Concrete

Putzmeister Breaks Concrete Pouring Record in the World

Published

12 years ago

October 31, 2014

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Putzmeister`s machines are involved in the construction of metro rail projects, expansion and modernisation of international airports at Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore; as well as building of diverse power plants, hydraulic projects, liquefied natural gas tanks, refineries, ports, roads, bridges, high-rises, and many such challenging projects.

Putzmeister Concrete Machines India is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Putzmeister GmbH, world?s No. 1 manufacturer of high capacity concrete machines. Putzmeister India manufactures an entire range of high-tech innovative concrete equipment, adapted to the Indian market specifications and the needs at its factory and head office in Verna, Goa. The company?s sales and service network is spread across India, continuously expanding further to cater to the growing infrastructure demands of the nation. As the pioneer of R&D in concrete pumping technology, Putzmeister is dedicated to offer the best and latest innovations in India.

Putzmeister?s machines are involved in the construction of metro rail projects, and expansion and modernisation of international airports at Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru; as well as building of diverse power plants, hydraulic projects, liquefied natural gas tanks, refineries, ports, roads, bridges, high-rises and many such challenging projects.

Continuous overnight concrete pour at NCC power project
Beginning of this year, Putzmeister completed a challenging pour at NCC power plant project at Krishnapatnam in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. Putzmeister?s boom pump-BSF 36.04H-ECI-withstood the continous concreting of the foundation, which was carried on overnight, completing this feat early morning the next day. The company is proud to be associated with clients who enable us to perform extraordinary tasks.

Putzmeister continues to provide the best innovations and quality in its concrete equipment. The world and our global partners know that Putzmeister is the one who sets standards ?every single time we pour?. At the same time, on the other side of the globe, Putzmeister was all set to create a new world record in Los Angeles, US.

Putzmeister sets new Guinness World Record for longest continuous pour in US
After a great successful concrete pour in India, the next day Putzmeister set a world record in Los Angeles, US. The massive pour took place with 12 Putzmeister truck-mounted concrete boom pumps ranging from 32 m to 47 m, two Putzmeister placing boom towers and two Putzmeister trailer-mounted pumps. These concrete pumps were strategically placed both inside and above the excavation. Total 19 pumps were utilised for this enormous 16,200 cm3 concrete pouring. It took 18.5 hours to complete the pour, which steered Putzmeister towards setting a new Guinness World Record for the largest continuous concrete pour on 15 February 2014 in Los Angeles.

The pour was to lay the foundation of the Wilshire Grand project, which will be the tallest structure west of the Mississippi when finished at 73 stories and 335 m in height. Turner and Conco, the general contractor of the project, devised a plan for the concrete pour, which was located 24-29 m below street level. For the past several months, crews have prepared the site by digging a 6 m-deep pit and lining it with 3,700 tonne of reinforcing steel. "We utilised Putzmeister equipment due to its durability and reliability," said Michael Marchesano, Turner?s general superintendent. "With a continuous pour of this magnitude, you need to be able to count on your equipment to keep doing its job, even under demanding conditions."

The pour included 227 ready mix trucks making more than 2,100 trips and pouring almost 39 mt of concrete during an 18 +-hour period.

"Each truck made 10-14 concrete drops, traveling through the night between eight different concrete plants within a 30 km radius," said Marchesano. "The first batch of concrete poured onto the site came from a plant in Vernon that poured the first concrete in Southern California ever."

"We were extremely happy with how all of the Putzmeister equipment performed," said Marchesano. "A pour this size requires extensive planning, precision, and dependable equipment. Everything went more smoothly than we could have imagined."

The concrete pour qualified as the largest continuous concrete pour in history and officially claimed a Guinness world record.

High-traffic, congested location
To minimise the impact on businesses and residents, the crew began the pour on a Saturday evening and concluded around noon the next day, working throughout the night.

Given that Los Angeles is the second most populous city in the US, the construction team anticipated logistical challenges when planning the large mat pour at the project?s downtown location. "Because the concrete must be poured within 90 mins of being mixed, trucks had to arrive on time," Marchesano explained. "In case of freeway jams, alternate routes were mapped."Not only was outside traffic a concern, but job site congestion also was a challenge. Equipment had to be carefully chosen to accommodate the site?s needs.

"Through its durability and diverse selection of pumps, Putzmeister helped us overcome the challenge of having a large amount of material that needed to be poured continuously in a dense urban area," said Marchesano. "Each piece of equipment had its role and was orchestrated to help make the pour run as smoothly and efficiently as possible."

Building up
Now that the foundation is in place, the crew will begin working on the attached parking structure and 73-story building that will make up the Wilshire Grand project. Both of the existing Putzmeister MX 34-4 Placing Boom Towers that were used for the concrete pour will remain in place while the crew builds up. Two additional Putzmeister placing booms will be constructed to help place concrete for the underground parking structure.The two Putzmeister trailer pumps used on the concrete pour will also be used to pump the concrete to the placing towers. The crew will be pumping more than 60,000 m3 of concrete vertically, including lightweight concrete and C55 mixes. With such well-planned and organised preparations, we are assertive of providing precise solutions to our clients in India.

Concrete

Cement Makers’ Margins To Fall Rs 50-75 Per Tonne Amid West Asia Conflict

Crisil Sees Margins Easing Despite Steady Demand

Published

2 weeks ago

July 29, 2026

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Crisil said operating margins of Indian cement manufacturers are expected to decline by Rs 50-75 per tonne (t) this fiscal to Rs 925-950 per t due to higher input costs triggered by the West Asia conflict. The analysis covered 18 cement companies accounting for nearly 90 per cent of India’s domestic cement capacity and noted margins had improved sharply to around Rs 1,000 per t in fiscal 2026.

Crisil noted that the reduction would be driven mainly by higher power and fuel costs, which account for about 30 per cent of total costs, as petcoke and imported coal prices have surged amid geopolitical uncertainties. Freight costs, which account for about a quarter of total costs, are also expected to remain elevated because of higher diesel prices. The impact on profitability is likely to be more pronounced in the first half of the fiscal year before easing commodity prices moderate cost pressures later.

The rating agency said steady domestic demand and strong balance sheets should keep credit profiles stable despite the moderation in margins. Green energy currently accounts for 35-40 per cent of the sector’s total electricity consumption and is expected to partly cushion higher energy costs. Operating cash flows are likely to remain resilient, supported by projected 6-7 per cent growth in cement demand this fiscal.

Crisil highlighted that demand growth will be driven primarily by infrastructure spending, which meets about one-third of sector consumption, and by a nearly 18 per cent higher budgetary allocation for core ministries that should support project execution. Weaker rural housing demand amid pressure on agricultural incomes from a possible below-average monsoon may be offset by improved urban housing demand supported by favourable home-loan rates and a strong pipeline of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban projects. Ongoing capacity additions will keep capital expenditure elevated and may lift net debt to EBITDA to between 1.2 and 1.4 times from around 1.0 time last fiscal, though ratios are expected to remain healthy.

Concrete

UltraTech Board Approves Rs 50 bn Fundraise Via NCDs

Company to issue half a million debentures for expansion plan

Published

2 weeks ago

July 28, 2026

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UltraTech Cement’s board of directors has approved raising Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 bn) through non?convertible debentures issued in rupees.

The finance committee cleared a proposal to issue up to 500,000 fully paid, unsecured, listed, rated, redeemable, rupee?denominated, non?convertible, non?cumulative debentures of Rs 1 lakh each (Rs 0.1 mn each), aggregating to the Rs 5,000 crore programme.

As of June 2026 the firm reported net debt of Rs 15,875 crore (Rs 158.75 bn) and said its capacity expansion projects under execution are backed by capital expenditure of about Rs 17,000 crore (Rs 170 bn) over the next two to two?and?a?half years.

UltraTech spent Rs 9,500 crore (Rs 95 bn) on capital expenditure in financial year 2026 and in April the group crossed 200.1 mn tonnes per annum of domestic grey cement capacity and 205.5 mn tonnes per annum of global capacity.

The chief financial officer indicated the company would take consolidated capacity beyond 242 mn tonnes per annum, with grey cement capacity reaching 212.7 mn tonnes per annum by the end of financial year 2027. He noted the net debt?to?earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation ratio stood at 0.87 times as of June 2026 and the company was confident of ending financial year 2027 with the ratio below one time.

In the first quarter of financial year 2026?27 UltraTech’s net profit attributable to owners rose 16.8 per cent year?on?year to Rs 2,599.3 crore (Rs 25.993 bn) and revenue from operations increased 15.9 per cent to Rs 24,648.20 crore (Rs 246.482 bn). The board approval is expected to complement internal cash flows as the company advances its expansion programme.

Concrete

Lokesh Lays Stone For Rs 31 Billion Cement Unit In Kadapa

Line-2 expansion to make Kadapa a major cement hub

Published

3 weeks 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.