular structures, and road dividers.

Concrete

UltraTech Cement FY26 PAT Crosses Rs 80 bn

Company reports record sales, profit and 200 MTPA capacity milestone

Published

4 days ago

April 29, 2026

admin

UltraTech Cement reported record financial performance for Q4 and FY26, supported by strong volumes, higher profitability and improved cost efficiency. Consolidated net sales for Q4 FY26 rose 12 per cent year-on-year to Rs 254.67 billion, while PBIDT increased 20 per cent to Rs 56.88 billion. PAT, excluding exceptional items, grew 21 per cent to Rs 30.11 billion.

For FY26, consolidated net sales stood at Rs 873.84 billion, up 17 per cent from Rs 749.36 billion in FY25. PBIDT rose 32 per cent to Rs 175.98 billion, while PAT increased 36 per cent to Rs 83.05 billion, crossing the Rs 80 billion mark for the first time.

India grey cement volumes reached 42.41 million tonnes in Q4 FY26, up 9.3 per cent year-on-year, with capacity utilisation at 89 per cent. Full-year India grey cement volumes stood at 145 million tonnes. Energy costs declined 3 per cent, aided by a higher green power mix of 43 per cent in Q4.

The company’s domestic grey cement capacity has crossed 200 MTPA, reaching 200.1 MTPA, while global capacity stands at 205.5 MTPA. UltraTech also recommended a special dividend of Rs 2.40 billion per share value basis equivalent to Rs 240.

Concrete

Towards Mega Batching

Optimised batching can drive overall efficiencies in large projects.

Published

5 days ago

April 28, 2026

admin

India’s pace of infrastructure development is pushing the construction sector to work at a significantly higher scale than previously. Tight deadlines necessitate eliminating concreting delays, especially in large and mega projects, which, in turn, imply installing the right batching plant and ensuring batching is efficient. CW explores these steps as well as the gaps in India’s batching plant market.

Choose well

Large-scale infrastructure and building projects typically involve concrete consumption exceeding 30,000-50,000 cum per annum or demand continuous, high-volume pours within compressed timelines, according to Rahul R Wadhai, DGM – Quality, Tata Projects.

Considering the daily need for concrete, “large-scale concreting involves pouring more than 1,000–2,000 cum per day while mega projects involve more than 3,000 cum per day,” says Satish R Vachhani, Advanced Concrete & Construction Consultant…

To read the full article Click Here

Concrete

Andhra Offers Discom Licences To Private Firms Outside Power Sector

Policy allows firms over 300 MW to seek distribution licences

Published

6 days ago

April 27, 2026

admin

The Andhra Pradesh government will allow private firms that require more than 300 megawatt (MW) of power to apply for distribution licences, making the state the first to extend such licences beyond the power sector. The policy targets information technology, pharmaceuticals, steel and data centres and aims to reduce reliance on state utilities as demand rises for artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Approved applicants will be able to procure electricity directly from generators through power purchase agreements, a change officials said will create more competitive tariffs and reduce supply risk. Licence holders will use the Andhra Pradesh Transmission Company (APTRANSCO) network on payment of charges and will not need a separate distribution network initially.

Licences will be granted under the Electricity Act, 2003 framework, with the Central and State electricity regulators retaining authority over terms and approvals. The recent Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025 sought to lower entry barriers, enable network sharing and encourage competition, while the state commission will set floor and ceiling tariffs where multiple discoms operate.

Industry players and original equipment manufacturers welcomed the policy, saying competitive supply is vital for large data centre investments. Major projects and partnerships such as those involving Adani and Google, Brookfield and Reliance, and Meta and Sify Technologies are expected to benefit as capacity expands in the state.

Analysts noted India’s data centre capacity is forecast to reach 10 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and cited International Energy Agency estimates that global data centre electricity consumption could approach 945 terawatt hours by the same year. A one GW data centre needs an equivalent power allocation and one point five times the water, which authorities equated to 150 billion litres (150 bn litres).

Advisers warned that distribution licences will require close regulation and monitoring to prevent misuse and to ensure tariffs and supply obligations are met. Officials said the policy aims to balance investor requirements with regulatory oversight and could serve as a model for other states.