Concrete

Right design of the transportation system is critical

Published

4 years ago

October 13, 2022

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Vinod Agrawal, Executive Vice President – Logistics, Wonder Cement, discusses the varied factors affecting the material handling equipment and their maintenance, as well as the role of automation and technology in the material handling process.

Tell us about the key material handling equipment used in a cement plant. At what stage of manufacturing are these equipment most functional?
Cement manufacturing is a process driven industry where various types of ore, raw materials, semifinished and finished products are handled in various forms at various stages. Efficiency and productivity of the material handling equipment is vital to produce the best quality of cement at the most economic cost. Modern cement plants use following material handling equipment:

From limestone mines to crusher: Hydraulic high-capacity dumpers/tippers, poclains, belt conveyors/pipe conveyors. Some of these belt conveyors are even spread cross-country panning at a length of 17 km, carrying limestone from mines in India for cement plants located in Bangladesh. The longest conveyor belt in the world measures to 98 km and is operational to transport at the ore in Western Sahara, Africa. Since belt conveyors are a very efficient mode of transportation, there are various projects ongoing for manufacturing even longer belt conveyors not only in cement industries but also in other manufacturing sectors.

From crusher to raw mill: Belt conveyors, stacker and reclaimers are used to maintain uniformity of quality. In the mines from pit to pit based on the horizontal and vertical location there is some variation in quality. Stacker and reclaimer are a two-step material handling, storage as well as homogenisation process equipment to maintain uniformity of the raw material of limestone, ores like gypsum, raw materials and fuels like coal, petcoke etc. Here, the wagon tipplers and truck tipplers are used to receive and unload raw materials “Right design of the transportation system is critical.”Vinod Agrawal, Executive Vice President – Logistics, Wonder Cement faster throughout the chain of operation.

From raw mill output to clinkerisation: Heat resistant belt conveyors, bucket elevators (belt and chain type), air lifters/air slides, pneumatic conveying system, screw conveyors and overhead cranes are used to carry materials in this stage of cement manufacturing.

From post clinkerisation to grinding: Belt conveyors, bucket elevators, air slides, screw conveyors are used to carry clinker to grinding units.

From cement packaging to dispatch: Automatic ROTO packers, wagon loading machines for covered wagons for 50kg cement bags, truck loading machines, bulk cement conveying and loading system for bulkers/tank Container wagons, clinker loading system for open wagons.

Finished goods (cement) – end transportation to customers: Various type of railway wagons like covered wagons (BCN/BCNA), Open Type Wagons (BOXN), bulk cement transportation wagons like (BCCW, BTAP), various types of trucks with a capacity of 10 MT to 45 MT, bulkers for transportation of bulk cement by road, container wagons by road as well as rail.For material handling, storage and onwards, the transportation at the depot is done by using conveyors, cranes or manually

What is the maintenance procedure of the material handling equipment at your organisation?
In our organisation, we maintain the highest level of reliability of all equipment by adhering to Preventive Maintenance (PM) Frequency as given by the suppliers (Original Equipment Manufacturers) recommendation. The preventive maintenance is a very structured and well-designed maintenance system, where each part of the equipment has a defined frequency of inspection, repairing and replacement of the parts. Since cement manufacturing is a continuous process industry, reliability on each and every equipment is equally important as negligence or deviation in any material handling equipment even if it may be of smallest value. Negligence can cause a complete stoppage of the entire production cycle. We are following a 100 per cent adherence on the preventive measure schedule given by OEM. Apart from this we are continuously innovating better systems for superior operation in each stage of material handling.

Tell us about the role of automation and technology in the material handling process?
Today’s digitisation and technological upgradation has changed the shape of material handling equipment.

There are inbuilt quality checks installed in the equipment that conduct an hourly check at each stage of material handling where the equipment functions. Every equipment in our units are equipped with automatic sensors, safety interlock switches for material high level, low level, cross belt analyser, belt conveyors material conveying rate Ton Per Hour (TPH) on real time basis, speed variable drives to increase or decrease the speed on automatic basis to cite some examples. Our quality testing laboratory, we use world class robotic technology to handle the samples of raw materials, semi-finished and finished products for quality assurance.

Every equipment at our packaging plants is equipped to monitor the exact weight of each bag of cement. An automatic bag counter is installed at various stages of the packing and loading operation unit, which helps reduce manual work load and ensure higher rate of accuracy in the system

What are the key differences in handling raw material versus handling end products at the cement plant?
Raw materials are normally handled in bulk form in larger structures like stone shapes, granules, fine powder and mainly handled by equipment like belt conveyors, belt bucket elevators, air slides, air lifters, pneumatic conveying system. For the finished goods, till the packing operation, almost similar equipment is used to carry the load through different units.

However, after the packaging is done, there are customised material handling equipment like wagon loading machine, truck loading machine etc. The belt conveyor is most commonly used equipment and is functional throughout the process till loading is done inside the wagons and trucks. The design, capacity and size of the belt conveyors changes as per each stage of operation.

Tell us about the various conveyors used in the manufacturing unit?
There are various types of conveyors like, belt conveyor, which is most commonly used. There are other types of conveyors used for transportation of material like pipe type conveyors, heat resistant belt conveyors, bucket elevators, screw conveyors etc., through different processes of the cement manufacturing process.

What role do gates play in the transportation of material in and out of the plant?
Gates or valves are an integral part of the material handling equipment. These ensure controlled flow of materials and avoid any overflow, jamming or bottlenecks in the process of transfer of materials. They also are of help during maintenance work as they can stop material from flowing while the maintenance job is being completed.

How does the manufacturing unit ensure efficiency in the material transportation process?
Efficiency of the material transportation process can be ensured by adhering to the best operation practices and maintenance standards enlisted according to individual system guidelines. This not only ensures efficiency; it increases the machinery reliability and impacts productivity of the unit as a whole.

How can material handling or transportation impact the profitability of the organisation?
Selection of the right design of transportation system is critical for long term sustainability and profitability of any organisation. For example, if we do not install belt conveyors for ore transportation from mines to crushers and instead use road transportation, then the operating cost of the function will be almost five times higher than the use of conveyors.

Similarly, installation of rail handling systems or rail siding is key for long term viability and ease of operation compared to road transportation. Also, as a responsible corporate each organisation has the responsibility of conserving and protecting the environment, which is only possible with right designing, installation as well as operation of the material handling equipment.

What are the technological advancements required to enhance the productivity of material handling equipment?
There is a continuous cycle of innovation in the technology provided by prominent suppliers of material handling equipment. They are offering advancement in terms of automation and digitisation of the equipment, they are making them more environment friendly, safer for operation, providing a higher output while consuming less operating cost and giving higher number of runs before a scheduled maintenance is needed as per industry standards.

All this has been achieved with technological advancements and the same can be further improved and enhanced for higher productivity levels.

How do you foresee the future of material transportation at your manufacturing unit?
Earlier, most of the key material handling equipment for cement plants were imported. However, with the industrial development in India, we are gradually seeing a reduction of imported equipment and a lot of industries being set up locally for this sector that can provide the same technology of equipment at a much lower price while maintaining international standards. We foresee many more such industries being set up in India, where equipment delivery time will be reduced significantly and the cost will be competitive in the market. The lead time will be significantly reduced with this move as suppliers will be available across the country.

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UltraTech Cement FY26 PAT Crosses Rs 80 bn

Company reports record sales, profit and 200 MTPA capacity milestone

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13 hours ago

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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

2 days ago

April 28, 2026

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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.

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Concrete

Andhra Offers Discom Licences To Private Firms Outside Power Sector

Policy allows firms over 300 MW to seek distribution licences

Published

3 days ago

April 27, 2026

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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.