Concrete

Success Story: Achieving industrial excellence with superior lubrication

Published

4 years ago

December 13, 2022

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Focusing on the holistic vision to enhance overall operations.

As a fast-developing economy, India is currently witnessing enhanced demand across sectors including commercial and industrial construction, housing, core infrastructure, etc. Along with rising consumer demand, there is a parallel growth in demand for industrial raw materials. Here, India is doing well to capacitate its industries towards fulfilling evolving market demand and as the second-largest producer of cement in the world, the Indian cement industry’s production capacity is expected to reach 550 MMT by 2025. As the cement industry grows, businesses here are drawing their attention on adopting methods that can aid energy-efficiency in operations while ensuring productivity and profitability. The cement industry encounters a common problem in bearing and industrial gearbox failures due to inadequate lubrication. Most cement plant applications, therefore, require adequate and superior-quality lubrication to increase reliability as well as to improve the total cost of ownership through high-performance and high-pressure lubricants.
Addressing this challenge with a holistic vision to enhance overall operations, MobilTM is providing exceptional performance gear and bearing oils which have been designed to provide outstanding results in equipment protection, oil life, and problem-free operations – aiding increased productivity
and efficiency.

Providing solutions through premium lubrication
Recently, Mobil became associated with one of India’s largest cement manufacturing companies based out of Tamil Nadu that covers operations across five integrated cement units and has 6 grinding units spread across several states. Operations at the company require the use of a variety of in-house processes and machinery, demanding specialised and advanced quality hydraulic fluids and gear oils for smooth functioning. They approached Mobil with challenges in short oil drain intervals (ODIs), hindered productivity, and increased maintenance cost from existing lubricant usage. They sought Mobil’s assistance in developing condition-based monitoring for their crucial applications, and to enhance technical knowledge of their equipment to help overcome troubleshooting activities.
After a careful review of the situation, Mobil recommended the use of MobilgearTM 600 XP 320, a part of the MobilgearTM 600 XP Series. The premium gear oils under this series provide high performance, have outstanding tolerance to extreme pressure, and come with superior load-carrying properties. Mobil advised the usage of these advanced gear oils for the organisation’s raw miller roller lubrication, kiln main drive gear box, and cement mil VRM gearbox. The advanced gear oils are equipped for evolving needs of high technology gear boxes and have enabled the cement firm to increase its ODI by 4.5-times in raw mill roller lubrication, 2.25-times in kiln main drive gearbox, and 2.5-times in its cement mill VRM gearbox. Mobil also recommended the MobilgearTM 600 XP 220 which helped them to increase the ODI by 2.5-times in their coal mill main drive gearbox, resulting in net savings of INR 1,14,750.
To boost the ODI for their cement mill roller hydraulics, the cement manufacturers adopted the Mobil DTETM 24 Ultra high-performance anti-wear hydraulic oil with extended oil life capabilities. This helped them increase ODI by 4-times. These product upgrades along with a thorough root cause analysis to resolve the chromium alert issue in their roller lubrication application and the sodium alert issue in the main drive gearbox that hindered their productivity made them document a total savings of INR 3,031,400 in the year 2021.

Advanced technology to cater to evolving needs
To improve reliability and productivity of the organisation’s critical equipment and ensure profitability at the same time, the company also utilised the Mobil ServSM suite of services. They deployed the Mobil ServSM Lubricant Analysis (MSLA) program for receiving regular updates and reports on operations to aid them in planning periodic maintenance and reducing machine downtime. The company faced difficulty in monitoring equipment remotely for real-time oil conditioning and reducing man-machine interaction – an imperative in today’s era of digitalisation. To tackle this issue, Mobil assisted with its advanced IIOT sensors which provides customised solutions and in-depth analysis to the cement company.
Mobil also organised technical lube training every year to enhance knowledge on specific applications, products and their maintenance, which enabled them to handle troubleshooting efficiently. Additionally, MSLA helped the cement giant to continuously track lubricant and equipment trends. This helped enforce proactive maintenance for important applications, which resulted in longer ODIs and, thus, improved productivity and profitability.
Mobil also utilised the Planned Engineering Service (PES) process to provide the best possible solutions. These solutions have enabled them to improve performance through a planned “best practice” approach to lubrication maintenance. PES is a robust and consistent methodology that enables Mobil to deliver services that add value. It has four steps – mutual planning, objective execution, benefit documentation, and annual business review. Moving ahead, the PES process will continue to unleash productivity of equipment and help the organisation achieve maximum potential of its assets.
Overall, a combination of superior product solutions along with servicing that guarantees productivity and profitability has enabled the cement firm to unlock greater levels of performance.

For more details, please visit mobil.co.in/business
(Exxon Mobil Corporation has numerous affiliates, many with names that include ExxonMobil, Exxon, Esso and Mobil. For convenience and simplicity, those terms and references to ‘corporation’, ‘company’, ‘ExxonMobil’, ‘EM’, and other similar terms are used for convenience and may refer to one or more specific affiliates or affiliate groups.)

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Cement Makers’ Margins To Fall Rs 50-75 Per Tonne Amid West Asia Conflict

Crisil Sees Margins Easing Despite Steady Demand

Published

2 weeks ago

July 29, 2026

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Crisil said operating margins of Indian cement manufacturers are expected to decline by Rs 50-75 per tonne (t) this fiscal to Rs 925-950 per t due to higher input costs triggered by the West Asia conflict. The analysis covered 18 cement companies accounting for nearly 90 per cent of India’s domestic cement capacity and noted margins had improved sharply to around Rs 1,000 per t in fiscal 2026.

Crisil noted that the reduction would be driven mainly by higher power and fuel costs, which account for about 30 per cent of total costs, as petcoke and imported coal prices have surged amid geopolitical uncertainties. Freight costs, which account for about a quarter of total costs, are also expected to remain elevated because of higher diesel prices. The impact on profitability is likely to be more pronounced in the first half of the fiscal year before easing commodity prices moderate cost pressures later.

The rating agency said steady domestic demand and strong balance sheets should keep credit profiles stable despite the moderation in margins. Green energy currently accounts for 35-40 per cent of the sector’s total electricity consumption and is expected to partly cushion higher energy costs. Operating cash flows are likely to remain resilient, supported by projected 6-7 per cent growth in cement demand this fiscal.

Crisil highlighted that demand growth will be driven primarily by infrastructure spending, which meets about one-third of sector consumption, and by a nearly 18 per cent higher budgetary allocation for core ministries that should support project execution. Weaker rural housing demand amid pressure on agricultural incomes from a possible below-average monsoon may be offset by improved urban housing demand supported by favourable home-loan rates and a strong pipeline of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban projects. Ongoing capacity additions will keep capital expenditure elevated and may lift net debt to EBITDA to between 1.2 and 1.4 times from around 1.0 time last fiscal, though ratios are expected to remain healthy.

Concrete

UltraTech Board Approves Rs 50 bn Fundraise Via NCDs

Company to issue half a million debentures for expansion plan

Published

2 weeks ago

July 28, 2026

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UltraTech Cement’s board of directors has approved raising Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 bn) through non?convertible debentures issued in rupees.

The finance committee cleared a proposal to issue up to 500,000 fully paid, unsecured, listed, rated, redeemable, rupee?denominated, non?convertible, non?cumulative debentures of Rs 1 lakh each (Rs 0.1 mn each), aggregating to the Rs 5,000 crore programme.

As of June 2026 the firm reported net debt of Rs 15,875 crore (Rs 158.75 bn) and said its capacity expansion projects under execution are backed by capital expenditure of about Rs 17,000 crore (Rs 170 bn) over the next two to two?and?a?half years.

UltraTech spent Rs 9,500 crore (Rs 95 bn) on capital expenditure in financial year 2026 and in April the group crossed 200.1 mn tonnes per annum of domestic grey cement capacity and 205.5 mn tonnes per annum of global capacity.

The chief financial officer indicated the company would take consolidated capacity beyond 242 mn tonnes per annum, with grey cement capacity reaching 212.7 mn tonnes per annum by the end of financial year 2027. He noted the net debt?to?earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation ratio stood at 0.87 times as of June 2026 and the company was confident of ending financial year 2027 with the ratio below one time.

In the first quarter of financial year 2026?27 UltraTech’s net profit attributable to owners rose 16.8 per cent year?on?year to Rs 2,599.3 crore (Rs 25.993 bn) and revenue from operations increased 15.9 per cent to Rs 24,648.20 crore (Rs 246.482 bn). The board approval is expected to complement internal cash flows as the company advances its expansion programme.

Concrete

Lokesh Lays Stone For Rs 31 Billion Cement Unit In Kadapa

Line-2 expansion to make Kadapa a major cement hub

Published

3 weeks ago

July 20, 2026

admin

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.