Economy & Market

“Multiple dealerships is the norm, not an exception”

Published

8 years ago

March 31, 2018

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AK Bal, Director, Viraj Projects Pvt Ltd
Pune-based Viraj Projects is a comprehensive construction solutions provider for a wide array of sectors ranging from infrastructure, real estate, power and industrial. Having dealership in steels, sand, dyes, bricks, tiles etc., the firm is aiming to become a leading player in Indian construction sector. AK Bal, Director, Viraj Projects Pvt Ltd discusses the latest developments in the distribution channels in the construction sector as a whole, including that
of cement. What are the latest trends in buying patterns between bulk and bags in cement channels? Is there any change in buying patterns over the last two years and how do you see it panning out in the next two years?
Actually, bulkers are available aplenty, particularly catering to the consumption of RMCs or manufacturing units. For other activities like plastering, brickwork etc., bag cement is required. About 75% of requirements of RMC manufacturers are supplied through bulk only. The trend is building up towards bulk as wastage is low and cost is low. It saves on the cost of bags and wastage is less than one per cent. In the next couple of years, the trend will continue towards bulk. But bags cannot be avoided as there are a lot of consumers in rural India where cement is distributed still in bags. For urban supplies and infrastructure projects, bulk supplies are being preferred, so demand for bulk supplies is expected to rise. I am also working in the state of Orissa, where there was no bulk supplies a year back even in Bhubaneswar. The company we are working for has started manufacturing cement in the state and started bulk supplies. Is there any change in the supply chain strategies over the last few years vs traditional pattern of company-godown-dealer-last mile delivery? What are the evolving low-cost structures?
No change. Today also it is happening in the same way. Besides insuring their payments, the manufacturers want to maintain relations with their dealers so that they can protect market for their products. Though the companies are maintaining accounts of some key customers, the supplies are routed through dealers and distributors. Companies never supply cement directly to anybody. They want to encourage distributors also for insuring their receivables. The companies want to get their payment on time, so dealer will be in between to take care of payments. It seems a couple of online order taking firms have come into being recently and some companies are accepting orders online. Are you doing anything of that sort?
We are not into anything of that kind so far. There might be some firms who are doing this. However, if online orders are accepted by any firm then they may seek payment in advance. Area-wise distributors and dealers are there. So whether they will get commission or not is an issue. With emergence of mega distributors for a state or region, is there any change in the relationship with the manufacturers that is happening?
There are many dealers going in for multiple dealerships. Earlier they used to opt for single dealership and they used to get special incentives for doing so. But in that case, your business growth will be constrained as you will not be able to service clients seeking a particular brand, particularly RMC companies use a particular brand of cement for the whole project or multiple projects, and besides, they cannot afford to wait for supplies. All major distributors have multiple dealerships, instead of sticking to only one brand. What about quality…
I feel, quality of all the brands – big or small – in the market is equally good and there is no big difference, otherwise the small brands will not be able to sell their products in a competitive market. Even users are conscious of quality.Are there any changes in strategies adopted by the dealers for attracting customers? How about developing a network of small and sub-dealers?
Definitely there are small and sub-dealers, who are not the authorised dealers of the company. But they supply cement at higher prices after adding his profit margin. In rural areas the prices are high because there the consumption is low, at 10 or 20 bags, unless it is for a big project. What are the latest trends in consumer demand patterns associated with brands and brand identity?
Actually, there is nothing like smaller brand in the cement market. As far as I know, for all brands the manufacturing processes are robust and quality is monitored. Even if one bag out of one thousand bags they supply is of poor quality that company will lose customer confidence, so consistency is as important. Besides, customers have their own preferences.Are you dealing in some other building materials?
Yes, we are also dealing in steels, sand, dyes, bricks, tiles etc.How cement channels are comparable to other peers like steel, sand and bricks?
In steel, direct supply system from manufacturers is available. No credit is made available for steel from dealers, while it is there for cement. And another thing is cement has to be used within three months from the date of manufacture, hence some dealers push it through credit. That is not the case with steel which can be stores for a couple of years without erosion in quality, if properly stored. How do you see price patterns changing in your region in near future, and why?
Definitely, the prices are expected to go up from here. In Pune we are expecting the cement prices to touch Rs 270 plus GST per bag from the present level of Rs 230 plus GST now. Because the demand is very high and a lot of infrastructure projects are under implementation. With general elections in a year’s time, the government is announcing and implementing a lot of infrastructure projects. Unless the government controls prices before elections to satisfy the end consumer, the price trend will remain upwards. Even builders are trying to complete their projects at the earliest to cash in on their land banks. The reason is that earlier the building prices were going up rapidly giving hope that the builders can make more money if the project is delayed. Now, there is no such hope of revival in prices in the near future. Now the rise in prices is only 4-5 per cent a year, that is not sustainable if the project is delayed and it does not even cover the incremental interest cost incurred. Besides, input prices are moving up.– BS Srinivasalu Reddy

Economy & Market

TSR Will Define Which Cement Companies Win India’s Net-Zero Race

Published

3 days ago

April 27, 2026

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Jignesh Kundaria, Director and CEO, Fornnax Technology

India is simultaneously grappling with two crises: a mounting waste emergency and an urgent need to decarbonise its most carbon-intensive industries. The cement sector, the second-largest in the world and the backbone of the nation’s infrastructure ambitions, sits at the centre of both. It consumes enormous quantities of fossil fuel, and it has the technical capacity to consume something else entirely: the waste our cities cannot get rid of.

According to CPCB and NITI Aayog projections, India generates approximately 62.4 million tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, with that figure expected to reach 165 million tonnes by 2030. Much of this waste is energy-rich and non-recyclable. At the same time, cement kilns operate at material temperatures of approximately 1,450 degrees Celsius, with gas temperatures reaching 2,000 degrees. This high-temperature environment is ideal for co-processing, ensuring the complete thermal destruction of organic compounds without generating toxic residues. The physics are in our favour. The infrastructure is not.

Pre-processing is not the support act for co-processing. It is the main event. Get the particle size wrong, get the moisture wrong, get the calorific value wrong and your kiln thermal stability will suffer the consequences.

The Regulatory Push Is Real

The Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules 2026 mandate that cement plants progressively replace solid fossil fuels with Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF), starting at a 5 per cent baseline and scaling to 15 per cent within six years. NITI Aayog’s 2026 Roadmap for Cement Sector Decarbonisation targets 20 to 25 per cent Thermal Substitution Rate (TSR) by 2030. Beyond compliance, every tonne of coal replaced by RDF generates measurable carbon reductions which is monetisable under India’s emerging Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS). TSR is no longer a sustainability metric. It is a financial lever.

Yet our own field assessments across multiple Indian cement plants reveal a sobering reality: the primary barrier to scaling AFR adoption is not waste availability. It is the fragmented and under-engineered pre-processing ecosystem that sits between the waste and the kiln.

Why Indian Waste Is a Different Engineering Problem

Indian municipal solid waste is not the material that imported shredding equipment was designed for. Our waste streams frequently exceed 40 per cent to 50 per cent moisture content, particularly during monsoon cycles, saturated with abrasive inerts including sand, glass, and stone. Plants relying on imported OEM equipment face months of downtime awaiting proprietary spare parts. Machines built for segregated, low-moisture waste fail quickly and disrupt the entire pre-processing operation in Indian conditions.

The two most common failures we observe are what I call the biting teeth problem and the chewing teeth problem. Plants relying solely on a primary shredder reduce bulk waste to large fractions, but the output remains too coarse for stable kiln combustion. Others attempt to use a secondary shredder as a standalone unit without a primary stage to pre-size the feed, leading to catastrophic mechanical failure. When both stages are present but mismatched in throughput capacity, the system becomes a bottleneck. Achieving the 40 to 70 tonnes per hour required for meaningful coal displacement demands a precisely coordinated two-stage process.

Engineering a Made-in-India Answer

At Fornnax, our response to these challenges is grounded in one principle: Indian waste demands Indian engineering. Our systems are built around feedstock homogeneity, the holy grail of kiln stability. Consistent particle size and predictable calorific value are the foundation of stable kiln combustion. Without them, no TSR target is achievable at scale.

Our SR-MAX2500 Dual Shaft Primary Shredder (Hydraulic Drive) processes raw, baled, or loosely mixed MSW, C&I waste, bulky waste, and plastics, reducing them to approximately 150 mm fractions at throughputs of up to 40 tonnes per hour. The R-MAX 3300 Single Shaft Secondary Shredder (Hydraulic Drive), introduced in 2025, takes that primary output and produces RDF fractions in the 30 to 80 mm range at up to 30 tonnes per hour, specifically optimised for consistent kiln feeding. We have also introduced electric drive configurations under the SR-100 HD series, with capacities between 5 and 40 tonnes per hour, already operational at a leading Indian waste-processing facility.

Looking ahead, Fornnax is expanding its portfolio with the upcoming SR-MAX3600 Hydraulic Drive primary shredder at up to 70 tonnes per hour and the R-MAX2100 Hydraulic drive secondary shredder at up to 20 tonnes per hour, designed specifically for the large-scale throughput that higher TSR ambitions require.

The Investment Case Is Now

The 2070 Net-Zero target is not a distant goal for India’s cement sector. It starts today, with decisions being made on the plant floor.

The SWM Rules 2026 are already in effect, requiring cement plants to replace coal with RDF. Carbon credit markets are opening up, and coal prices are not going to get cheaper. Every tonne of coal a cement plant replaces with waste-derived fuel saves money on one side and generates carbon credit revenue on the other. Pre-processing infrastructure is no longer just a compliance requirement. It is a business investment with a measurable return.

The good news is that nothing is missing. The technology works. The waste is available in every Indian city. The government has provided the policy direction. The only thing standing between where the industry is today and where it needs to be is the commitment to build the right infrastructure.

The cement companies that move now will not just meet the regulations. They will be ahead of every competitor that waits.

About The Author

Jignesh Kundaria is the Director and CEO of Fornnax Technology. Over an experience spanning more than two decades in the recycling industry, he has established himself as one of India’s foremost voices on waste-to-fuel technology and alternative fuel infrastructure.

Concrete

WCA Welcomes SiloConnect as associate corporate member

Published

2 weeks ago

April 13, 2026

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The World Cement Association (WCA) has announced SiloConnect as its newest associate corporate member, expanding its network of technology providers supporting digitalisation in the cement industry. SiloConnect offers smart sensor technology that provides real-time visibility of cement inventory levels at customer silos, enabling producers to monitor stock remotely and plan deliveries more efficiently. The solution helps companies move from reactive to proactive logistics, improving delivery planning, operational efficiency and safety by reducing manual inspections. The technology is already used by major cement producers such as Holcim, Cemex and Heidelberg Materials and is deployed across more than 30 countries worldwide.

Concrete

TotalEnergies and Holcim Launch Floating Solar Plant in Belgium

Published

2 weeks ago

April 13, 2026

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TotalEnergies and Holcim have commissioned a floating solar power plant in Obourg, Belgium, built on a rehabilitated former chalk quarry that has been converted into a lake. The project has a generation capacity of 31 MW and produces around 30 GWh of renewable electricity annually, which will be used to power Holcim’s nearby industrial operations. The project is currently the largest floating solar installation in Europe dedicated entirely to industrial self-consumption. To ensure minimal impact on the surrounding landscape, more than 700 metres of horizontal directional drilling were used to connect the solar installation to the electrical substation. The project reflects ongoing collaboration between the two companies to support industrial decarbonisation through renewable energy solutions and innovative infrastructure development.