SG Saboo, Managing Director, Saboo Engineers.

The Indian market is almost at saturation point, with domestic players in both the plant and equipment sector. Progressive companies are now tapping opportunities out of India and there are plenty of opportunities, says SG Saboo, Managing Director of Saboo Engineers. Excerpts from the interview.

Would you tell us about your companyand your products?

We are basically in the manufacture of small and medium-sized cement plants. We supply two type of technologies, VSK and rotary kiln. VSK cement plants work up (produce?) to 300 tonnes per day, while the rotary kiln plant can reach a capacity of 1,500 tonnes per day. We supply complete cement plants, rotary kiln plants, mineral grinding plants and allied machinery on a turnkey basis. The company has its product lines based on thorough design and R&D expertise.

Which are the emerging markets for your business?

For us, the emerging markets are Africa and South America. In Europe and America, small and medium-sizde plants are not too economically sustainable. The demand is very high in and they require big plants to meet that demand. That is not the case with the African market.

How is the scenario in Africa?

There are so many small countries where there are no cement plants and cement prices have gone up to 20 USD a pack. They are importing all the cement from outside, even though they have the raw material deposits of limestone, clay, etc, everything except coke. In some of the countries, though, coke is also available. African countries have all the raw materials but they do not have the knowledge and the machinery to produce cement. These are our markets.

What has the response been from these countries?

When we entered Ethiopia, we saw long queues of cement buyers… the wait would go for more than a year! After we set up our plant there ,the cement shortage lightened. Now we are entering Djibouti, where we are supplying a plant of 600 tonnes-per-day capacity.to the Government of Djibouti. Djibouti’s population is only 2.5 million, so you cannot set up a plant with the capacity of 3,000 or 4,000 tonnes per day. It will be useless, the capacity would be too much. So we are supplying a medium-sized plant of 600 tonnes per day capacity, which will take care of the entire country’s demand.

We are also tapping Somalia, Nigeria, and Uganda as these are good markets for smaller and medium-sized plants. There are so many countries that do not have cement plants, so there is tremendous scope outside India for our machinery.

How well do you do in India?

We have delivered excellent small scale VSK plants in Rajasthan. They are producing a very good quality of cement. However, the demand for cement is very high in India, so the capacity of 50 – 200 tonnes is a negligible amount. In remote areas, small plants play a vital role. As the cost of diesel are high, cement transportation is correspondingly costly. By putting smaller and medium plant in a scattered limestone deposit, we can cater to the local needs.

What are the challenges you face in the market?

Our market is in the underdeveloped countriesso there is a shortage of employees and infrastructure. You have to train your own employees, even for the construction work required for the project.You need a lot of patience to work in limiting situations.