Concrete

Ambuja Cementâ€™s Strategic plan on track to expand capacity to reach 50 MTPA

Published

5 years ago

March 5, 2021

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The 38 th Annual General Meeting of Ambuja Cements Ltd. was conducted on 9^th April 2021 virtually. Mr. Martin Kriegner, Non-Executive Director of the Company, chaired the meeting. The Chairman mentioned that Ambuja Cement is strongly progressing to become the ??ost Innovative,Sustainable and Competitive Building Solutions Company in India?? Ambuja Cement has a robust road map to become the best in the industry with strategic priorities structured under key levers of Growth, Competitiveness, Innovation & Digitalisation and Sustainability.

Growth: Ambuja Cement has ambitious growth plans to increase capacities and capture market growth in India. Its upcoming facility in Marwar Mundwa, Rajasthan will enhance clinker capacity by3 MTPA and help improve cement sales by 5 MTPA, contributing to long term strategy of capacity expansion. This Greenfield integrated plant, at a total investment of Rs. 2350 crores, will commence operations by Q3 2021. Ambuja is evaluating brownfield expansions in Bhatapara and Maratha plants.

It is also looking at significant debottlenecking opportunities across all plants. The growth plans will be executed in mid-term for Ambuja to reach 50 MTPA cement capacity. Competitiveness: Ambuja?? Operating EBITDA grew by 23% to Rs. 2,647 crores and Net Profit grew by 17% to Rs. 1,790 crores in 2020. Operating EBITDA and Net Profit margin for the year stood at 23.7% and 16% respectively, reporting a growth of 480 basis points and 260 basis points, over 2019. This strong performance was delivered through several cost management and efficiency initiatives. During the year, Ambuja leveraged synergies with ACC to drive scale and performance. This synergy under the Master Supply Agreement with ACC, led to more than 5% contribution Profit Before Tax in 2020. Ambuja Cement has a robust balance sheet with zero debt and AAA rating from Crisil.

Innovation and Digitalisation: During the year, Ambuja has launched its special product, ??mbuja Kawach?? which is a sustainable water-repellent cement and reduces carbon footprint by 33%, in comparison to other products. Its special product volume has recorded a strong double digit growth of 16% in 2020 and now comprises 11% of its total volumes.

Ambuja is strongly committed to enhance business efficiencies by leveraging Digitalization. The key focus of the year was on implementing digital tools in various parts of operations to enhance performance. The main initiative was the ??lants of Tomorrow??program which records and reports data from all assets on a real time basis helping improve operational efficiency. On logistics front, Artificial Intelligence powered supply chain management platform ??lue Yonder??was initiated and ??ransport Analytics Center??adopted from parent LafargeHolcim. Ambuja has also increased its digital engagement with customers and channel partners.

Sustainability: Ambuja Cement?? global parent LafargeHolcim has committed to becoming a ??et Zero??company and has set for itself the most ambitious climate targets in cement industry. Ambuja

has aligned to its parent?? ??et Zero??plan and sustainability strategy. Ambuja?? Sustainable Development Plan 2030 has a sharp focus on climate and energy, building a circular economy, conserving resources and nature, and driving meaningful change in the lives of communities. It aims to reduce CO2 to 463 kg CO₂/t cem. Ambuja targets to reuse 13.5 million tonnes of Waste and be 13 times water positive. It aims to save 77 litre/ tonne of cementious of water and positively impact the lives of 80 lakhs beneficiaries through its various CSR programs.

In 2020, Ambuja reduced its Specific net CO₂ per tonne of cementitious product to 531 kg. A uniqueinitiative in pipeline is the construction of WHRS in three locations by 2022 that would generate 54 MW to support power requirements in its plants. On circular economy, Ambuja co-processed around 4.5 lakhs tonnes of waste in its kilns including 83,000 tonnes of plastic waste. In addition, it consumed about 8 million tonnes of waste derived alternative raw materials such as fly ash, slag, synthetic gypsum in the manufacturing process. Ambuja is at the forefront in India in offering sustainable, long term waste management solutions through ??eocycle?? its waste management arm. In 2020, Ambuja has been 8 times water positive and reached out to 15.6 lakhs beneficiaries, through its CSR programs.

Across all its 20 locations, Ambuja reported zero fatality. It ranked 5 th in the Global Dow Jones Sustainability Index, a very significant global recognition.

Comments of Mr. Martin Kriegner, Chairman of the 38th AGM:

?? would like to congratulate all the employees of Ambuja for their resilience and commitment to deliver a remarkable performance in 2020. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I express my sincere appreciation for the efforts and hard work from employees at all levels and wish them the very best for year 2021. I take this opportunity to thank all our shareholders for their trust.??/p>

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

2 weeks ago

April 1, 2026

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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…

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Concrete

NCB Signs MoU With Cement Manufacturer To Boost Construction Skills

Partnership to deliver nationwide training and certification

Published

2 weeks ago

March 31, 2026

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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

2 weeks ago

March 30, 2026

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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.