Economy & Market

Be truthful in whatever message that is being given to the market.

Published

5 years ago

October 14, 2021

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Established in 1937, Kalyanpur Cements runs the only integrated cement manufacturing facility in Bihar. The company is one of the leading cement manufacturers in eastern India, supplying cement to Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. Some of the well- known brands from Kalyanpur Cements include KC Super, KC Special and the Castcrete brands. While interacting with ICR on effective marketing strategies, Faisal Alam, President (Sales and Marketing), Kalyanpur Cements, stresses on value addition to the product and having a truthful approach towards brand building.

What is your thought process behind the preparation of your media plan?

First and foremost, budget provision, which is followed by cost vs. extended visibility analysis (for example preference of tractor and trolley paintings over hoardings and wall paintings), innovative means of advertisement and sales promotion that highlight the of USP of the brand. There are several options available for media planning but the main driving thought is to be unique and at the same time be cost-effective.

What are the challenges that you foresee in the market and how have you factored them into your marketing strategy?

There are several challenges in cement marketing, such as increasing cement production capacities with supply surpassing demand which has led to cut- throat competition, entry of new brands in the market, innovative schemes introduced by all players primarily aimed at increasing market share, consolidations and mergers leading to economies of scale leading to low production cost and consequently, a rise in market penetration by competitors, etc.

Countering these forces involves deeper networking into the market, winning over dealers and masons; multi-branding and multi-pricing strategies, cost control, giving value for money and imbibing TQM (Total Quality Management) strategies in the business process.

Soaring raw material prices have forced cement prices up. How will you entice consumers to shell out extra for your product?

The key is in value addition, where overall the product value is enhanced in terms of better bags, faster setting properties, faster strength gain, shortened delivery time, etc. The overall rise in price is offset by a decrease in cost to the end user in many other ways due such value additions.

Which is a better strategy, distributing through few large dealers or routing it via an extensive network of small dealer outlets?

A combination of both, depending on the market, whether rural or urban, and also on the quality of dealers available in a given region. Apart from this, there are many other factors such as market share, brand loyalty, region wise demand, etc.

Cement is seen more as a commodity than as a specialised product. In such a scenario, how do you create brand differentiation?

There are in fact, more ways than one to do this. Highlighting USP in the marketing promotions, maintaining consistent quality of the product, insisting on TQM till the cement is used and customers are fully satisfied, go a long way in establishing a brand identity. Apart from this, value additions, innovative schemes for dealers, masons, customers and other such ways help the brand develop a loyal following.

How do you reach construction professionals at different levels, ranging from civil engineers and consultants to contractors and masons?

We maintain a strong communication channel by organising regular meets and get-togethers of different fraternities and by continuous efforts to strengthen our associations. For masons we have devised a plan and it has been implemented very regularly. Under this Â´Masons contact programme,Â´ small masons meet at our dealers counter. The meet fosters knowledge sharing and community building. We also distribute useful gifts to dealers and offer schemes at regular intervals. This, over the years, has built a strong mason loyalty towards our brand.

Quality perception of cement varies from customer to customer. How is this reflected in your marketing plan?

We do it by highlighting that USP of the brand which directly impacts the quality; freshness is linked to shortest period of delivery by road and therefore, achievement of best results. We create awareness amongst all our quality- conscious customers, mainly about the important projects. This creates strong trust in the brand.

Other than price and quality, which other factors influence buying decisions?

The strong will of the dealer to promote the brand and technical advice of the masons influence buying decisions, as also the freshness of cement and packing matters to a significant number of buyers.

What are marketing plans for promoting your products?

In short, adding value to the product in more than one way, highlighting the USP of my product, which gives it a competitive edge (but with all honesty), innovative ideas and schemes for dealers and masons, new means of advertising and involving one and all in maintaining quality at all levels and in whatever that is done.

What is your mantra for effective brand- building?

Effective brand- building involves everything that I have already said but over and above all, it is most important to be truthful in whatever message that is being given to the market and to be very sincere in the talk and deeds that follow.

Selling cement like hot cakes

When Faisal Alam, took charge of promoting Kalyanpur Cement brand, the company was going through a very rough patch. The financial situation was very critical and the market was highly competitive, with giants in the field. With an educational background of CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) and MBA and an industrial experience gained at Modi Xerox and Kuwait Oil Company, Faisal had the task to turn this situation around. He first started with examining the ground reality. In his words, Â´I saw the actual ground level scenario in the market, and it was very different from what we studied as MBAs or in academics. I had to apply local solutions and at times had to even go against conventional logic.Â´

Alam started with a multi-pronged approach, looking at improvements in production to stimulating the market about his brand. He started developing the market as close as possible to the plant to cut down cost of logistics. He was one of the pioneers in starting the Masons Meet programme in his region. Â´Everybody targets dealers, but masons are very important and their influence of buying decision cannot be ignored,Â´ he says. It was this interaction that helped Alam realise the importance of freshness factor for the masons. The company came up with the Hindi slogan Â´Garma garm cement,Â´ meaning `hot cement, ` perceived as an indicator of freshness by masons. And this struck the cord with masons. As a result of his continued efforts, not only did the company make it out of tough times but today, the demand for the brand is more than twice its production capacity.

Also, as an entrepreneur within the company, he started many projects mainly of cement- based building materials and real estate business. At the moment they stand amongst the top builders in the State of Bihar. Kalyanpur Cement still has a long way to go but it is on the right track, being consumer focused.

Economy & Market

TSR Will Define Which Cement Companies Win India’s Net-Zero Race

Published

2 weeks ago

April 27, 2026

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Jignesh Kundaria, Director and CEO, Fornnax Technology

India is simultaneously grappling with two crises: a mounting waste emergency and an urgent need to decarbonise its most carbon-intensive industries. The cement sector, the second-largest in the world and the backbone of the nation’s infrastructure ambitions, sits at the centre of both. It consumes enormous quantities of fossil fuel, and it has the technical capacity to consume something else entirely: the waste our cities cannot get rid of.

According to CPCB and NITI Aayog projections, India generates approximately 62.4 million tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, with that figure expected to reach 165 million tonnes by 2030. Much of this waste is energy-rich and non-recyclable. At the same time, cement kilns operate at material temperatures of approximately 1,450 degrees Celsius, with gas temperatures reaching 2,000 degrees. This high-temperature environment is ideal for co-processing, ensuring the complete thermal destruction of organic compounds without generating toxic residues. The physics are in our favour. The infrastructure is not.

Pre-processing is not the support act for co-processing. It is the main event. Get the particle size wrong, get the moisture wrong, get the calorific value wrong and your kiln thermal stability will suffer the consequences.

The Regulatory Push Is Real

The Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules 2026 mandate that cement plants progressively replace solid fossil fuels with Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF), starting at a 5 per cent baseline and scaling to 15 per cent within six years. NITI Aayog’s 2026 Roadmap for Cement Sector Decarbonisation targets 20 to 25 per cent Thermal Substitution Rate (TSR) by 2030. Beyond compliance, every tonne of coal replaced by RDF generates measurable carbon reductions which is monetisable under India’s emerging Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS). TSR is no longer a sustainability metric. It is a financial lever.

Yet our own field assessments across multiple Indian cement plants reveal a sobering reality: the primary barrier to scaling AFR adoption is not waste availability. It is the fragmented and under-engineered pre-processing ecosystem that sits between the waste and the kiln.

Why Indian Waste Is a Different Engineering Problem

Indian municipal solid waste is not the material that imported shredding equipment was designed for. Our waste streams frequently exceed 40 per cent to 50 per cent moisture content, particularly during monsoon cycles, saturated with abrasive inerts including sand, glass, and stone. Plants relying on imported OEM equipment face months of downtime awaiting proprietary spare parts. Machines built for segregated, low-moisture waste fail quickly and disrupt the entire pre-processing operation in Indian conditions.

The two most common failures we observe are what I call the biting teeth problem and the chewing teeth problem. Plants relying solely on a primary shredder reduce bulk waste to large fractions, but the output remains too coarse for stable kiln combustion. Others attempt to use a secondary shredder as a standalone unit without a primary stage to pre-size the feed, leading to catastrophic mechanical failure. When both stages are present but mismatched in throughput capacity, the system becomes a bottleneck. Achieving the 40 to 70 tonnes per hour required for meaningful coal displacement demands a precisely coordinated two-stage process.

Engineering a Made-in-India Answer

At Fornnax, our response to these challenges is grounded in one principle: Indian waste demands Indian engineering. Our systems are built around feedstock homogeneity, the holy grail of kiln stability. Consistent particle size and predictable calorific value are the foundation of stable kiln combustion. Without them, no TSR target is achievable at scale.

Our SR-MAX2500 Dual Shaft Primary Shredder (Hydraulic Drive) processes raw, baled, or loosely mixed MSW, C&I waste, bulky waste, and plastics, reducing them to approximately 150 mm fractions at throughputs of up to 40 tonnes per hour. The R-MAX 3300 Single Shaft Secondary Shredder (Hydraulic Drive), introduced in 2025, takes that primary output and produces RDF fractions in the 30 to 80 mm range at up to 30 tonnes per hour, specifically optimised for consistent kiln feeding. We have also introduced electric drive configurations under the SR-100 HD series, with capacities between 5 and 40 tonnes per hour, already operational at a leading Indian waste-processing facility.

Looking ahead, Fornnax is expanding its portfolio with the upcoming SR-MAX3600 Hydraulic Drive primary shredder at up to 70 tonnes per hour and the R-MAX2100 Hydraulic drive secondary shredder at up to 20 tonnes per hour, designed specifically for the large-scale throughput that higher TSR ambitions require.

The Investment Case Is Now

The 2070 Net-Zero target is not a distant goal for India’s cement sector. It starts today, with decisions being made on the plant floor.

The SWM Rules 2026 are already in effect, requiring cement plants to replace coal with RDF. Carbon credit markets are opening up, and coal prices are not going to get cheaper. Every tonne of coal a cement plant replaces with waste-derived fuel saves money on one side and generates carbon credit revenue on the other. Pre-processing infrastructure is no longer just a compliance requirement. It is a business investment with a measurable return.

The good news is that nothing is missing. The technology works. The waste is available in every Indian city. The government has provided the policy direction. The only thing standing between where the industry is today and where it needs to be is the commitment to build the right infrastructure.

The cement companies that move now will not just meet the regulations. They will be ahead of every competitor that waits.

About The Author

Jignesh Kundaria is the Director and CEO of Fornnax Technology. Over an experience spanning more than two decades in the recycling industry, he has established himself as one of India’s foremost voices on waste-to-fuel technology and alternative fuel infrastructure.

Concrete

WCA Welcomes SiloConnect as associate corporate member

Published

1 month ago

April 13, 2026

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The World Cement Association (WCA) has announced SiloConnect as its newest associate corporate member, expanding its network of technology providers supporting digitalisation in the cement industry. SiloConnect offers smart sensor technology that provides real-time visibility of cement inventory levels at customer silos, enabling producers to monitor stock remotely and plan deliveries more efficiently. The solution helps companies move from reactive to proactive logistics, improving delivery planning, operational efficiency and safety by reducing manual inspections. The technology is already used by major cement producers such as Holcim, Cemex and Heidelberg Materials and is deployed across more than 30 countries worldwide.

Concrete

TotalEnergies and Holcim Launch Floating Solar Plant in Belgium

Published

1 month ago

April 13, 2026

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TotalEnergies and Holcim have commissioned a floating solar power plant in Obourg, Belgium, built on a rehabilitated former chalk quarry that has been converted into a lake. The project has a generation capacity of 31 MW and produces around 30 GWh of renewable electricity annually, which will be used to power Holcim’s nearby industrial operations. The project is currently the largest floating solar installation in Europe dedicated entirely to industrial self-consumption. To ensure minimal impact on the surrounding landscape, more than 700 metres of horizontal directional drilling were used to connect the solar installation to the electrical substation. The project reflects ongoing collaboration between the two companies to support industrial decarbonisation through renewable energy solutions and innovative infrastructure development.