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Effective communication is essential in precast detailing

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Vijay Shah, Managing Partner, India Precast, talks about the process of making precast concrete shapes, with a focus on the challenges that accompany the production.

Tell us about the process of casting concrete in shapes.
Precast concrete products are made through pouring either wet cast or dry cast concrete into moulds, which are then hardened and removed to be dispatched. These moulds could be from concrete posts, pillars, columns, slabs etc. This benefits the construction process as it can be difficult to manoeuvre or create the right shapes and sizes by pouring the concrete on site.

The process of making precast shapes involve:

  • Build a form. The inside of the form defines the shape that is being created. This form is then filled up with cement and is kept to dry and harden.
  • Clean the mould before adding cement to it. The mould should be lined with materials or chemicals that allow for the hardened concrete structure to retrieve from it.
  • Cement or concrete mix is then created to be poured into the moulds for setting. We use a variety of concrete grades like M25, M30, M35, M40, and M45 for this mix. The mould poured in cement is left alone for 24 hours to harden and removed once set.
  • Once set, a hard mould is either broken or the cast is retrieved from a soft mould by shaking, which is ready to be transported to the location of construction or building activity.

What are the standard sizes and shapes of precast made by your organisation?
Our organisation makes various types of precast elements like:

Solid load bearing floor slabs, load bearing walls, facades, sandwich wall panels and cladding panels
Floor and roof slabs, made from prestressed load bearing hollow concrete slab and ribbed slab. Floors or roofs are also made from half floor slab or semi-finished floor slab with
lattice girder.
Precast stair cases, balcony, toilet pods, lift shafts and water tanks
Prestressed lintel, frames, beams, column and double tee beam
Internal partition walls, made from light-weight hollow core wall panels instead of AAC blocks or bricks
Sandwich walls, beams, columns, I-Beam, tee beam, lintel, footings, boundary walls, retaining walls, fencing poles, U-drainage or trench, box culvert, jersey barriers, covers, paver blocks etc.

Explain the moulds used to make these shapes. Do you customise moulds?
Concrete moulds are moulds that are used to shape the concrete you are working with. The concrete will adopt the shape of the mould as it cures. Concrete moulds are used to give concrete its finishing shape. Moulds are of various types (refer table below). We customise the moulds as per requirements.

S. No. Mould type Uses

  1. Conventional moulds Ribbed slabs, beams, window panels, box type units and special elements
  2. Battery moulds Interior wall panels, shell elements, roof and floor slabs
  3. Tilting moulds Exterior wall panels where special finishes are required on one face or for sandwich panels
  4. Long line prestressing beds Double tees, ribbed slabs, piles and beams
  5. Extrusion machine Roof slabs and hollow core slabs

Concrete

Star Cement launches ‘Star Smart Building Solutions’

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Star Cement has launched ‘Star Smart Building Solutions,’ a new initiative aimed at promoting sustainable construction practices, as per a recent news report. This venture introduces a range of eco-friendly products, including tile adhesives, tile cleaners and grouts, designed to enhance durability and reduce environmental impact. The company plans to expand this portfolio with additional value-added products in the near future. By focusing on sustainable materials and innovative building solutions, Star Cement aims to contribute to environmentally responsible construction and meet the evolving needs of modern infrastructure development.

Image source:https://www.starcement.co.in/

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Concrete

Nuvoco Vistas reports record quarterly EBITDA

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Nuvoco Vistas reported its highest-ever quarterly consolidated EBITDA of Rs.556 crore in Q4 FY25, with annual EBITDA at Rs.1,391 crore. Cement sales reached 19.4 MMT in FY25, with Q4 contributing 5.7 MMT. Revenue rose 4 per cent YoY to Rs.3,042 crore in Q4. Net debt reduced by Rs.390 crore to Rs.3,640 crore. The company received NCLT approval for acquiring Vadraj Cement, targeting 31 MMTPA capacity by FY27. Key marketing initiatives, expanding RMX and MBM businesses, and a focus on sustainability (457 kg CO2/tonne) drove performance. Nuvoco remains focused on premiumisation, operational efficiency, and market expansion.

Image source:nuvoco.com

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Concrete

UltraTech Cement increases capacity by 1.4Mt/yr

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UltraTech Cement has expanded its production capacity by 1.4 million tonnes per annum (Mt/yr) through a combination of debottlenecking efforts and operational efficiency upgrades across several of its plants. The enhancements include an addition of 0.6Mt/yr in grinding capacity at the Nagpur facility in Maharashtra and a combined 0.8Mt/yr at the Panipat and Jhajjar units in Haryana. With these upgrades, the company’s total domestic grey cement capacity has risen to 184.8Mt/yr, while its global capacity now stands at 190.2Mt/yr.

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