Process

Conserve or Perish

Published

8 years ago

July 31, 2016

admin

Water, a rapidly dwindling resource, supports a few critical processes in cement manufacturing units. Many cement industry players have been constantly upgrading their water management systems.

India is faced with a crisis on its water resource management front. This crisis arises from lower availability, increasing demand, polluted water bodies and inadequate storage. There is a general consensus that by 2050, India?s water demands will exceed all available sources of supply. Current water development and management is not sustainable; unless dramatic changes are made – and made soon. Water continues to rise as a priority for India and Indian businesses in a scenario where more than 80 per cent of river basins are facing water stress and scarcity, groundwater quality is fast deteriorating, non-point source pollutants (nitrates, phosphates) are increasingly contaminating freshwater and about 50 per cent of riverine length shows high pollution measured in terms of BOD alone. Given the above increasing water stressed scenario, ensuring prudent use of available water resources has emerged as a key dimension for minimising future risks to business operations.

Cement
Water is the most important ingredient sustaining many processes of mining and cement manufacturing units. Water intended for human consumption should be safe and wholesome, i.e., free from pathogenic agents and harmful chemicals, pleasant to taste and usable for domestic purposes. Urban and rural India depend heavily upon various types of water bodies to meet their daily requirement of water. This is a highly worrying fact as the role of ponds in the urban and peri-urban milieu is multifaceted. It is just not a pool of water, as this pool may not be considered as playing a very major significant role of social, ecological and civic importance. The environmental pollution as a result of the cement industry could be defined as an undesirable process that is responsible for water, air and land pollution through its various activities, right from the mining activity of the raw material (limestone, dolomite etc.,) to its crushing, grinding and other associated processes in a cement plant.

Water conservation among multinational cement producers has become increasingly high-profile in recent years. Cement production requires water for cooling heavy equipment and exhaust gases, in emission control systems such as wet scrubbers, as well as for preparing slurry in wet process kilns.

Today there are still wet and dry cement technologies, but the technologies in wet process kilns are becoming obsolete and progressively being replaced by more efficient dry process kilns

The amount of water used varies widely across the industry, depending on the specific processes operated at each site, the equipment used, and the prevailing management philosophy concerning water use. Major water uses in the cement manufacturing industry may include:

1.Raw mill
2.Coal mil
3.Dust suppression
4.Washing/rinsing/hosing
5.Cooling
6.Boilers

Specific Water Consumption
There is a clear reducing trend observed in the specific water consumption (SWC) over a scale of 0-0.5 m3/MT and a time period of five years as shown in the graph. There has been a 6 per cent reduction in the annual SWC in the past five years. This is due to the fact that industries have been constantly upgrading their water management systems, adopting latest technologies, and some companies have shown the way towards practicing excellence in their water management.

The data reported (refer to Figure 1) does not include water supply to nearby communities and colonies for domestic applications and is calculated based on water consumption inside the plant only.

As is clearly seen from the Figure 2 map, most cement industries lie in the areas which have low net groundwater availability (<29,179 HAM or 291.8 MCM). Therefore, continuous high ground water withdrawals can lead to an alarming deficit between demand and supply in the near future. So cement industries should look forward to using water from alternate sources (if available) to avoid overexploitation of groundwater resources.

Audit findings and achievements by CII-TWI
CII – Triveni Water Institute has a vast experience of conducting water audits for cement industries with different capacities and spread across regions.

During the water audits, considerable opportunities for water saving have emerged:

5-10 per cent saving by low-medium cost strategies; payback less than a few months
20-25 per cent water saving by high cost strategy; payback within two years

Recommendations

Reducing water use by integrating processes together
Improving cycles of concentration in cooling towers
Reuse of filter backwash water
Installation of air-cooled condensers in place of water-cooled condensers
Utilisation of boiler blow down water in cooling towers
Closed loop cooling system for pump gland seal cooling
Re-use of RO reject water for cement mill spray
Reduce domestic water consumption in plant by installing water-saving devices
Reuse of treated water using advanced technologies (RO DM) for high-end applications
Recycling of sewage water for low-end applications (gardening, etc.)
Mist-type dust suppression system in tankers
Water conservation by rainwater harvesting

CII – Triveni Water Institute water audits have been held across different sectors that include automobiles, pulp & paper, pharmaceuticals, engineering, food and beverages, power plants, etc., with different capacities, processes and spread across regions.

The audits have translated into the following estimated annual benefits:

Potential water savings of about 85 billion litres (as on May 2015)
Sensitisation and training of 5,000+ industry personnel on industrial water and waste water management
Facilitation/identification of approach for achieving zero water discharges.

Action agenda

Utilisation of boiler blow down and recovery of flash steam through heat exchanger
Reduce the makeup water of cooing tower by increasing the cycles of concentration
Reduce domestic water consumption in plant by installing water-saving devices
Closed loop cooling system for pump gland seal cooling
Utilisation of ETP treated (secondary clarified) water for high-end applications (boiler feed, cooling tower etc.,) using RO-DM combination
Collection and reuse of steam condensate from steam traps in plant
Recycle WTP and DM plant filter backwash water
Recycling of sewage water for low-end applications (gardening, etc.)
Utilisation of ETP-treated water for dust suppression.

Management of water in the cement industry needs:

To reduce water consumption through process improvements and implementation of recycle and reuse of water.
Technological upgradation/measures for reduction in water consumption for achieving the benchmark/overall goal.
To have quantum improvement on the individual ETPs by adding tertiary treatment units. This would result in producing industry-grade water from excess back water discharged from various processes reusable within the industry.
A strict metering of the water used and wastewater generation is recommended.
Undertake regular water audit for streamlining activities and sustaining benefits of the study in the long run. Periodic (every two years) third party audit recommended.

(This article has been authored by Sanjay Gupta, Head – Advisory Services, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) – Triveni Water Institute, Jaipur).

Process

Price hikes, drop in input costs help cement industry to post positive margins: Care Ratings

Published

3 years ago

October 21, 2021

admin

Region-wise,the southern region comprises 35% of the total cement capacity, followed by thenorthern, eastern, western and central region comprising 20%, 18%, 14% and 13%of the capacity, respectively.

The cement industry is expected to post positive margins on decent price hikes over the months, falling raw material prices and marked drop in overall production costs, said an analysis of Care Ratings.

Wholesale and retail prices of cement have increased 11.9% and 12.4%, respectively, in the current financial year. As whole prices have remained elevated in most of the markets in the months of FY20, against the corresponding period of the previous year.

Similarly, electricity and fuel cost have declined 11.9% during 9M FY20 due to drop in crude oil prices. Logistics costs, the biggest cost for cement industry, has also dropped 7.7% (selling and distribution) as the Railways extended the benefit of exemption from busy season surcharge. Moreover, the cost of raw materials, too, declined 5.1% given the price of limestone had fallen 11.3% in the same aforementioned period, the analysis said.

According to Care Ratings, though the overall sales revenue has increased only 1.3%, against 16% growth in the year-ago period, the overall expenditure has declined 3.2% which has benefited the industry largely given the moderation in sales.

Even though FY20 has been subdued in terms of production and demand, the fall in cost of production has still supported the cement industry by clocking in positive margins, the rating agency said.

Cement demand is closely linked to the overall economic growth, particularly the housing and infrastructure sector. The cement sector will be seeing a sharp growth in volumes mainly due to increasing demand from affordable housing and other government infrastructure projects like roads, metros, airports, irrigation.

The government’s newly introduced National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), with its target of becoming a $5-trillion economy by 2025, is a detailed road map focused on economic revival through infrastructure development.

The NIP covers a gamut of sectors; rural and urban infrastructure and entails investments of Rs.102 lakh crore to be undertaken by the central government, state governments and the private sector. Of the total projects of the NIP, 42% are under implementation while 19% are under development, 31% are at the conceptual stage and 8% are yet to be classified.

The sectors that will be of focus will be roads, railways, power (renewable and conventional), irrigation and urban infrastructure. These sectors together account for 79% of the proposed investments in six years to 2025. Given the government’s thrust on infrastructure creation, it is likely to benefit the cement industry going forward.

Similarly, the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana, aimed at providing affordable housing, will be a strong driver to lift cement demand. Prices have started correcting Q4 FY20 onwards due to revival in demand of the commodity, the agency said in its analysis.

Industry’s sales revenue has grown at a CAGR of 7.3% during FY15-19 but has grown only 1.3% in the current financial year. Tepid demand throughout the country in the first half of the year has led to the contraction of sales revenue. Fall in the total expenditure of cement firms had aided in improving the operating profit and net profit margins of the industry (OPM was 15.2 during 9M FY19 and NPM was 3.1 during 9M FY19). Interest coverage ratio, too, has improved on an overall basis (ICR was 3.3 during 9M FY19).

According to Cement Manufacturers Association, India accounts for over 8% of the overall global installed capacity. Region-wise, the southern region comprises 35% of the total cement capacity, followed by the northern, eastern, western and central region comprising 20%, 18%, 14% and 13% of the capacity, respectively.

Installed capacity of domestic cement makers has increased at a CAGR of 4.9% during FY16-20. Manufacturers have been able to maintain a capacity utilisation rate above 65% in the past quinquennium. In the current financial year due to the prolonged rains in many parts of the country, the capacity utilisation rate has fallen from 70% during FY19 to 66% currently (YTD).

Source:moneycontrol.com

Process

Wonder Cement shows journey of cement with new campaign

Published

3 years ago

October 21, 2021

admin

The campaign also marks Wonder Cement being the first ever cement brand to enter the world of IGTV…

ETBrandEquity

Cement manufacturing company Wonder Cement, has announced the launch of a digital campaign ‘Har Raah Mein Wonder Hai’. The campaign has been designed specifically to run on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

#HarRaahMeinWonderHai is a one-minute video, designed and conceptualised by its digital media partner Triature Digital Marketing and Technologies Pvt Ltd. The entire journey of the cement brand from leaving the factory, going through various weather conditions and witnessing the beauty of nature and wonders through the way until it reaches the destination i.e., to the consumer is very intriguing and the brand has tried to showcase the same with the film.

Sanjay Joshi, executive director, Wonder Cement, said, "Cement as a product poses a unique marketing challenge. Most consumers will build their homes once and therefore buy cement once in a lifetime. It is critical for a cement company to connect with their consumers emotionally. As a part of our communication strategy, it is our endeavor to reach out to a large audience of this country through digital. Wonder Cement always a pioneer in digital, with the launch of our IGTV campaign #HarRahMeinWonderHai, is the first brand in the cement category to venture into this space. Through this campaign, we have captured the emotional journey of a cement bag through its own perspective and depicted what it takes to lay the foundation of one’s dreams and turn them into reality."

The story begins with a family performing the bhoomi poojan of their new plot. It is the place where they are investing their life-long earnings; and planning to build a dream house for the family and children. The family believes in the tradition of having a ‘perfect shuruaat’ (perfect beginning) for their future dream house. The video later highlights the process of construction and in sequence it is emphasising the value of ‘Perfect Shuruaat’ through the eyes of a cement bag.

Tarun Singh Chauhan, management advisor and brand consultant, Wonder Cement, said, "Our objective with this campaign was to show that the cement produced at the Wonder Cement plant speaks for itself, its quality, trust and most of all perfection. The only way this was possible was to take the perspective of a cement bag and showing its journey of perfection from beginning till the end."

According to the company, the campaign also marks Wonder Cement being the first ever cement brand to enter the world of IGTV. No other brand in this category has created content specific to the platform.

Process

In spite of company’s optimism, demand weakness in cement is seen in the 4% y-o-y drop in sales volume. (Reuters)

Published

3 years ago

October 21, 2021

admin

Cost cuts and better realizations save? the ?day ?for ?UltraTech Cement, Updated: 27 Jan 2020, Vatsala Kamat from Live Mint

Lower cost of energy and logistics helped Ebitda per tonne rise by about 29% in Q3
Premiumization of acquired brands, synergistic?operations hold promise for future profit growth Topics

UltraTech Cement
India’s largest cement producer UltraTech Cement Ltd turned out a bittersweet show in the December quarter. A sharp drop in fuel costs and higher realizations helped drive profit growth. But the inherent demand weakness was evident in the sales volumes drop during the quarter.

Better realizations during the December quarter, in spite of the 4% year-on-year volume decline, minimized the pain. Net stand-alone revenue fell by 2.6% to ?9,981.8 crore.

But as pointed out earlier, lower costs on most fronts helped profitability. The chart alongside shows the sharp drop in energy costs led by lower petcoke prices, lower fuel consumption and higher use of green power. Logistics costs, too, fell due to lower railway freight charges and synergies from the acquired assets. These savings helped offset the increase in raw material costs.

The upshot: Q3 Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) of about ?990 per tonne was 29% higher from a year ago. The jump in profit on a per tonne basis was more or less along expected lines, given the increase in realizations. "Besides, the reduction in net debt by about ?2,000 crore is a key positive," said Binod Modi, analyst at Reliance Securities Ltd.

Graphic by Santosh Sharma/Mint
What also impressed analysts is the nimble-footed integration of the recently merged cement assets of Nathdwara and Century, which was a concern on the Street.

Kunal Shah, analyst (institutional equities) at Yes Securities (India) Ltd, said: "The company has proved its ability of asset integration. Century’s cement assets were ramped up to 79% capacity utilization in December, even as they operated Nathdwara generating an Ebitda of ?1,500 per tonne."

Looks like the demand weakness mirrored in weak sales during the quarter was masked by the deft integration and synergies derived from these acquired assets. This drove UltraTech’s stock up by 2.6% to ?4,643 after the Q3 results were declared on Friday.

Brand transition from Century to UltraTech, which is 55% complete, is likely to touch 80% by September 2020. A report by Jefferies India Pvt. Ltd highlights that the Ebitda per tonne for premium brands is about ?5-10 higher per bag than the average (A cement bag weighs 50kg). Of course, with competition increasing in the arena, it remains to be seen how brand premiumization in the cement industry will pan out. UltraTech Cement scores well among peers here.

However, there are road bumps ahead for the cement sector and for UltraTech. Falling gross domestic product growth, fiscal slippages and lower budgetary allocation to infrastructure sector are making industry houses jittery on growth. Although UltraTech’s management is confident that cement demand is looking up, sustainability and pricing power remains a worry for the near term.