Concrete

Cement Firms Target Bulk Buyers

Cement firms shift focus to bulk buyers.

Published

2 years ago

September 13, 2024

admin

Cement companies in India are increasingly targeting bulk buyers, such as infrastructure projects and real estate developers, as they face challenges related to pricing pressures, shrinking margins, and rising input costs. Amidst this difficult market environment, focusing on bulk sales helps mitigate volatility in the retail segment while ensuring steady revenue streams.

Key Points:

Pricing and Margin Pressures: The cement industry is currently grappling with higher production costs due to increased fuel and raw material prices. This, coupled with intense competition, has resulted in a squeeze on profit margins. Cement firms are finding it hard to pass on these rising costs to consumers, particularly in the retail segment, which remains sensitive to price hikes.

Shift Toward Bulk Buyers: To counter these challenges, companies are increasingly shifting their attention to bulk buyers, which include large infrastructure projects, real estate developers, and government initiatives. Bulk buyers offer stable demand and better pricing terms, helping companies manage their financial health more efficiently. Projects like roads, highways, and affordable housing are expected to drive substantial cement demand in the coming years.

Steady Demand from Infrastructure Projects: Government-led infrastructure initiatives, such as PM Gati Shakti, Smart Cities Mission, and affordable housing schemes, are fueling cement demand. Cement firms see these projects as key opportunities to stabilize revenues, with bulk sales providing them with assured orders over long periods.

Diversification of Sales Strategy: Companies are rethinking their sales strategies by strengthening relationships with contractors, developers, and government agencies. This approach helps cement companies secure long-term contracts, reduce market volatility, and counter the uncertainties of fluctuating retail demand.

Investment in Distribution Networks: To better serve bulk buyers, many cement companies are investing in expanding and upgrading their distribution infrastructure. This includes improving storage facilities, logistics, and transportation networks to ensure timely and cost-effective delivery of bulk cement.

Sustainability and Efficiency: Companies are also focusing on sustainability initiatives, improving energy efficiency, and cutting carbon emissions. This aligns with the global trend toward greener construction practices, which is becoming increasingly important to bulk buyers, especially in large infrastructure projects.

As the cement industry adapts to evolving market conditions, the focus on bulk buyers offers a viable path forward for maintaining profitability amidst growing operational challenges.

Up Next

Bridge Collapse Spurs Focus on Stainless Steel

Don't Miss

Chhattisgarh MP criticises sudden cement price hike

Concrete

Ultra Concrete Age

Prof. A. S. Khanna (Retd., IIT Bombay) on how Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) improves strength, durability and lifecycle performance.

Published

1 week ago

April 1, 2026

admin

The need of present time is stronger buildings, industrial or common utility buildings, such as Malls, Railway stations, hospitals, offices, bridges etc. For this, there is need of long durable, tough and stable concrete, which could stand under normal and seismic conditions. Tough railway bridges are required for bullet trains to pass without any damage. Railway tunnels, sea-links, coastal roads, bridges and multistorey buildings, are the need of the hour. The question comes, is the normal cement called OPC is sufficient to take care of such requirements or better combination of cements and sand mixtures is required?

Introduction

A good stable building structure can be made with a good quality of cement+sand+water system. Its quality can be enhanced by keeping the density of admixture higher (varies from 30 in normal buildings to bridges etc to 80). Further enhancement in the properties of various cements admixtures is made by adding several additives which give additional strength, waterproofing, flexibility etc. These are called construction chemicals…

To read the full story Click Here

Concrete

NCB Signs MoU With Cement Manufacturer To Boost Construction Skills

Partnership to deliver nationwide training and certification

Published

1 week ago

March 31, 2026

admin

The National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCB) has signed a memorandum of understanding with a leading cement manufacturer to strengthen skill development and capacity building in the construction sector. The agreement was formalised at NCB premises in Ballabgarh and was signed by the Director General of NCB, Dr L. P. Singh, and the head of technical services at UltraTech Cement Limited, Er Rahul Goel. The collaboration seeks to bring institutional resources and industry expertise into a structured national training effort.

The partnership will deliver structured training and certification programmes across the country aimed at enhancing the capabilities of civil engineers, ready?mix concrete (RMC) professionals, contractors, construction workers and masons. Programme curricula will cover material quality testing, concrete mix proportioning, durability assessment and sustainable construction practices to support improved construction outcomes. Emphasis is to be placed on standardised assessment and certification to raise practice levels across diverse construction roles.

Practical learning elements will include workshops, site demonstrations, technical seminars and exposure visits to plants and RMC facilities to strengthen applied skills and on?site decision making. The Director General indicated confidence that a large number of professionals and workers would be trained over the next three to five years under the initiative. The partnership is designed to complement flagship government schemes such as the Skill India Mission and to align training outputs with national infrastructure priorities.

By combining the council’s technical mandate with industry experience, the initiative aims to develop a more skilled and quality?conscious workforce capable of meeting rising demand in infrastructure and housing. NCB will continue to coordinate programme delivery and quality assurance while industry partners provide practical exposure and technical inputs. The collaboration is expected to support long?term capacity building and more sustainable construction practices nationwide.

Concrete

JSW Cement Commissions Nagaur Plant, Enters North India

New Rajasthan unit boosts capacity to 24.1 MTPA and expands reach

Published

1 week ago

March 30, 2026

admin

JSW Cement has strengthened its national presence by commencing production at its greenfield integrated cement plant in Nagaur, Rajasthan, marking its entry into the north Indian market.

With this commissioning, the company’s installed grinding capacity has increased to 24.1 MTPA, while total clinker capacity, including its joint venture operations, stands at 9.74 MTPA.

The Nagaur facility comprises a 3.30 MTPA clinkerisation unit and a 2.50 MTPA cement grinding unit, with an additional 1.00 MTPA grinding capacity currently under development. Strategically located, the plant is positioned to serve high-growth markets across Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and the NCR.

The project has been funded through a mix of equity and long-term debt, with Rs 800 crore allocated from IPO proceeds towards part-financing the unit.

Parth Jindal, Managing Director, JSW Cement, stated that the commissioning marks a key milestone in the company’s ambition to become a pan-India player. He added that the project was completed within 21 months and positions the company to achieve its targeted capacity of 41.85 MTPA by FY29.

Nilesh Narwekar, CEO, JSW Cement, highlighted that the expansion aligns with the company’s strategy to tap into rapidly growing northern markets driven by infrastructure development. He noted that the company remains focused on delivering high-quality, eco-friendly cement solutions while progressing towards its long-term capacity goal of 60 MTPA.

The Nagaur plant has been designed with sustainability features, including co-processing of alternative fuels and a 7 km overland belt conveyor for limestone transport to reduce road emissions. The facility will also incorporate a 16 MW Waste Heat Recovery System to improve energy efficiency and lower its carbon footprint.

JSW Cement, part of the JSW Group, operates across the building materials value chain and currently has eight plants across India, along with a clinker unit in the UAE through its joint venture.