Rajan Vadalia, Managing Director, Hi- Bond Cement

Hailing from the renowned group of Kishan Group of Companies, Hi-Bond Cement celebrates its debut in the cement industry by announcing an expansion plans in Gujarat. Rajan Vadalia, Managing Director, Hi- Bond Cement, talks to ICR about their views on the current scenario of the cement industry, sustainability initiatives and much more.

What is your view on the current scenario of the Indian cement industry?

The cement industry is facing a series of problems, one is the over capacity in southern region, the other is the constant slow down in the growth of the GDP lastly poor export demand has put the industry into a deep mess which is now the matter of concern.

Owing to the financial crisis last year, how has your company performed financially in the year 2012?

This being is the first year of operation and we had a trial production for quite some time, due to these reasons financial strains were bound to be there and we were ready for it.

How many plants does the company have and what are your strategies behind operating in only in Gujarat and is your market share in the state and is the company planning to add capacity in the production unit or planning to expand?

Our Group (Promoters), Kishan Industries, has got three cement plants two with vertical shaft Kiln and Hi-Bond cement with Rotary Kiln. We produce OPC grade 53 and PPC – flyash based cement. The Hi-Bond plant is of 0.9 million tonne per annum capacity which is now being too expanded to 1.2 million tonne per annum. Cement being a bulk material and logistic cost is a major cost component and is economical to market cement only in Gujarat. Our total production is less than 7 per cent of the total cement consumption of Gujarat and it is not difficult to market the product within the state of Gujarat. Once our expansion is complete, we intend to go public by restructuring the company which is a private company, fully owned by owners. Once this is done we intend to expand our tentacles to the adjoining states preferably Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh. We intend to do this by setting up a green field project.

For the cement industry, consolidation remains the key; does the company intend any acquisitions or tie ups in the near future?

Yes, we would like to tie up with bigger companies in this business and expand our wings in other states.

How do you keep in pace with the latest technologies for your cement plant?

Our suppliers have assured us that they would incorporate new technologies in the plant as and when upgraded to keep pace with changes in the technology.

Kindly tell us about the sustainability initiatives taken by the company and highlight the clients that the company has worked with?

We have planted trees all around our factory in which we are using the drained out water and also sewage water and have made the complete environment green. All raw material are covered including clinker, coal and limestone and gypsum so that the emission of dust is negligible. The ESP system works 24 hours with 100 per cent efficiency. We are also planning to install a waste heat recovery plant. We are responsible stewardship of the natural environment and the protection of human health. Recognising the environmental implications of our activities, we are continually striving to improve our environmental performance by setting and reviewing measurable objectives and targets associated with our operations. We seek to minimise natural resource consumption, waste, and adverse environmental impacts optimise the use of technology and pursuit of our economic objectives. The company has worked on various projects. Namely Classic Network – Rajkot, Krunal Structure, Patel Infrastructure, Lafarge Aggregates Concrete, RMC Readymix India (A Division of Prism Cement) and many more.

Kindly throw light on your dealer network and kindly tell us the projects on which you have worked?

We have closely knitted network of more than 600 dealers with 22 market organisers to co-ordinate with them and support them financially with a team of 40 strong marketing men. Despite being only eight months old in production, our product has been widely acclaimed by one and all including precast industry, pre-fab industry. Also we have worked on various multistoried buildings and ready-mix industry. NHAI has also approved our cement for their projects. All thanks to the high quality standards that our company follows and which also happens to be the USP.

It is said that energy and logistics are the biggest costs for the cement industry, how does the company cut down the expenses on the same?

To mitigate logistic cost we have limited our marketing area within the average radius of 300 km and for energy we are planning power through waste heat recovery.

The development of the rural areas would contribute to the growth in demand of cement. Comment?

Yes, it is true. Rural India needs too much development. Even if ‘kachha’ houses are converted into ‘pakka’ houses the demand for cement consumption would rise by two fold. However a lot depends on the government policies.