Concrete

We see a future without waste

Published

2 years ago

March 19, 2024

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Sunil Kumbhar, CEO and Director, AltSF Process, talks about how automation, technology and a commitment to sustainability is driving them to reshape the future of cement production.

Tell us about the range of materials that your equipment can handle and process.
AltSF Process has designed various equipment for application of co-processing of the solid alternative fuels. All the equipment is designed to accept all possible materials, so that the cement factory gets the flexible system. With a flexible system they are always ready to receive any material having some calorific value for energy substitution. In general, we accept grain size up to 500mm, surface moisture content up to 45 per cent and density between 0.1 and 1.2 t/m3.

How does your process convert bulk material fit for consumption as an alternative fuel?
Ideally, suppliers of the alternative fuel or bulk materials should provide a processed waste to the cement industry. But if quality is poor, shredder and screening machines are necessary to pre-process the waste to convert them to RDF. Based on the type of available bulk material, we can select the appropriate equipment shredder, screening, separation and sorting for preparation of the RDF.

Tell us about your products and their role in the cement manufacturing process?
AltSF Process products are used mainly for co-processing of the alternative solid fuels. For cement factories using fuels in their process, it requires uniform flow of the fuel, safe feeding in the calciner or kiln. All our equipment is designed to handle this uniform flow needed. Alternative fuels tend to jam at every location, so critical design thinking is necessary for optimised layout designing, which the AltSF team is delivering to users.

What is the role of automation and technology in your products and services?
Handling alternative fuels, specifically these days, unprocessed municipal solid waste coming to cement plants is of very hazardous nature. Bad odour, unhygienic waste has a hazard to deploy people to work in handling these materials. Hence, cement plants require fully automated arrangements monitored from their control room for all operations. AltSF delivers fully automated arrangements for all handling stages like storage management, extraction of waste, accurate weighing, conveying and safe feeding inside the kiln.

How does the use of your products and services impact the productivity and efficiency of cement making?
For cement factories the priority is to make cement and this is achieved through a precise control of temperature and process times inside a pyro-process section. We help by providing a solution that works for them without hampering the cement making process. Our unique solutions with uniform flow and safe feeding at high temperature of calciner allows cement factories to use alternative fuels in big volumes. One of our installations is able to feed 60 tph of RDF, after necessary cement manufacturing process updates.

What are the major challenges that you face as a provider to the cement industry?
Working conditions in alternative fuels are not favourable for a person to work in, resulting in less manpower with correct skills available in this sector. AltSF Process management is very much service oriented and wishes their customers to use alternative fuels in its best possible way. But we need to spend a lot of time training new people at this stage. We are sure, with positive work on training from ASAPP, CII and NCCBM this skill levels will go up soon. We are sure, industry just started because of the high volume of fuels and within a few years,
our industry will have more skilled manpower for this sector.

How do you envision the future of use of alternative fuels in the cement industry?
We are sure, in the near future, the quantity of alternative fuels in the cement industry will grow. Cement industry co-processing provides the right platform for waste recycling, as there is no residue after use, everything becomes part of cement itself. Since we are the second largest cement manufacturer, we also have the capability to consume our waste in the right way, without hampering the environment. We see a future without waste and a cement industry with more than 80 per cent alternative fuels.

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Concrete

Lokesh Lays Stone For Rs 31 Billion Cement Unit In Kadapa

Line-2 expansion to make Kadapa a major cement hub

Published

15 hours ago

July 20, 2026

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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.

Concrete

Cement Prices to Stay Flat in Q2 FY27 as Costs Squeeze Margins

HDFC Securities warns monsoon slowdown and higher fuel costs

Published

4 days ago

July 17, 2026

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HDFC Securities has said the cement industry is unlikely to register a sequential increase in prices in Q2 FY27 as monsoon-related demand moderation coincides with rising fuel and packaging costs that will squeeze margins. The brokerage observed that price gains remained modest, with increases of two to three per cent quarter-on-quarter across regions, and noted subdued offtake in May with improvement in June as a delayed monsoon supported construction activity. The brokerage added that modest pricing gains so far have been insufficient to offset the input cost escalation.

The report stated that input cost pressures intensified in Q1 FY27 owing to the West Asia conflict, which pushed up coal and pet coke prices and is expected to keep fuel costs elevated, with a likely peak in Q2 FY27. It assessed that total variable costs, including packing, could rise by around Rs 150 per t quarter-on-quarter and that lower offtake and seasonal operating deleverage could further raise operating expenditure by about Rs 50 per t quarter-on-quarter.

Overall, cement prices were estimated to remain flat in Q2 FY27 as monsoon-led demand weakness offsets limited upside in realisation, and rising fuel costs alongside seasonal deleverage were expected to compress industry margins by over Rs 100 per t quarter-on-quarter to below Rs 880 per t. The brokerage indicated that the combined impact of energy inflation and higher packing expenditure would be the principal drivers of margin contraction in the near term. HDFC Securities projected a recovery in margins in H2 FY27 should the West Asia turmoil subside and energy and packing costs cool off.

The brokerage expressed optimism on long-term demand fundamentals and said improving realisation together with an anticipated cost cool-off should support a margin rebound from H2 FY27 onward, underpinning favourable industry prospects over the medium term. Its outlook rests on monsoon normalisation and a decline in imported fuel prices in the second half of the fiscal year.

Concrete

Dalmia Bharat Begins Rs 31 Bn Green Cement Unit in Kadapa

New Andhra Pradesh plant to add 9.6 MTPA cement capacity by FY28

Published

5 days ago

July 16, 2026

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Dalmia Bharat Limited recently laid the foundation stone for its second manufacturing unit at Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh. The company will invest Rs 31 billion in developing the next-generation integrated cement manufacturing facility.

The foundation-laying ceremony was attended by Nara Lokesh, Andhra Pradesh Minister for Information Technology, Electronics and Communications, Real-Time Governance and Human Resources Development, along with Puneet Dalmia, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dalmia Bharat, senior government officials and company representatives.

Scheduled to be commissioned by the third quarter of FY28, the Kadapa unit will become Dalmia Bharat’s largest integrated manufacturing facility in southern India. It will have a clinker production capacity of 6.1 million tonnes per annum and a cement manufacturing capacity of 9.6 million tonnes per annum.

The facility is designed to produce what the company describes as one of the world’s greenest cements. It is also expected to generate approximately 1,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities while supporting local MSMEs, transporters, contractors and service providers.

Lokesh said the investment reflected Dalmia Bharat’s confidence in Andhra Pradesh and aligned with the state’s objective of promoting sustainable industrialisation, job creation and technology-led economic growth.

Puneet Dalmia said the project represented the company’s long-term vision of developing low-carbon cement manufacturing assets. He added that the facility would establish new benchmarks in operational efficiency and sustainability while supporting India’s infrastructure and environmental goals.

Dalmia Bharat will also expand its regional community development programmes in education, healthcare, skill development and welfare through its DIKSHa and Gram Parivartan initiatives.

The company currently has an installed cement manufacturing capacity of 54.7 million tonnes across 19 manufacturing units in 12 states. It is also the first cement company globally to commit to the RE100, EP100 and EV100 initiatives.