- Anil Banchhor, Managing Director & CEO, RDC Concrete (India)
The ready-mix concrete (RMC) market is set to grow with the government increasing focus on infrastructure projects in the country and regulations coming in real estate sector. ¨This trend is seen in most metros,¨ says Anil Banchhor, Managing Director & CEO, RDC Concrete (India), as he elaborates on the market in India and the company offerings in this direction.
How do you view the current market?
In recent quarters, there has been an improvement in the cement industry as compared to the last year. This shows positive signs of improvement in the construction market. Of the total cement sold in metros, about 70 per cent is used for concrete manufacturing and the other 30 per cent for miscellaneous mortar work, while in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, 50 per cent cement is consumed for concrete and 50 per cent for making brickwork and plaster, etc. With the government giving a boost to infrastructure in the country, there is positivity in the market and results would be soon seen on ground.
Introduce us to your offerings in concrete segments.
We produce concrete from M5 to M100 grade and other specialised concrete, as per customer requirements. The self compacting concrete is now being preferred by most builders as it improves the quality of concrete and also helps in saving construction time.
We also have stamped decorative concrete, which is being used for the paving around buildings with different colours and patterns.
Fiber concrete is made using steel fibres or polypropylene fibers, which improve the quality of concrete and makes it impact resistant, and prevents shrinkage cracks respectively. High strength concrete can be produced up to M100 grade of concrete for columns or beams, which reduces the sizes of beams, columns and also the numbers of columns. This facilitates larger obstruction free space for commercial and public buildings, which is much liked by architects. Another product is early high strength concrete, which gives the required strength in three to seven days as against the conventional 28 days. This helps builders and contractors for early deshuttering and faster cycle time for slabs with lesser shuttering materials. We also produce concrete that acts as thermal insulation on roof slab, which leads to lesser transfer of heat from the roof to the lower floor and helps in lowering energy cost in air-conditioning and also makes living comfortable even without AC.
With increasing trend of high-rises in most cities, the requirement of combined mass concrete raft is increasing, which requires temperature controlled concrete to avoid micro-cracks inside concrete mass by lowering the temperature differential between the core and the surface. We manufacture such products for temperature control of mass concrete and these are being supplied to several prestigious projects. Permeable concrete is another sustainable product, which allows rainwater to seep through the concrete and percolate in the soil, which improves ground water table.
How do Mergers and Amalgamations impact cement end-users?
In the recent past, we have seen mergers in the cement industry, and we expect better logistics and availability of bulk cement in most of the market. Most metros and Tier-II and Tier-III cities have RMC plants, and customers are moving to RDC from site mixing, thus the demand for bulk cement is going up at a faster pace. Companies with bulk supplies and reach would be benefitted. This move on more grinding units, bulk terminals and availability of bulk cement will help the RMC business.
Can you introduce us to your customer portfolio?
Our prominent customers include L&W, L&T, Capacite, ITD CEM, Godrej, Ambuja Realty, Infosys, TCS, Shobha Developers, AFCONS, Prestige, DLF, Brigade, Shapoorji Pallonji, ITC, Godrej, Tata Projects etc. for various infrastructure and real estate sectors.
Tell us about the value-added services offered by the company?
The self-compacting concrete, high strength concrete, high early strength concrete, temperature control concrete, lightweight concrete, permeable concrete, high density concrete, coloured concrete, stamped concrete, etc, are some alue- added products that we provide. We meet customers to understand their requirements and pain points before offering customised solutions to them. And we create a winning situation for our customers, which helps them in executing their projects faster and with better quality.
How has the company grown over the last three years and what are your expectations from the coming years?
During the past three years, the ready-mix business was almost flat in terms of growth. In the current financial year, our growth rate would be about 15 per cent. However, we are expanding our operations and expecting a growth rate of about 20 per cent year-on-year.
