Concrete

Organised retailer

Published

5 years ago

March 5, 2021

admin

Shankara Building Products is a leading organised retailer of home improvement and building products in India, operating under the brand name ??hankara Buildpro?? It runs 100+ stores spread across Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Puducherry. It started in 1995, and is headquartered in Bengaluru. It is listed on NSE and BSE with a turnover of Rs 2,640 crore.

It sells over 30,000+ SKUs across the entire home construction and renovation lifecycle through its retail stores. The products are spread across categories of construction materials, plumbing and sanitary ware, flooring, electrical, interior-exterior finishing and Irrigation. It has a tie up with leading brands across categories. The products are also available its website: Buildpro Store.

The list of customers include homeowners as well as professional customers like architects, interior designers, contractors, developers, plumbers, electricians, tile layers, masons, carpenters, painters, etc. as well as small enterprises. The customers are spread across tier 1, 2 and 3 locations.

In addition to the retail segment, it has two other legacy business segments ??enterprise and channel. In the enterprise segment, it caters to requirements of large end-users, contractors and OEMs. In the channel segment, it caters to dealers and other retailers through its branch network. The common theme across all segments is the customer-centric approach to business.

Back-end operations

The back-end operations provide support to its front-end business segments. It has its own steel processing facilities, which help to provide customised, in-time solutions. It has its own supply chain capabilities with owned warehousing and vehicles to provide efficient and speedy delivery to the customers. Its presence across the value chain of processing, channel, enterprise, retail, and supply chain gives it a lot of strength and unique advantages.

Processing unit

It has a processing unit for steel pipes and tubes (including precision tubes and galvanized pipes), color coated roofing sheets, galvanised strips and cold rolled strips. The units are 12 in number and are located near key demand centres. These are Hyderabad (3), Bengaluru (4), Hubli, Chennai, Coimbatore, Pune and Vijaywada. It has an installed capacity of approximately 325,000 tonne per annum.

The processing units carry key certifications like ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2015, OHSAS 18001:2007 and BIS. The product specifications adhere to international standards and the facilities are approved by a number of prestigious clients. It processes a number of steel based products based on the requirements of our customers.

Pipes and tubes

The company produces CRCA, GI, GP and HR pipes and tubes. It is equipped with advanced mills for precision quality products in tube processing. In CRCA, it processes materials conforming to IS 3074 and automotive requirements (HSLA) series materials. In HR, it has certifications conforming to standards viz. IS 1239; IS 1161; IS 3601 and IS 4923.

Roofing Sheets

The company makes a wide range of roofing, cladding and rainwater systems. The products are designed to provide flexibility to suit any construction need, be it home, office, business or factory. It provides attractive colours and the products are made from high quality raw materials to ensure low maintenance and resistance to extremities of weather. Over and above the products are environmentally friendly and fireproof.

Supply chain

Efficient storage and movement of goods are critical to business operations. The company has over +6 lakh sq ft of warehousing space, a large part of it is owned by them. It has +75-owned trucks to ensure efficient movement of goods. In addition, it has a large number of independent vehicles wholly aligned to serve the logistics needs. It keeps building the supply chain infrastructure to ensure a strong foundation to scale the business.

The enterprise hub of Shankara

In addition to sales from retail stores, the products are sold directly to enterprises for their end users. In this segment, it caters to the requirements of large end users, contractors, and OEMs. The enterprise segment is closely linked with its processing units. This helps to serve the bespoke requirements of customers depending on specifications, quality and delivery timelines. It also offers kit based, cut-to-size, ready-to-use products as well for customers. The range of products include frames for airports, metro stations and malls, city skywalks, airport tubular structures, and road dividers.

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

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…

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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

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.