By taking the right quantum of risks and focusing on innovation and costs, Dalmia Bharat has emerged as one of the most efficient players in the Indian cement industry
Puneet Yadu Dalmia, MD, Dalmia Bharat, surrounded by artefacts made from cement
Image: Amit Verma
"How can you make cement sexy?" asked Puneet Yadu Dalmia of his management team in early 2016. This was a serious question. The managing director of Dalmia Bharat Ltd (DBL), India’s fourth-largest cement producer by capacity, wanted to make the ubiquitous commodity exciting and bring it closer to consumers. Over a year later, on April 28, the company—against the backdrop of early summer rains—held an exhibition at Bikaner House in Lutyen’s Delhi to unveil its latest brand, Craft Beton, for limited edition art pieces made from cement.
It was as much a celebration of art as of cement’s attributes—strength, adhesiveness and moulding capabilities. Table ware, chairs, sculptures, light shades and other artefacts were on display. “We invited four renowned designers, two of them from outside the country, to play around with cement and design household and functional art products,” says Sundeep Kumar, who handles corporate affairs for the company. These products signify a unique initiative by a cement company and are available for sale online.
But then, innovation is not unusual for DBL, the Delhi-based company which, through its subsidiaries, has an aggregate cement manufacturing capacity of 25 million tonnes spread across south and east India (including the northeast). It was the first company, way back in 1973, to make cement specifically for railway sleepers. Over the years, it came up with specialised cement for oil wells and air strips. It claims to be the greenest cement company in the world, boasting the lowest carbon footprint (net carbon-dioxide emission of 493 kg/tonne). As much as 80 percent of the cement it produces is blended either with slag (waste from steel plant) or fly ash (power plant waste). It will also become a water-positive company by 2020 and quadruple the use of renewable energy by 2030.
(This story appears in the 26 May, 2017 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)