Concrete

We thought to introduce an innovative packing in the industry

Published

5 years ago

July 1, 2021

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1. What has been your experience in marketing Bharathi as a brand? What are the challenges?

It was challenging to launch new brand in 2009. Whereas, we have so many established players like multi-nationals, national players, local players & regional players in the market. Since we are coming as a new producer, we have thought of bringing a best consumer accepted product and packing. We have taken 3 important steps to launch this viz. Technology, Superior Quality and Innovative packing.

2. Explain the role played by packaging of cement in brand building. How in your case you have packaged the product? Tell us your experience on different kind of packaging.

During 1980?? cement was sold as a commodity and various companies??were using jute bags initially. After some time, cement packing was partially converted with HDPE bags. There was lot of pilferage in Jute bags. While in HDPE bags pilferage has reduced to some extent.

We thought to introduce an innovative packing in the industry and we have found that PPL bags are used for cement packing in other countries. We decided to pack our cement in PPL, where we used this point as one of our branding slogan. Our branding slogan is ?? times better Bharathi Cement??-

1. German technology

2. Robotic quality control

3. Tamper Proof Packing.

Not only PPL bags, some parts of markets in Tamilnadu, Kerala and Maharashtra use Paper bags also. The Paper bag has also given an impression to customer as better type of packing and it is also tamper proof bags. At present PPL and Paper bags are very well accepted in many markets as a tamper proof packing.

3. As a part of backward integration Bharathi Cement has gone ahead with setting up a production unit for bag manufacturing, what is the philosophy? Do you supply any quantity to other cement companies?

Since we could not get PPL bags in India, we have gone to Austria to set up 6 crores PPL bags manufacturing unit of Star Linger technology. With this we are able to consume 50% to 60% of production for our captive units and balance to other cement companies also.

4. Provide us some information on PP laminated bags and its superiority. Is the unit able to satisfy your entire requirement of bags? What is the superiority of PP laminated bags? Explain in details.

PPL bags have Less pilferage, it cannot be adulterated, once opened it cannot be re-packed / stitched. Bags are tuned to box type which cannot be adulterated and they look striking.

5. One important factor of brand building is advertisement, what medium of advertisement you would suggest? What is the future trend? How do you compare different mediums of advertisement?

Some of the mediums of advertisement are Print, electronic, digital, outdoor like hoardings, wall paintings etc. All these different media will help in brand building. One of the cheapest mode is wall painting. In future, digital branding will prove as most effective communication as it has the ability to spread through various digital channels such as online ads, search engines social media, websites and online activations. So from time to time as per the needs of market we need to adopt different mediums of advertisement.

6. While journey to brand building is fairly long, you need to work with the ad agency with more openness and give them reasonable length of time to do new things? Please comment.

Yes, when you are building best brand, we need to have a reputed AD agency and we can openly implement based on customer feedbacks like long term perspective, network, logistics distribution system etc. Primary role of an Ad agency is the creation of an advertising and marketing plan specific to product and brand. Ad agencies work with our business objectives. They pull all this together to provide a creative and compelling campaign intended to engage the attention of potential customers and get them to buy our product. Ad agency employs its creative team to work on our brand art works and other designs and also produces TVC??. Initially we engaged South Indian Film Star Mr. Suriya as our brand ambassador to popularise product in the market and we produced many films with him which were telecasted accordingly.

As a reputed brand, we have implemented all these factors from inception itself and continue to follow till date.

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About M. Ravinder Reddy, he has over 34 years of experience in cement industry, holds B.com (Hons.) and MBA (Marketing) degree. During his tenure at Priya cement, he had introduced HDPE packing by replacing Jute packing. He joined Bharathi Cement as a Whole-time Director in September 2008, and he heads the company?? sales and marketing operations. He has successfully launched the ??harathi Cement??in premium segment. He is recipient of many national and international awards. In addition, he is an elected Chairman of Cement, Clinkers and Asbestos Cement products panel of CAPEXIL and also Vice President of South India Cement Manufacturer?? Association.

Concrete

Lokesh Lays Stone For Rs 31 Billion Cement Unit In Kadapa

Line-2 expansion to make Kadapa a major cement hub

Published

3 days 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.

Concrete

Cement Prices to Stay Flat in Q2 FY27 as Costs Squeeze Margins

HDFC Securities warns monsoon slowdown and higher fuel costs

Published

6 days ago

July 17, 2026

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HDFC Securities has said the cement industry is unlikely to register a sequential increase in prices in Q2 FY27 as monsoon-related demand moderation coincides with rising fuel and packaging costs that will squeeze margins. The brokerage observed that price gains remained modest, with increases of two to three per cent quarter-on-quarter across regions, and noted subdued offtake in May with improvement in June as a delayed monsoon supported construction activity. The brokerage added that modest pricing gains so far have been insufficient to offset the input cost escalation.

The report stated that input cost pressures intensified in Q1 FY27 owing to the West Asia conflict, which pushed up coal and pet coke prices and is expected to keep fuel costs elevated, with a likely peak in Q2 FY27. It assessed that total variable costs, including packing, could rise by around Rs 150 per t quarter-on-quarter and that lower offtake and seasonal operating deleverage could further raise operating expenditure by about Rs 50 per t quarter-on-quarter.

Overall, cement prices were estimated to remain flat in Q2 FY27 as monsoon-led demand weakness offsets limited upside in realisation, and rising fuel costs alongside seasonal deleverage were expected to compress industry margins by over Rs 100 per t quarter-on-quarter to below Rs 880 per t. The brokerage indicated that the combined impact of energy inflation and higher packing expenditure would be the principal drivers of margin contraction in the near term. HDFC Securities projected a recovery in margins in H2 FY27 should the West Asia turmoil subside and energy and packing costs cool off.

The brokerage expressed optimism on long-term demand fundamentals and said improving realisation together with an anticipated cost cool-off should support a margin rebound from H2 FY27 onward, underpinning favourable industry prospects over the medium term. Its outlook rests on monsoon normalisation and a decline in imported fuel prices in the second half of the fiscal year.

Concrete

Dalmia Bharat Begins Rs 31 Bn Green Cement Unit in Kadapa

New Andhra Pradesh plant to add 9.6 MTPA cement capacity by FY28

Published

7 days ago

July 16, 2026

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Dalmia Bharat Limited recently laid the foundation stone for its second manufacturing unit at Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh. The company will invest Rs 31 billion in developing the next-generation integrated cement manufacturing facility.

The foundation-laying ceremony was attended by Nara Lokesh, Andhra Pradesh Minister for Information Technology, Electronics and Communications, Real-Time Governance and Human Resources Development, along with Puneet Dalmia, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dalmia Bharat, senior government officials and company representatives.

Scheduled to be commissioned by the third quarter of FY28, the Kadapa unit will become Dalmia Bharat’s largest integrated manufacturing facility in southern India. It will have a clinker production capacity of 6.1 million tonnes per annum and a cement manufacturing capacity of 9.6 million tonnes per annum.

The facility is designed to produce what the company describes as one of the world’s greenest cements. It is also expected to generate approximately 1,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities while supporting local MSMEs, transporters, contractors and service providers.

Lokesh said the investment reflected Dalmia Bharat’s confidence in Andhra Pradesh and aligned with the state’s objective of promoting sustainable industrialisation, job creation and technology-led economic growth.

Puneet Dalmia said the project represented the company’s long-term vision of developing low-carbon cement manufacturing assets. He added that the facility would establish new benchmarks in operational efficiency and sustainability while supporting India’s infrastructure and environmental goals.

Dalmia Bharat will also expand its regional community development programmes in education, healthcare, skill development and welfare through its DIKSHa and Gram Parivartan initiatives.

The company currently has an installed cement manufacturing capacity of 54.7 million tonnes across 19 manufacturing units in 12 states. It is also the first cement company globally to commit to the RE100, EP100 and EV100 initiatives.