Concrete

India follows Japanese tech in manufactured sand segmen

Published

5 years ago

December 21, 2021

admin

Manufactured sand is fulfilling 50 per cent of the total demand for sand being used in concrete mixtures in the country.

Manufactured sand is fulfilling 50 per cent of the total demand for sand being used in concrete mixtures in the country. Sanjay Nikam, CEO and Principal Business Consultant with Suru09 Business Services, feels that with the shortfall in river sand, the demand for m-sand will accelerate manifolds.

Can you explain the different types of sand?

There are different kinds of sands. For instance, the crush stone sand is a fine aggregate produced by crushing hard stone. The crush grail sand is a fine aggregate produced by crushing natural gravel; mix sand is a mix of the two. Then there is manufactured sand which is produced from resources other than natural resources

What are the key challenges faced by the manufactured sand industry?

The industry is facing many challenges. First and foremost is the challenge being the paucity of a uniform regulation pan India. Presently, different state governments have different licensing provisions, norms for royalty payments, sand dredging, etc. This results in disparity, cost undercutting and the easy availability of low-grade sand at cheaper rates in the market. Secondly, the crush quarry are smaller in size (25-50 acres) as compared to a cement mining area that can range beyond 1000 acres. That means one cannot have bigger area of operations. The output from these crusher plants range from 25,000 to 40,000 tons a month. Thirdly, logistics and local issues play a key role in this industry essentially because we are located very close to the city.

What is the ratio of aggregates and m-sand used in concrete?

In concrete, for every ton of cement used, the ration of aggregates used is 7 to 10 times higher. Of this, 50 percent is sand. For e.g., if the requirement of sand is 15,000 million tons, manufactured sand constitutes 50 percent.

Manufactured sand consumption has picked up from 2008, and the uptake was faster because of a decline in the volume of supplied river sand. While river sand registered a negative CAGR (-2 percent), the manufactured sand is registering a CAGR of 35 percent for the past couple of years. Fine aggregate offers better benefit and value than the coarse aggregator.

What kind of investments or expansion plans are you witnessing in the m-sand segment?

Realizing the poetical of the segment, there is a steady flow of investments. The number of players in m-sand segment has increased which encourages healthy competition. Also, there are players who are looking at aggregators and m-sand as apart of portfolio diversification. Globally if you take the leading cement players, they are present in the cement, RMC and aggregator segments. The trend will soon follow in India.

You mentioned changing global trends in the usage of m-sand. Can you elaborate further?

Globally, Japan is the first country to develop technology in the engineered sand segment because of the shortage of river sand. In Asia, China took the first move in the same direction because of the shortfall faced. Now that India also has challenges with river sand, the country has adopted Japanese technology to manufacture m- sand in the country. The adoption of m-sand in Europe and US is comparatively lower as governments in these continents have not imposed restriction on river sand dredging.

Renjini Liza Varghese

Concrete

Jammu Division Begins First Cement Rail Traffic to Anantnag

Cement Loading From Kathua for Anantnag to Begin on September 14

Published

3 days ago

September 21, 2026

admin

Jammu Railway Division has placed an indent for the first movement of cement by rail within the division, linking Shaheed Captain Sunil Kumar Choudhary Kathua Railway Station with Anantnag Railway Station. Loading for the consignment is scheduled to begin on September 14.

Concrete

Hard Worker Wins Three Honours at Kyoorius Design Awards

Ramco Cements’ brand secures Grand Prix and two Blue Elephant honours.

Published

3 days ago

September 21, 2026

admin

The Ramco Cements Limited’s construction chemicals brand, Hard Worker, has won three honours at the Kyoorius Design Awards 2026, including the Grand Prix – Grey Elephant in the Design in Action category.

The brand also secured two Blue Elephant honours, one for Design in Action and another for Packaging, recognising the design approach behind its brand identity and packaging.

Launched in 2025, Hard Worker entered the construction chemicals segment with the brand promise, “Hard-working products for hardworking people.” Its visual identity uses animals and birds to represent product benefits. The camel represents the water-retention capability of Hard Worker Eco Plaster, while the cheetah represents the speed and performance of Hard Worker Block Fix.

The visual language has been extended across packaging, retail, communication, literature, digital platforms and other brand touchpoints. Hard Worker uses bold colours, distinctive animal illustrations and simple visual storytelling to communicate product benefits across markets and audiences, including construction workers and applicators.

“For Hard Worker, design was never an afterthought. It was fundamental to how we wanted to build the brand. In a category that is largely functional, we wanted to create a brand that people could recognise, understand and remember instantly. The Kyoorius recognition is a wonderful validation of this design-led approach,” said Mr. AV Dharmakrishnan, CEO, The Ramco Cements Limited.

Mr. Balaji K. Moorthy, Executive Director – Marketing, Ramco Cements said “In a category where communication has traditionally been product-led and functional, we wanted Hard Worker to stand apart by making design an integral part of the brand experience. From the distinctive animal-led packaging to our communication across consumer and trade touchpoints, every element was designed to make the brand more memorable and the product benefits easier to understand.”

Within its first 12 months, Hard Worker crossed Rs 3.5 bn in sales. The latest recognition follows six honours secured by the brand’s campaign at the Kyoorius Creative Awards earlier in 2026, including the Grey Elephant Grand Prix for its Eco Plaster film.

The Kyoorius Design Awards recognise outstanding design work in India’s visual communications sector across multiple categories and platforms. The 2026 awards were announced on 12 September in Goa.

The Ramco Cements Limited is part of the Ramco Group and operates across cement and allied building-material solutions. Hard Worker is its construction chemicals brand, offering solutions across key construction applications.

Concrete

Cement Firms to Invest Rs. 130 bn in Green Energy by FY28

Cement companies plan to expand clean energy capacity to 6 GW by FY28

Published

7 days ago

September 17, 2026

admin

India’s major cement companies are set to raise their clean energy capacity to 6 GW by March 2028 from around 4 GW at the end of March 2026, according to ratings agency ICRA. The planned expansion is expected to involve investments of Rs. 130 bn over the next two years.

The additional capacity could generate annual savings of Rs. 62 bn to Rs. 67 bn, resulting in an estimated payback period of 1.8 to 2.2 years. Cement is an emission-intensive industry, and leading producers have established net-zero roadmaps covering the next 15 to 20 years.

The calcination process accounts for 57 to 60 per cent of the sector’s total emissions, while fuel combustion contributes 27 to 30 per cent and electricity consumption accounts for 10 to 13 per cent. ICRA said the figures highlighted the need for a broad decarbonisation strategy involving green power, blended cement, alternative fuels and improvements in clinker efficiency.

Green energy is considered one of the most commercially attractive decarbonisation options because it can reduce emissions while lowering operating costs. Every 5 per cent increase in green power replacement can reduce power and fuel costs by Rs. 15 to Rs. 16 per tonne. A 25 per cent replacement level could therefore save Rs. 75 to Rs. 80 per tonne and expand operating margins by 140 to 160 basis points.

Cement producers are also assessing carbon capture, utilisation and storage, although high implementation costs, energy requirements and limited transport and storage infrastructure are expected to slow commercial adoption. The government has proposed Rs. 200 bn over five years to support deployment across key sectors. Meanwhile, companies are targeting thermal substitution rates of 10 to 15 per cent over the next three to five years, compared with the current industry level of around 6 per cent.