58 The Masterbu||der - JuIy 2012 www.masterbu||der.co.

|n
PMC Industry AnaIysis
Cmo|lomyo o, Ooyo|
0AD MIX
:
CONC0I
eoo|es |lse|t lo
!o-e ve| lme |mousl|y
"t is safe to conclude that we
have not achieved as much as
we should have. Because of
added component of
transportation cost, RMC will
always be costlier than site-
mixed concrete of identical mix
proportions. Once the owners
of construction projects are
ready to pay the extra cost to
ensure quality, speed of
construction, lower the life-
cycle cost and reduce C&D
wastes, RMC will have its rightful
place in the construction sector.
Dr. A. K. MuIIick, Former D|rector Genera|,
Nat|ona| Counc|| or Cement and Bu||d|ng Mater|a|s
59 www.masterbu||der.co.|n The Masterbu||der - JuIy 2012
PMC Industry AnaIysis
oncrete |s tru|y an amaz|ng
bu||d|ng mater|a|. There arent a
C|ot o mater|a|s that have per-
s|sted or m|||enn|a wh||e hunger or th|s
commod|ty has on|y become more ra-
venous. Were comp|ete|y surrounded by
concrete today. The wor|d |s pract|ca||y
wrapped|n|t. However, thePeadym|xcon-
cretebus|ness|nlnd|a|sst||| |n|ts|nancy.
The Peady M|x Concrete |ndustry |s
perhaps among the astest grow|ng
sector |n lnd|a. ln the com|ng years the
country w||| w|tness |ncreased construc-
t|on act|v|ty w|th aster deve|opment |n
our c|t|es and |nrastructure. PMC |s
expected to p|ay a very |mportant ro|e |n
the scenar|o. As lnd|a bu||ds |ts |nra-
structure, the PMC |ndustry |s stead||y
ga|n|ng pace as the most v|ab|e opt|on
to speed upconstruct|on.
Over the next 5 years, the s|ze o the
PMC |ndustry |s est|mated to growrom
lNP155-160 b||||on |n 2009-10 to 395-
400 b||||on|n2014-15. Thoughthe pene
trat|on o PMC |s h|gher |n the metro
po||tan c|t|es as compared to a|| lnd|a
average, there |s scope or urther pene
trat|on o PMC|n these c|t|es w|th h|gher
vert|ca||sat|on and expected |nrastruc
ture deve|opment.
Witnessingadecadeof rapidgrowth
ln ear|y 70s both pr|c|ng and d|str|-
but|on o cement were contro||ed due
to shortage o supp|y, Peady m|x con-
crete techno|ogy cou|d not be |mp|e-
mented as |nvestors e|t that PMC p|ant
w||| starve due to non-ava||ab|||ty o
cement. The |evy o add|t|ona| taxes &
dut|es on PMC, entry tax, exc|se duty
a|so contr|buted to the s|ow deve|op-
ment o the concept. ln the |ate 80s,
ater cement was u||y de-contro||ed,
PMC was manuactured on a commer-
c|a| bas|s.
PMC |ndustry has been on a cont|-
nua| growth path ever s|nce the |rst
commerc|a| PMCp|ant was estab||shed
|n Pune |n the year 1991. The year 1993
saw the entry o two corporate compa-
n|es, ACC Cements and n|tech con-
struct|on start|ng the|r commerc|a| PMC
p|ants |n Mumba| to commerc|a||y exp|o|t
thepotent|a| o th|ssunr|se|ndustry. Ever
s|nce, the |ndustry has grown |eas and
bounds andas we see today the |ndustry
|s grow|ng and geograph|ca||y sprea-
d|ng to a|| the corners o lnd|a cover|ng,
metros, t|er 2 c|t|es and even t|er 3 c|t|es
as rea| estate and|nrastructure pro|ects
||ne up|ndeve|op|ng urbanreg|ons.
Today commerc|a| PMC p|ants are
present |n more than 90 c|t|es andtowns
across lnd|a and there are number|ng
more than 2500 PMC p|ants |n opera-
t|on |n c|t|es, and var|ous pro|ects |oca-
t|ons across the country.
Production & trade: Current market
statistics
The product|on capac|ty o a ready-
m|x concrete p|ant depends on the
capac|ty o the batch|ng p|ant. An ave-
rage p|ant has a product|on capac|ty o
30 cub|c meters per hour. The p|ant w|||
be ab|e to produce about 90,000 cub|c
meters a year. But the ready m|x con-
crete (PMC) bus|ness |n lnd|a has been
ac|ng cont|nued h|ccups over some
t|me now. Estab||shed p|ayers have to
take on |ntense compet|t|on romsma||er
reg|on-spec||c compan|es. Ma|or PMC
compan|esarethusrework|ngstrateg|es.
"The current s|owdown has started
s|ow|y aect|ng the PMC |ndustry |n
terms o reduced product|on vo|umes
and cash |ows. The ma|n raw mater|a|
be|ng cement, the per|od|c |uctuat|ons
|n cement pr|ces and h|gher transpor-
tat|on costs due to ue| pr|ce r|ses have
a|so aected the pr|ce rea||zat|on or
PMC n|t estab||shed by Madras Cements |n 1998 has been produc|ng concrete custom|zed to the un|que
requ|rements o |ts customers
"Two ndian experts have tried to
estimate the future growth
potential of RMC industry in the
country. Basing their estimate on
the cement consumed through
RMC route, they postulate that the
percentage of cement consumption
through RMC may reach the 10%
mark by 2013-14. Thereafter, the
growth may be faster and the
cement consumption through
RMC may reach the 25% mark
by 2022, when the total number
of commercial RMC plants in the
country will reach 1,516.
Vijaykumar R.KuIkarni
Member Manag|ng Comm|ttee &
Pr|nc|pa| Consu|tant, PMCMA
lmmed|ate Past Pres|dent, lCl
60 The Masterbu||der - JuIy 2012 www.masterbu||der.co.|n
the |ndustry." remarked Dr. Aswath,
Techn|ca| Adv|sor PMCMA-Karnataka.
ln lnd|a, ready-m|x concrete
accounts or 4-7 per cent o the cement
consumpt|on as the economy |uctua-
tes. lncontrast, 70 per cent o the cement
produced |n a deve|oped country such
as Japan |s used by the ready-m|x con-
crete bus|ness. Current|y PMC conver-
s|on rat|o o Europe |s 65%, o SA |s
75% and that o AE |s 90% o cement.
The growth o ready-m|x concrete bus|-
ness |n lnd|a |s predom|nant|y dr|ven by
demand rom metros and T|er-2 c|t|es.
But now, s|nce the ocus has sh|ted to
T|er-3 and-4 c|t|es, the demand or |t
has showna steady |ncrease.
The tota| concrete market |n lnd|a |s
est|mated at 300 m||||on cub|c meters
per annum o wh|ch the p|ant produced
share |s |ess than 35 m||||on. lts share |s
expected to go up gradua||y rom the
present |eve| o |ess than 6 per cent o
thetota| cement product|ontotheg|oba|
average o 70 per cent, |ndustry p|ayers
say. "PMC|s my undoubted preerence.
Bes|des sav|ngs |n cement, there |s a
u|| contro| on the qua||ty o the concrete
w|thout sacr||c|ng the speed wh||e s|te
m|xed concrete |s the s|ave o the |abor
ava||ab|||ty and end resu|ts on |arge
vo|umes are not encourag|ng" sa|d Mr.
Ashok Da|wan|, COO- C|ty Head, N|rma|
L|esty|e Ltd.
Major obstacles hinderingthegrowth
Desp|te the grow|ng acc|amat|on
there are many hurd|es |n the hea|thy
growth o th|s |ndustry. A PMC p|ant
has to be |ocated |n an area where
Concrete consumpt|ons are there, as
the concrete has to be transported. A|so
good water source at the p|ant s|te |s a
pr|me requ|rement because |n case o
non-ava||ab|||ty o potab|e water |n and
around the |ocat|on o p|ant, water has
to be transported rom d|stant |ocat|on.
ln Mumba|, growth o Peady M|x
Concrete |s s|ow as compared to
Banga|ore and other c|t|es as |ts use
has been made compu|sory by the|r
government. PMC a|so attracts sa|es
tax o 15.8 per cent. Soon, more states
w||| start |evy|ng sa|es tax on PMC. For
examp|e, today, De|h| charges 10 per
cent sa|es tax on PMC whereas |n
Karnataka |t |s 12 per cent.
Government he|p |s extreme|y
necessary or the growth o th|s sector
and Government spec||cat|ons or
CPWD and PWD |obs shou|d |nc|ude
Peady m|x concrete as a mandatory
|tem. Moreover, Tax breaks are requ|red
or the growth o PMC. A|so, deve|opers
/contractors shou|dbed|scouragedrom
p|||ng up mater|a|s ||ke meta|, sand etc.
onroads/oot paths. Government bod|es,
pr|vate bu||ders, arch|tects/eng|neers,
contractors, and |nd|v|dua|s shou|d be
made u||y aware about the advan-
tages o us|ng ready m|x concrete.
Sa|d Mr. v||aykumar Ku|karn|, Pr|n-
c|pa| Consu|tant, PMCMA, "Two lnd|an
experts have tr|ed to est|mate the uture
growth potent|a| o PMC |ndustry |n the
country. Bas|ng the|r est|mate on the
cement consumed through PMC route,
they postu|ate that the percentage o
cement consumpt|on through PMC
may reach the 10% mark by 2013-14.
Thereater, the growth may be aster
and the cement consumpt|on through
PMC may reach the 25% mark by 2022,
when the tota| number o commerc|a|
PMC p|ants |n the country w||| reach
1,516."
RMC sector: Key players target fast-
track growth
Todays ast-paced construct|on |n-
dustry demands top qua||ty products,
de||vered e|c|ent|y and on t|me. Many
pro|ect managers preer ready-m|x con-
Peady M|x Concrete p|ant rom ACC
PMC Industry AnaIysis
Laarge PMC p|ant at Thane, Mumba|
"The current slowdown has
started slowly affecting the
RMC industry in terms of
reduced production volumes
and cash flows. The main raw
material being cement, the
periodic fluctuations in cement
prices and higher transportation
costs due to fuel price rises
have also affected the price
realization for the industry.
Dr. Aswath
Techn|ca| Adv|sor PMCMA-Karnataka
Locat|on o p|ants p|ay v|ta| ro|es |n overa|| pro|ect costs.
crete to on-s|te m|x|ng, as the product
|s made w|th more prec|s|on. Ant|c|-
pat|ng a huge potent|a| or the product,
severa| ma|or manuacturers o cement
have |aunched ready-m|x concrete.
The lnd|an market or Peady M|x
Concrete has been show|ng a cons|s-
tent pos|t|ve growth, year ater year, |n
sp|te o a ewpo||cy hurd|es on the way.
W|th the b|g |nrastructure pro|ects
s|ow|y turn|ng to PMC, experts |n th|s
segment pred|ct a bus|ness growth
rate o 25% |nlnd|a.
The |ncreased use o PMC, as
aga|nst the s|ugg|sh cement market,
has made |oca| producers as we|| as a
host o ma|or |nternat|ona| p|ayers o-
cused on the PMC bus|ness, Ho|c|m,
Laarge, He|de|berg, etc. to name a ew.
W|th ma|or |nvestments |ood|ng |nto
th|s segment, the ocus has now sh|ted
to |ncreas|ng the brand presence |n the
shortest poss|b|e t|me. The strategy |s
to have a we|| spread network o PMC
p|ants, through t|me|y execut|on o
green|e|d pro|ects across the country.
Ho|c|m, a ma|or p|ayer |n th|s seg-
ment, through |ts |oca| assoc|ates ACC
and Ambu|a Cements, has a|ready taken
dynam|c steps to revo|ut|on|ze th|s |n-
dustry. Other b|g p|ayers that dom|nate
the lnd|an market are |tratech, PMC
lnd|a (Pr|smcements), Godre| andBoyce,
lnd|acements, Madrascements, Laarge
(wh|ch overtook the L&T PMC bus|-
ness |ast year or lNP1450 crore), PDC
concrete, Ah|con PMC, lJM concrete,
Bharath cement products PMC and Cl
concrete lnd|a.
The Nat|ona| Peady M|xed Concrete
Assoc|at|on (NPMCA) had |aunched
cert||cat|ons or both ready m|xed con-
crete |ndustry ac|||t|es and proess|o-
na|s |nvo|ved. These cert||cat|ons have
prov|ded a compet|t|ve edge |n the |n-
dustry, show|ng customers and regu|a-
tory agenc|es that cert||ed producers
have an understand|ng o and support
measures to prov|de the h|ghest qua||ty
PMC |n the saest and most e|c|ent
ways poss|b|e. There are about 260
PMC p|ants that have been cert||ed by
the assoc|at|on.
"PMCMAhas takenenormous eorts
|n evo|v|ng a qua||ty scheme or PMC
and |mp|ement|ng the same |n d|erent
parts o the country. Two o the wor|ds
|ead|ngorgan|zat|ons dea||ngw|th ready-
m|xed concrete, name|y the NPMCA,
SA and EPMCO, Europe, have h|gh|y
apprec|ated the work done by the
PMCMA." sa|d Dr. Aswath, Techn|ca|
Adv|sor PMCMA-Karnataka.
nnovationandtechnology trends
Today the ent|re PMCprocess |s u||y
computer|zed, |eav|ng no scope or
human errors. A|| the contro| systems
are W|ndows based. Cement and other
raw mater|a| are checked as per the
qua||ty p|ans o the compan|es. A|| the
raw mater|a|s are stacked |n separate
b|ns and are stored under cover so that
aggregates are not exposed to d|rect
sun||ght and env|ronment po||ut|on.
Cement, F|y ash, S|agetc. arestored
|n separate s||os or better contro| on
rec|pe and hand||ng o |y ash and s|ag
are done rom c|osed bunkers to s||os
d|rect|y. A|so, separate we|gh-batchers
are prov|ded or each |ngred|ent ||ke
cement, water, adm|xtures and aggre-
gates. The we|gh|ng |s done on soph|s-
PMC Industry AnaIysis
62 The Masterbu||der - JuIy 2012 www.masterbu||der.co.|n
"RMC is my undoubted
preference. Besides savings in
cement, there is a full control
on the quality of the concrete
without sacrificing the speed
while site mixed concrete is the
slave of the labor availability
and end results on large
volumes are not encouraging.
Ashok DaIwani
COO-C|ty Head, N|rma| L|esty|e Ltd.
t|cated e|ectron|c we|gh batchers. Pre-
c|se we|gh|ng o a|| mater|a|s |s done
through e|ectron|c |oad ce||s made up
o spec|a| a||oys.
Moreover, homogeneous m|x|ng o
concrete |s ensured by use o spec|a|
h|gh-e|c|ency m|xers ||ke pan-type or
turbo-tw|n shat m|xers and a u||y equ|-
pped ons|te p|ant |aboratory |s ava||ab|e
at each p|ant. A Spr|nk|er system |s
|nsta||ed to ensure temperature contro|
o aggregates |nhot weather.
ln ||ne w|th NPMCAs ocus towards
env|ronment and eco-r|end||ness a||
member s||os are |nsta||ed w|th bag
||ters and |eve| |nd|cators to avo|d any
k|nd o po||ut|on and processes are |n
p|ace or eect|ve and per|od|c ma|nte-
nance and ca||brat|on o a|| cr|t|ca|
components. A|so, |aser sensor and
mo|sture contro| are used or a str|ngent
qua||ty assurance wh||e we|| tra|ned and
exper|enced eng|neers are ava||ab|e at
every p|ant to take care o the qua||ty o
concrete.
Pecent|y ACC Concrete |ntroduced
an |nnovat|ve concrete so|ut|on M100
grade or construct|on o h|gh |ntens|ty
towers. lt |s or the |rst t|me |n the wor|d
that M100 was manuactured w|thout
natura| sand but by us|ng |ne aggre-
gates. W|th th|s |nnovat|on ACC Con-
crete has become the on|y ready m|x
concrete company |n lnd|a to oer
spec|a ||zed so|ut|ons or h|gh |ntens|ty
towers.
Future: Cementingthegrowth
l youve not|ced a gang o |aborers
rem|nd|ng you o the past century, stan-
d|ng |n ||ne and pass|ng head-|oads o
concrete m|xture up a sta|rway at a
construct|on s|te, no proo |s requ|red
to under||ne the rud|mentary systems
that cont|nue to preva|| |n a nat|ons
|nrastructure sector.
W|th the concern over ||qu|d|ty there
has been a genera| s|owdown |n both
rea| estate and |nrastructure pro|ects.
Many o the h|gh-end res|dent|a| pro-
|ects, espec|a||y |n metro c|t|es, have
been de|ayed. nortunate|y, on|y these
pro|ectsdependonPMCasthesebu||d-
|ngs come up genera||y |n congested
res|dent|a| areas.
Wh||e Ch|na has embarked on a
ur|ous pace o construct|on bu||d|ng
express h|ghways and h|gh-r|ses ga|ore,
lnd|aseems to|ag. For acountry ocused
on deve|opment, |t |s |mperat|ve to
mechan|ze |ts |nrastructure creat|on.
Most countr|es o the wor|d have banned
head-|oad supp||es o concrete at con-
struct|on s|tes and |ns|st on pumped
concrete. The concept o us|ng s|te-m|x
concrete |s thus s|ow|y ad|ng away
across the wor|d.
W|th PMC you can ach|eve a|most
15.5% sav|ngs |n construct|on costs |n
terms o actors such as qua||ty and
wastage-avo|dance. One reason why
lnd|a |s beg|nn|ng to shed |ts depen-
dence on manua| concrete m|x|ng |s the
pena|t|es now assoc|ated w|th |nra-
structurepro|ects. De|ayscost thebu||der
now, |n contrast to even a ewyears ago
when the bu||der wou|d pass on cost
esca|at|on to the buyer |n case o a
de|ay |nthe pro|ect.
"lt |s sae to conc|ude that we have
not ach|eved as much as we shou|d
have. Because o added component o
transportat|on cost, PMC w||| a|ways be
cost||er than s|te-m|xed concrete o |den-
t|ca| m|x proport|ons. Once the owners
o construct|on pro|ects are ready to
paytheextracost toensurequa||ty, speed
o construct|on, |ower the ||e-cyc|e cost
and reduce C&Dwastes, PMCw||| have
|ts r|ghtu| p|ace |n the construct|on
sector." sa|dDr. A.K. Mu|||ck, ormer DG,
NCBM.
lnd|a |s |n ast-orward mode and
t|me |s o essence. P|ayers ||ke BPOs
oten want to start operat|ons stra|ght
away and have no t|me to wa|t. A|| th|s |s
t|pp|ng the sca|es |n avor o use o
ready-m|x concrete, and mechan|zed
construct|on equ|pment at s|tes. So we
conc|ude that | the qua||ty o concrete
|s someth|ng that you cannot compro-
m|se on |n your pro|ect ow|ng to many
cr|t|ca| actors at stake, PMC |s the way
to go!
PhotoCourtesy
www.ramcocement.|n, www.trade|nd|a.com
www.aquar|useng|neers.b|z, www.|aarge.com
www.conmat|nd|a.com
PMC p|ants today, are most|y | not u||y automated. Th|s he|ps |n the t|me|y and speedy de||very o goods.
PMC Industry AnaIysis
64 The Masterbu||der - JuIy 2012 www.masterbu||der.co.|n