Cement is the material that lays the foundations of thriving economies, and Aditya Birla Group's UltraTech is among the world's largest cement producers
Cement, and its derivatives like concrete and mortar, have given the English language many vivid and useful metaphors. After all, we cement relationships, live in concrete jungles, and brick-and-mortar stores are where we go for a change from online shopping.
When they think of cement, most people think of the thick, grey sludge commonly seen at construction sites. However, this immensely useful adhesive material has become an irreplaceable part of our lives today – a transformation that Aditya Birla Group has helped bring about! Read on to know more.
The binding force
Cement is made by heating limestone and clay, and it is mainly used as a binder. When mixed with sand, and sometimes slaked lime, cement forms mortar. When mixed with sand and gravel, it produces concrete – the most consumed material in existence after water!
Fuelling India's growth
When it comes to cement, UltraTech is India's undisputed market leader. In FY22, the company produced a whopping 1.9 billion bags of cement. It also dispatched 4.6 million bags of cement every single day via rail, road and sea routes.
Embedded in history
Ancient Roman concrete structures like the famous Pantheon, as well as many marine piers and sea walls built millenniums ago, are still standing today. This is because the ancient Roman concrete, whose mortar base combined volcanic ash, lime and water, gets stronger when exposed to seawater. That explains why these structures have lasted for an unimaginably long time.
Modern misfortune
For the modern world, it is a tragedy that the recipe used by the ancient Romans to make concrete was completely lost! The undocumented recipe for Roman mortar is not available today. Scientists are still trying to create a 'replacement' version of Roman concrete using ingredients available today.
Milestone moment
The most common artificial cement today is Portland cement. It was patented by Englishman Joseph Aspdin in 1824. Aspdin created Portland cement by burning limestone and clay in a kiln.
The beginning
Aditya Birla Group's foray into cement began in 1980s, when it set up two plants, Vikram Cement and Rajashree Cement, respectively for Grasim and Indian Rayon. In 1998, the two entities merged. The cement business's capacity grew steadily over the years, and in 2004, the Group's acquisition of L&T's cement business gave Grasim a controlling stake in UltraTech.
Building a behemoth
Today, UltraTech has 22 integrated manufacturing units, 27 grinding units, and over 175 Ready-mix Concrete (RMC) plants. It has one white cement unit as well. UltraTech is also the first Indian company to have a fully women-run RMC. Its RMC facility in Bhugaon, Pune is managed by a 22-member team of women, who oversee all aspects of its operation.
Grit and growth
China and India are the world's top producers of cement. However, UltraTech is the only cement company globally (outside of China) to have manufacturing capacity of 100+ million tonnes per annum (MTPA) in a single country. It is also the second-largest cement manufacturer worldwide, contributing to over 7% of the global capacity in grey cement, white cement and RMC.
The greener cement
UltraTech's cement manufacturing process do not use any kind of hazardous or toxic chemicals. The company also co-processes waste materials like fly ash and slag from other industries in its cement kilns, thus benefiting the environment.
Energy smart
In FY2022, UltraTech used over 24 million metric tonnes of alternative fuel and recycled material to produce cement. It also sourced nearly 18% of its total energy consumption from green energy sources.
Leaders of tomorrow
While India's cement industry is expected to add 80-100 million tonnes of additional capacity by FY2025, UltraTech will build its capacity to around 153 MTPA, reinforcing its position as one of the world's largest cement companies.
