Displaying items by tag: Ambuja
ACC and Ambuja Cements renew master supply agreement
19 February 2021India: ACC’s audit committee and board of directors have approved the renewal of the company’s master supply agreement with Ambuja Cements from 2 May 2021 to 2 May 2024. The agreement will continue on its current terms.
Ambuja Cement implements biofuels for shipping
10 February 2021India: LafargeHolcim subsidiary Ambuja Cement has begun a trial of bio-diesel fuel blends for its shipping fleet. It says that the fuel change will reduce the fleet’s CO2 emissions by 25%.
Managing Director and chief executive officer Neeraj Akhoury said, “With the introduction of bio-diesel blends, we are significantly contributing towards the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by introducing a suitable alternate green fuel that helps achieve our parent, LafargeHolcim’s, sustainability vision of ‘net zero pledge 2030’.”
India: ACC and Ambuja Cements have chosen US-based Blue Yonder to improve their supply chain management. Both subsidiaries of LafargeHolcim are using Blue Yonder’s Luminate Planning software product to help improve sales and operational planning.
"We chose Blue Yonder as our partner for supply chain management digitalisation because Luminate Planning will give us greater visibility into our combined supply chains," said Rajeev Mehta, chief logistics officer, ACC and Ambuja Cement. "The objective of this project is to improve the customer experience and service levels, yet profitably grow by tapping into the synergies of our supply chains, thus maximising capacity utilisation and minimising overall cost."
Competition Commission of India launches investigation into ACC, Ambuja Cement and UltraTech Cement
10 December 2020India: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has raided the offices of LafargeHolcim subsidiaries ACC and Ambuja Cement and Aditya Birla subsidiary UltraTech Cement as part of an investigation into alleged anti-competitive behaviour, according to the Press Trust of India. ACC said it, "is of the firm view that it has acted and continues to act in compliance with competition laws and we are fully cooperating with the investigation and providing all necessary information to the authorities."
Ambuja Cement grows nine-month profit in 2020
23 October 2020India: Ambuja Cement’s profit in the first nine months of 2020 was US$176m, up by 21% year-on-year from US$146m in the first nine months of 2019. It revenues dropped by 7.8% to US$1.07bn from US$1.16bn, primarily due to the impacts of the Coronavirus outbreak. It said that this was likely to continue to affect results into the fourth quarter of 2020.
Standard matters
09 September 2020The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has warned local cement producers to rein in their more outlandish claims. In a letter reported upon by the Economic Times newspaper this week, the government department has accused some manufacturers of making both objective and subjective claims about their products that strained credulity and didn’t fit the corresponding official standards. One industry source from the newspaper blamed the crackdown on some producers claiming that their cement products helped protect people from Covid-19! In their view the bureau was now over-enforcing its rules in retaliation. Given the severity of the outbreak in India - it has the second highest number of reported cases in the world this week - the response of the authorities is understandable to say the least.
The distinction between objective and subjective exaggeration that the BIS makes it worth looking at in more detail. For example, objective or supposedly fact-based claims the BIS cited included: ‘Protect Steel in Concrete’; ‘Protect Concrete from Corrosion’; ‘Corrosion Resistant’; ‘Weather Proof’; and ‘Damp Proof.’ Then, there were subjective, or more emotionally evocative, claims along the lines of ‘strong’ or ‘high performance.’ The BIS then outlines the specific ways in which objective and subjective assertions can be used. Objective claims should be avoided on marketing and packaging material. Subjective claims should, “explicitly indicate that such claims are not covered under the scope of BIS licence granted to them and the responsibility of such claims lies with them.”
Marketing is a big part of standing out in the crowded Indian cement market with producers sponsoring major sports teams. This might seem odd to readers elsewhere in the world but it demonstrates the target market, the importance of cement as a commodity to the general public and the power of brand awareness. Amubja Cement’s logo of a man with a Charles Atlas style physique cuddling a building sums up the message they want to convey: strength. No wonder producers are wary of the BIS wading in.
Standards also appeared in another news story this week with the announcement that Taiwan Cement Corporation (TCC) had obtained the first cement product carbon footprint label issued by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) in the country. Its products will be marked with carbon footprint labels from the fourth quarter of 2020.
This shows a general trend in cement products towards showing sustainability credentials from putting environmental footprint data in front of specifiers for large projects towards making it a more basic retail selling point. Lots of other cement producers around the world have done and/or are doing similar things, from the dedicated slag cement manufacturers to the larger producers routinely releasing and promoting new low-CO2 products. To pick one example from many, in July 2020 LafargeHolcim France introduced ‘360Score CO2 emissions reduction ratings’ to its bagged cement range. The score, between ’A’ and ’D,’ corresponds to the factor of CO2 compared to CEM-I Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), with ‘A’ products producing less CO2 than ‘D’ products in their overall creation.
To look at an older example of the need for standards generally, building collapses in Nigeria appeared to increase post-2000, with the misuse of lower-grade cements blamed for the situation. The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) took action in 2014, local producers introduced higher strength cements and the problem was reduced. Given the intangible nature of measuring sustainability in cement products there is a need for reliable standards. Unlike performance metrics, such as a strength or durability, the CO2 footprint of a cement product will generally remain utterly intangible for most end-users. The effects of CO2 emissions are continually analysed and debated, but the negative climate effects of cement products are more akin to someone else’s house flooding on the other side of the world 50 years later, than one’s own house falling down a decade later due to using the wrong strength cement. So, some form of trustworthy enforcement for sustainability standards is crucial. Standards may represent ‘boring’ bureaucratic red tape at its most officious but we need them. In India and elsewhere though, the debate on enforcement continues.
Rajani Kesari appointed as chief financial officer of Ambuja Cement
02 September 2020India: Ambuja Cement has appointed Rajani Kesari as its chief financial officer (CFO). She succeeds Sonal Shrivastava, who has moved to a new role in LafargeHolcim Group.
Kesari holds over 26 years of experience in accounting, finance, taxation, audit and general management in manufacturing, pharmaceutical as well as auditing and consulting companies. She is currently the CFO of ACC, another subsidiary of LafargeHolcim. Prior to that she was the Head of Finance for Asia Region for LafargeHolcim Group. She joined LafarqeHolcim Group in 2018 from Schneider Electric, an energy management and automation company where she was the CFO for East Asia and Japan Zone.
Kesari started her career in 1991 in finance and auditing with Lovelock & Lewes. Apart from LafargeHolcim Group, she has worked in senior positions with organisations including KPMG, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Schneider Electric. Kesari is a qualified chartered accountant from ICAI, a Cost Accountant from ICWAI and a certified public accountant from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountant.
India: Ambuja Cement’s net profit in the first half of 2020 was US$22.1m, up by 1.5% year-on-year from US$21.7m in the first half of 2019. Revenues decreased by 15% to US$127m from US$149m. The company sold 9.95Mt of cement over the period, down by 18% from 12.2Mt.
Managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) Neeraj Akhoury said, “Volumes were impacted during the second quarter of 2020 as a result of Covid-19 lockdown. Cement demand is expected to rebound, presupposing a normal monsoon and various policy support measures to enhance rural and agricultural incomes. Continued infrastructure, development and affordable housing investment are expected to boost demand growth in the mid-term. The health of our employees and partners is accorded the highest priority.”
Ambuja Cement digitises supply chain
13 July 2020India: Ambuja Cement has modernised its logistics operations by digitising its supply chain to “improve visibility, deliver quality customer service and optimise cost.” The Economic Times newspaper has reported that the company has integrated all aspects of raw material, fuel and equipment supply and product deliveries on a single online platform in order to “enhance overall efficiency and productivity.” Company director Martin Kriegner said additionally that the digitisation will aid in, “fuel mix optimisation and strategic sourcing, helping to mitigate rising input costs.”
Ambuja Cement’s 3.0Mt/yr greenfield expansion to its integrated 1.5Mt/yr Marwar Munda, Rajasthan plant is scheduled for commission by 1 January 2021. The company has a master supply agreement with ACC aimed at maximising the consistency of cement supply to the Rajasthan market once the new 4.5Mt/yr plant becomes operational.
India: The Bureau of Indian Standards has granted a licence to Counto Microfine Products (CMP), a joint venture of Ambuja Cements and medical company Alcon Group, for the production of micro-fine Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) cement. The Times of India newspaper has reported that CMP operates a grinding plant in the state of Goa.