Vinit Tiwari, Chief Sales Officer, Nuvoco Vistas Corp Ltd, discusses the factors of costs, competition and raw materials as well as cement prices within the relative context of overall market conditions.

Tell us about the increasing competition in the market with respect to your products?
Historically, the market has been competitive. Consolidation has resulted in an organised market, and processes will be streamlined as a result. We anticipate that competition will become more intense in the future as more companies enter the market with expanded capacity, but at Nuvoco, we are focusing on our key competencies: quality, innovation, and value for money. In view of our unique offerings, premium brands such as Concreto, Double Bull Master and Duraguard Microfiber expect to dominate the market and maintain their position.

Have you incorporated any change in your sales strategy to cut through the competition in the market?
At Nuvoco, we are advancing our core competency of offering premium products while maintaining our core values. As part of our efforts, we are strengthening our supply chain and digitising the purchasing process.
Our flagship brands, Concreto, Double Bull and Duraguard have performed exceptionally well in their respective markets. Over the past five years, Double Bull has become one of the fastest-growing cement brands in the country, with sales of more than 5 million tonnes. Duraguard offers a wide range of products that are technologically advanced and meet the needs of modern construction.
In FY 2021–22, the Modern Building Material (MBM) business sales and distribution network increased significantly, enhancing customer access to quality products and increasing sales revenue. Eventually, this will enable us to achieve our mission of becoming the leading manufacturer of building materials.

Tell us about new products being developed and how they are impacting your market share?
Nuvoco is committed to bringing new technologies to its product line through continuous research and development. Our recent additions are Duraguard Xtra F2F (premium composite cement), Concreto UNO (hydrophobic cement), Ecodure (green concrete) and Concreto Glyde (pile concrete) will help us to increase our market share.

Tell us about the challenges with in creased cement costs.
One of the primary concerns is that cement prices have not increased at a rate consistent with the increase in production and distribution costs. As we see it, this is an opportunity for the sector to analyse cost components by line item, from production to distribution. We are currently working on reducing our costs in order to remain competitive.

How do you view your sales in the next financial year in context to rising competition?
Competition has existed and will continue to exist. Continuing to build on our strengths, we strive to become the No. 1 premium selling company and the brand of choice. As far as growth is concerned, we have aggressive growth plans to become 25 MTPA by end of FY25 and further optimise our trade volumes.