Displaying items by tag: JSW Cement
JSW Cement to start four greenfield grinding units
29 June 2015India: According to the Deccan Herald, JSW Cement plans to start four more greenfield grinding plants, two each in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, as part of its plan to grow its cement and clinker capacities to 20Mt/yr by 2018.
JSW Cement director and CEO Anil Kumar Pillai said that the company expects cement demand growth in its current fiscal year, which ends on 30 September 2015 and will gain pace in the next fiscal year. "The government's new infrastructure-led industrialisation plan will really boost cement demand. Already analysts have predicted a double-digit GDP growth rate, which will give a 15% hike in cement demand," said Pillai.
The greenfield projects are part of JSW Cement's US$1.41bn investment plan. "Each of the projects will have an investment of US$54.8 – 62.6m. In Tamil Nadu, we have identified one location at Tuticorin and the other will be near Puducherry. It will take 36 months to commission the units. Funds for these projects will be raised via internal accrual and bank borrowings," said Pillai.
JSW Cement is looking for land in West Bengal and will announce the details soon. The company has production plants in Vijayanagar and Bellari in Karnataka, Dolvi in Maharashtra and Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh. JSW Cement has achieved 55% of its production capacity in the last fiscal year. "In the last fiscal year, we produced 3.2Mt of cement and we have set a target of 4.2Mt in the current fiscal year. We expect to achieve 65% capacity utilisation once growth momentum gains in the third and fourth quarter," said Pillai.
Regarding industry rumours that JSW Cement is in the race to acquire Lafarge's cement assets in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, Pillai said that the company was open to inorganic growth and will not go for exports.
Meanwhile, JSW Cement is installing a 10MW power plant that uses waste gas in Nandyal. "JSW Cement has committed US$15.7m of investment for this project and it will be commissioned within 12 to 14 months," said Pillai.
JSW Cement puts Gulbarga plant on the back-burner
20 March 2015India: JSW Cement plans to shelve its plans to set up a 3Mt/yr clinker plant at Chittapur in Gulbarga temporarily as the company's short-term goal is to ensure that its Andhra Pradesh plant reaches full capacity, according to a company spokesperson.
In 2014 JSW Cement announced plans to pump around US$400 – 480m into its Gulbarga plant. JSW Cement currently runs three plants; the¬ 4.8Mt/yr Nandyal plant in Andhra Pradesh, the 0.7Mt/yr Vijayanagar plant in Karnataka and the 0.7Mt/yr Dolvi plant in Maharashtra. While its Vijayanagar and Dolvi plants are running at 100% capacity utilisation, its Nandyal plant is stuck at 50% capacity utilisation due to low cement demand.
"There is 50% capacity utilisation at our Nandyal plant. Since we already have around 2.5Mt/yr of unused capacity, we need to convert it into utilised capacity," said JSW Cement director and CEO Anil Kumar Pillai. "For that to happen, it will take another one to one and a half years. Until such time, there is no point in expanding," JSW Cement director and chief executive officer Anil Kumar Pillai told TOI. Pillai." He added the company will be firming up its plans to improve capacity as it has an internal target of producing 20Mt/yr by 2020."So we will be finalising our plans by September - October 2015. By that time we will have a picture of if we will be going ahead with Gulbarga or something else," said Pillai.
To reach its target of producing 20Mt/yr, JSW Cement is also open to taking the inorganic growth path and is evaluating various options, according to Pillai. He added that the company would prefer to acquire assets in the south of India.
Pillai said that, overall, the cement sector has seen no growth recently as the government has launched any big infrastructure expenditure. However, with some major announcements made in the Union budget towards pushing infrastructure growth, the second half of the next fiscal year could be a turning point for the cement industry.
India: Jaypee Group is reportedly in talks with HeidelbergCement and JSW Cement to form a joint venture that will control the majority of its cement plants. The plan envisages a separate joint venture entity that will house around 20 – 22Mt/yr of Jaypee's operational plants in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Chattisgarh. The venture may exclude Jaypee's first cement plant in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, which has approximately 3Mt/yr of cement production capacity.
JSW to boost cement capacity to 30Mt/yr by 2025
19 January 2015India: JSW plans to expand its cement production capacity to 30Mt/yr from 5Mt/yr by setting up grinding units closer to its steel plants. As part of its diversification, it is also considering the production of aluminium, if the government allocates bauxite mines to it.
Seshagiri Rao, joint managing director of JSW Steel, said that the company's presence in the cement business is small compared with other companies with 60 – 70Mt/yr of production capacity. JSW's plan is to become a significant player in the sector, with 30Mt/yr of production capacity by 2025, he added.
For instance, a grinding unit installed closer to the Dolvi steel plant in Maharashtra State could source clinker from Gujarat State, mix it with slag available from the plant and tap the vibrant western market. "Alternatively, we could also set up grinding units closer to the cement market and take our slag there," said Rao. "We would source clinker from the closest available location so that we remain competitive."
The Tamil Nadu State Government recently notified a scheme whereby cement companies are asked to quote their factory gate price. Contractors were given the price list to source cement for their projects. JSW Cement has also placed its bids under the scheme. "I believe that other State Governments will also emulate the Tamil Nadu Government model to make cement available for their projects at a competitive price without any subsidy," said Rao.
JSW Cement to make only Portland slag cement
26 September 2014India: JSW Cement Ltd plans to switch completely to the production of Portland slag cement (PSC), according to its CEO, Anil Kumar Pillai. According to Pillai, slag cement is ideally suited to both infrastructure projects and housing construction.
"We have 6Mt/yr of cement production capacity and will be producing only this variety of cement," said Pillai. The price of PSC is almost the same as the price of ordinary Portland cement. JSW Cement expects a massive increase in demand for slag cement in view of the formation of the new Central Indian government and new governments in some States, with increased focus on infrastructural projects.
"The Andhra Pradesh government has issued an order mandating the use of only Portland slag cement in all government constructions,'' said Pillai. He added that Portland slag cement is very popular outside India, accounting for more than 90% of total cement production in some countries. However, in India, out of total 360Mt/yr cement produced, it accounts for just 7%.