about cement

8/9/2019 About Cement

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ABOUT CEMENT & ITS USE -What is Cement?

Cement is a mixture of compounds, consisting mainly of silicates and aluminates of calcium, formedout of calcium oxide, silica, aluminium oxide and iron oxide. Cement is manufactured by burning amixture of limestone and clay at high temperatures in a kiln, and then finely grinding the resulting

clinker along with gypsum. The end product thus obtained is called Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC).

n ndia, OPC is manufactured in three grades, !i". ## grade, $# grade and %# grade, the numbers

indicating the compressi!e strength obtained after &' days, when tested as per the stipulated

procedure. part from OPC, there are se!eral other types of cement, most of them meant for special

purposes, e.g. sulphate resistant cement, coloured cement, oil well cement, etc. owe!er, there aresome general purpose cements, the commonest one being Portland Po""olana Cement (PPC).

&.Why Cement?

fter food and clothing, shelter is the next priority item for humans. *ince its e!olution, mankind had

been pursuing a relentless search for !iable building materials for securing a stable shelter. The history

of mankind traced through its ancient ci!ili"ations and the track record of the past two millennia will

show that +an had been using different types of materials for putting up dwelling to pro!ide him

shelter from sun, rain and wind and a home for his family. The building materials used from *tone geto the ron"e ge in the progressi!e march of human ci!ilisation ranged from stone or wood,

cemented with mud or any other naturally occurring cementing materials (!olcanic ash - po""olan of

taly, natural tuff- Trass of ermany, diatomaceous earth and many others in different countries), to

semi-processed materials like lime, burnt clay. /ith the march of ci!ili"ation, better binding

materials like plastic clay, lime in combination with natural gypsum or in combination with sand

(lime mortar), burnt clay ( surkhi), burnt gypsum (plaster of Paris) and powdered naturally occurringrocks like !olcanic ash came to be used in different places. ut all these binding materials were not

ade0uate to pro!ide high strength and long-term durability in constructions. The in!ention of Portland

cement brought about a landmark change and pro!ided a satisfactory answer to mankind1s 0uest for astrong and durable binder for constructions. The patent on Portland Cement by 2oseph spadin in

3'&$ and subse0uent de!elopments ha!e resulted in the cements as we know today. ndeed from the

latter half of the 34 thcentury, Portland cement has emerged as a leading binding material andcontinues to en5oy its pre-eminent position amongst the !arious cementing materials to this day.

Cement ranks second in !olume among the industrial products manufactured in the world. The

presence of Portland cement as binding material led to the de!elopment of plain cement concrete

(PCC) and subse0uently reinforced cement concrete (6CC). t now became possible to construct high-

rise buildings, sky scrapers, large dams, reser!oirs with less consumption of building materials and

much higher strength The use of 6CC became !ery popular from the beginning of &7th century. Thead!ent of concrete, especially reinforced concrete, significantly replaced traditional construction

materials, such as steel, stone, wood and bricks. This had made concrete the most widely used man-

made product and second only to water as the world1s most hea!ily consumed substance. The

widespread use of concrete boosted cement demand spectacularly throughout the world during the last

one hundred years. This in turn led to inno!ations in the manufacturing technology, storage, handling

and distribution techni0ues, not to speak of the utilisation of cement, thus gi!ing birth to the moderncement and construction industries

#.Is there a substitute for Cement ?

8espite innumerable technological ad!ances in the past century in all spheres of human acti!ity,

including ci!il engineering, architecture and construction technology, cement retained its

0uintessential role as the ubi0uitous binding material for all sorts of constructions. n fact, it is playing

a progressi!ely larger role in many other spheres of human habitat. There are a host of reasons in

fa!our of cement1s irreplaceable role in contemporary human society.


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3. 9nlike all other non-brittle materials for construction (wood, steel, aluminium, etc) cement is a low-

cost but high-performance product.

&. t can be used as a binder with almost any hard material.

#. t can be used both as a building block (hardened cement mix) or as a binder of buildingcomponents (bricks, stone blocks, sand, rock fragments or any other hard material).

$. +ost building materials are prone to decay and loss of property with time, whereas properly made

and cast cement concrete gains strength progressi!ely with ageing.

%. /ith substitution of !ery small 0uantities of cement by other reinforcing materials (steel, polyester,

!aried sorts of fibers) or chemicals (epoxy resins, plasticisers) its binding properties can be increased

manifold to satisfy the performance needs of construction for different purposes (igh rise buildings,

Towers, Concrete roads, 6ailway sleepers, 8ams, 6eser!oirs, Canal lining, etc)

:. Cement and its deri!ati!e concrete ha!e turned out to be an excellent conduit for recycling !ariedtypes of industrial, agro-industrial and metallurgical wastes (flyash, blast furnace slag, rice husk ash,

etc) pro!iding thereby support to en!ironmental protection.

;. Cement manufacturing process can absorb a host of ha"ardous, obnoxious and toxic wastes (from

petroleum refining, pharmaceutical, pesticides industries) through their effecti!e incineration in the

cement kiln, pro!iding dual benefits of energy conser!ation and waste recycling inter alia

en!ironmental protection

Sector OverviewIndia is the second-largest cement producing country in the world after China. The countrys cementproduction was 300 million tonnes in 2010; the figure is epected to dou!le to reach almost ""0million tonnes !y 2020# as per estimates !y the Cement $anufacturers %ssociation &C$%'. %s of 2011#there were 13( large and 3)" mini cement plants in India.

The Indian cement industry is glo!ally competiti*e with lowest energy consumption and C+2emissions. %part from fulfilling domestic cement re,uirements# the industry also eports cement andcliner to around 30 countries across the glo!e.

In India# cement demand emanates from four ey segments housing# accounting for )(/;infrastructure for 13/; commercial construction for 11/; and industrial sector for /. The cementindustry has e*ol*ed in the form of clusters across the country due to the location of limestonereser*es in certain states. resently# there are se*en clusters# namely the atna cluster in $adhyaradesh; Chandrapur in north %ndhra radesh and $aharashtra; ul!arga in north 4arnataa andeast %ndhra radesh; Chanderia in south 5a6asthan# 7awad and 8eemuch in $adhya radesh;9ilaspur in Chattisgarh; :erraguntla in south %ndhra radesh and 8algonda in central %ndhraradesh.

uring 200-10# the Indian cement industry grew at a ro!ust rate of 12.(/# according to C$%.


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The go*ernments focus on !uilding infrastructure is liely to continue in the near future and theIndian cement industry is epected to sustain an e*en higher growth rate of 1"/ o*er the comingyears.

Policy and Promotionome of the policy measures adopted !y the Indian go*ernment to support and aid the growth of the

Indian cement industry include the following=

8o custom duty on non-coing coal= In 9udget 2012-13# the go*ernment has eempted non-coingcoal# one of the main raw materials for cement production# from !asic customs duty &earlier at "/'.This will ha*e a positi*e impact of 1-1."/ on the cement industrys operating profit# according toCrisil# a glo!al analytical company pro*iding ratings# research and ris policy ad*isory ser*ices. TheIndian cement industry sources close to one-fourth of its total coal re,uirement through importedcoal.

North-east package:The o*ernment of India has also appro*ed a pacage of fiscal incenti*es andother concessions for the countrys north-east region# namely the 8orth >ast Industrial andIn*estment olicy# 200(.

Highway development funds:?urther# to attract foreign in*estors to its am!itious highways!uilding programme# the $inistry of 5oad Transport plans to roll out pro6ects worth @ 120 !illion!y 201).

Boost to infrastructure sector:The go*ernment is increasing allocation for the infrastructuresector. In ?: 2011-12# it allocated @ A)." !illion funds to the sector# ta-free !onds worth @ )."!illion and de!t funds for the infrastructure sector# and a comprehensi*e policy for de*eloping pu!lic-pri*ate partnership pro6ects. The go*ernment has further enhanced the ta-free !ond limit enhancedto @ 30 !illion in ?: 2012-13. It has also esta!lished an infrastructure de!t fund worth @ 1.B!illion.

Rural road development:The go*ernment has allocated a fund of I85 2A#000 crore for thede*elopment of rural road pro6ects in ?: 2012-13.

a!or PlayersThe ma6or domestic cement companies in India include @ltratech Cement# %m!u6a Cement# 74Cements# %CC Cement# Century Cements# India Cements# anghi Cements# almia Cements#aurashtra Cements and $adras Cements.


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In the years ahead# there are se*eral ad*antages to in*esting in the Indian cement sector# the mostimportant of which include the following=

Structural advantages:Cement demand in India will !e dri*en !y a high push from the residentialsector. ?actors that will influence this trend in coming years will !e increasing per capita income#nuclear families# rapid ur!aniFation and go*ernment stimulus to *arious rural and afforda!le housing

schemes.

"ow per capita consumption:The Indian cement industry holds tremendous future growthpotential. This is e*ident from the fact that the per capita consumption of cement is much lesscompared to the world a*erage. In 2011# it was around 1"0 g per capita# compared to the worlda*erage of o*er 3"0 g per capita# which shows great potential for growth. The corresponding figure is))0 g per capita in China# )31 g per capita in 7apan and AA( g per capita in ?rance. In fact# Indiaslow per capita consumption of cement is one of the main reasons for strong interest shown !y theforeign players in India.

High construction activity:iFed at @ 3)0 !illion# Indias construction maret accounted for"/ of the @ (.2 trillion glo!al construction maret in 2010. ?urther# the Indian construction

maret will replace 7apan as the third largest# after China and the @# !y 2020# during which#emerging marets will outweigh mature marets.

High infrastructure spending:%ccording to Indias 12th ?i*e-:ear lan &2012-1(' document# thetwo segments most important to construction acti*ity are infrastructure and housing. inceinfrastructure spending is epected to go up to / of gross domestic product &' or @ 1 trillionfor the lan period &2012-1('# this will translate into dou!le-digit growth for the demand of cement.

#seful "inks

Jagat Singh

Jagat Singh R.

Consultant Erection,Commisioning & Operations, Global Cement Industry

For sustaining and retaining the customer's loyalty ,you always have to be one notch

above your competitors.For achieving this ,you have to think out of the box ,through

innovative ideas and schemes to bind the customers ,through product and after sales

service innovations.

In a depressed cement demand scenario , though it is uite a !erculean task and uite

di"cult one ,but nevertheless a sincere attempt should be always made. #niueness and

product $service di%erentiation are a few factors ,that go a very long way ,even though

slowly ,for retaining the customers loyalty ,in the long run.

&ven deferred incentive scheme sometimes is welcome, for enoying the fruits to be

shared at a later date when the demand strengthens in the near future. ( suitable

mechanism to be devised for fructifying such scheme of things in the market place, for

sustenance in the long run
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o an outsider the offers by different cement companies all look the same. But this is not correct.

Several companies including ACC and smaller guys have attempted points schemes similar to

Payback equivalents earlier.. and mostly failed.Cement I feel is more of a distribution game and the

brand/company hich can hold high ground here ill succeed. !he difference in price beteen the top

and the last brand in multibrand markets like "yderbad# Pune etc can be as high as $s. %& per bag.

"ere# the last guy does not have a bad product. "e is paying the price for perceived lo quality and

inefficient logistics plus bad salesforece. As the dealers can also change the brand ' say about (&) of

his total sales * for more profits# the loer brands suffer more in a fallling market. ma+ority of a dealer

counter potential is held by brands ith higher perceived quality in the market ' and hence preferred

by the users* or by brands having superior logistics ' direct lorry load from factory etc hich the

dealers re,route and earn higher profit per bag*. So overall# this is a comple- variables case and mere

loyalty schemes offering minor gifts etc ill not ork. ost cement professionals at the high table also

are not very knoledgeable ' having orked in the sector for a long time and hence not able to think

beyond the sector* and hence unable to see the multiple variables and devise better ays to corner

marketshare/ attract retailers etc..

In my vie in our country for a lo involvement commodity product like cement# S0$1IC0 2

A!!03!I43 to the customer# has to be the main differentiator to increase loyalty 2 retention. I do

agree ith 5ebasis that most tread on the common road of discounts# gold and foreign trips etc as atool to promote loyalty 2 retention. But concurrent creation of a knoledge e-change 2 recognition

platform can be a different step in the right direction# to manage the long,term aspirations of key

stakeholders in the value chain.

6istening to our customer is key to customer success. A C$ solution can help target customers

more effectively by finding out hat they ant# hat they respond to best and delivering that service.

If businesses aren7t actively researching hat orks and hat doesn7t they ill continue to have less

loyalty and lose loyal customers.

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