Displaying items by tag: India
Hari Krishna Agarwal appointed as managing director of Grasim Industries
08 September 2021India: Grasim Industries has appointed Hari Krishna Agarwal as its managing director. He will take up the post for a period of two years from 1 December 2021. The appointment is subject to shareholder approval. It follows the early retirement of Dilip Gaur from the subsidiary of Aditya Birla Group.
Agarwal, aged 62 years, has worked for Aditya Birla Group for nearly 40 years. During this period, he has held different roles in cement, chemicals and pulp and fibre businesses before taking on his current role as Business Head for Pulp & Fibre. He is a chartered accountant and an Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Sasin School of Management at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.
Gujarat Sidhee Cement suspends Sidheegram cement plant’s clinker production for maintenance work
07 September 2021India: Gujarat Sidhee Cement has shut down the kiln line of its Sidheegram, Gujarat, cement plant for 17 – 20 days. India InfoLine News Service has reported that the company will carry out routine maintenance on the plant during the shutdown. It says that grinding and dispatch of cement will continue as usual.
Ambuja Cements launches Concrete Future Laboratories
07 September 2021India: Ambuja Cements has launched Concrete Futures Laboratories, a one-stop solution for the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) professionals. Eight laboratories across India will enable them to test various aspects of cement and concrete.
CEO Neeraj Akhoury said "Our strong credentials in research and development and innovation have helped us develop new products and services tailored to our customers' needs. We consistently work towards developing cutting-edge solutions for our stakeholders, and the Concrete Futures Laboratory is a testament to our efforts. We aim to create an ecosystem that is focused on collaboration and inclusive growth to build a better and sustainable tomorrow."
Orissa state government approves grinding plants projects by My Home Industries and Ramco Cements
06 September 2021India: The state government of Orissa has approved cement grinding plant projects proposed by My Home Industries and Ramco Cements. My Home Industries plans to build a new 3Mt/yr grinding plant at Badchana in Jajpur. The Orissa Diary newspaper has reported the value of the producer’s planned investment as US$89.0m. Ramco Cements has proposed a 0.9Mt/yr at Haridaspur in Jajpur. The unit will cost US$26.0m and employ 60 local people.
Documentary on cement plant pollution in Meghalaya wins 2021 Yale Environment 360 prize
06 September 2021US/India: Judges from Yale University have awarded first place at the 2021 Yale Environment 360 video contest to Aarti Srivastava for her documentary film entitled the 'Story of Lumshnong.' The Indo-Asian News Service has reported that the film tracks the ‘disaster’ ensuing from the establishment of eight cement plants near the town of Lumshnong in a forested area of Meghalaya state. It claims that the intensive activity has led to water problems, high dust levels in Lumshnong and deforestation.
Exclusion of Indian mining activities reduces cost of FLSmidth’s acquisition of ThyssenKrupp Mining to Euro280m
06 September 2021India: Denmark-based FLSmidth has agreed with Germany-based ThyssenKrupp to exclude the latter’s mining activities in India from the final deal in its acquisition of ThyssenKrupp Mining. This reduces the total cost of the transaction by 14% to Euro280m from Euro325m. FLSmidth said that the exclusion of the Indian business will not affect the transfer of its key intellectual property and technologies to the supplier as part of the overall transaction.
Tamil Nadu government launches Valimai cement
03 September 2021India: The state government of Tamil Nadu has announced the launch of a new cement, called Valimai, by one of its subsidiary cement producers. The United News of India agency has reported that the government anticipates a drop in cement prices as a result of the launch. It is currently targeting a total cement capacity of 19Mt/yr with the establishment of a planned 10Mt/yr plant.
On mid-June 2021, the state government asked cement producers operating locally to lower their prices.
JK Cement to invest US$410m to expand capacity to 23Mt/yr by 2023
02 September 2021India: JK Cement plans to invest a total of US$410m in two new cement plant projects to expand its total production capacity to 23Mt/yr from 15Mt/yr. The Economic Times newspaper has reported that the company is in the process of establishing a 2Mt/yr integrated plant at Panna in Madhya Pradesh. It is in the process of establishing a second new integrated plant at Hamirpur in Uttar Pradesh, also with a capacity of 2Mt/yr. Both plants are scheduled for commissioning in 2023. The investments aim to increase the company’s presence in the northern and central Indian cement markets. 12Mt/yr of its current capacity is located in the region, compared to 3.0Mt/yr in the south.
Chief executive officer Madhav Singhania said “While the northern market is very attractive in terms of demand and capacity utilisation, we have the capabilities to become a market leader in the central region."
In 2020, JK Cement’s average capacity utilisation was between 75% and 80%.
India’s new waste heat recovery units total 175MW in 2021 and 2022 financial years
02 September 2021India: The total new waste heat recovery (WHR) unit capacity of cement producers is expected to reach 175MW in the two years ending on 31 March 2022. Rating agency ICRA has valued the total investment in new WHR units over the period as up to US$230m, according to the Press Trust of India. A market report by ICRA reports that power generation using WHR costs around US$0.02/kWh compared to US$0.7/kWh from a captive coal power plant. Cement companies that replace 25% of total power capacity with WHR can potentially save around 15% from existing power costs.
Ambuja Cement saves 70Ml of water with rainwater harvesting systems
02 September 2021India: Ambuja Cement has saved 70Ml of water since the beginning of 2020 through the installation of rooftop rainwater harvesting systems at 268 construction sites across India.
Neeraj Akhoury, the chief executive officer of Ambuja Cement, said "The scope and opportunities for creating a sustainable future are immense. As part of the global organisation, Holcim, Ambuja Cement's ambition is to be a part of the solution to the sustainability challenges faced today. I am pleased with the progress that we have made through our efforts, and we will continue to put into action bolder plans for emission reduction, resource optimisation and water conservation to build a sustainable India."