India capacity passes 310mm ton threshold

India home to over a 190 functioning production units, about three quarters of which are integrated cement production units.

The CW Group, the leading global cement industry analyst firm based in the US, has announced its latest research report on cement, the Cement Facilities of India, a comprehensive review of all larger cement plants in India.

The analysis shows that the total cement capacity in India reached 310 million tons in mid-2011 and exceeded if small units are included (not covered in the report). Across the country, there were over a 190 functioning production units, about three quarters of which where integrated cement production units. The global cement major Holcim, through its ACC and Ambuja units, was the market leader in terms of combined production capacity, representing 18 percent of the supply-side. The single largest operating company is Grasim's UltraTech, which controls 16 percent of India's cement manufacturing capacity.

Most of the cement groups in India tend to have a regional footprint with only Holcim and Grasim operating in four regions out of five. With over 60 cement companies operating in the country, the market remains fairly fragmented, though shaped in a large part by the larger groups.

The Northern and Southern regions in India remain dominant in terms of production capacity, representing in excess of 85 percent of the market together. The other regions trail in terms of capacity with the Western region coming in the third place. At the state-level Andhra Pradesh is the largest home to cement production capacity, followed by Rajasthan at about two-thirds the capacity.

As the age and nature of the plant infrastructure varies significantly across India's regions. One notable characteristic is driven by access to limestone reserves; the different extents that grinding stations are relied on for cement manufacturing. While integrated production plants dominate in the limestone-rich South and West, the Northern (almost 30 percent of capacity) and especially Eastern (almost 70 percent of capacity) parts of the country rely on grinding stations to augment local production. India also has a relatively high prevalence of slag cement production units and two large cement plants in the North.

Holcim also controls the largest number of plants, followed by Grasim. The national and local governments represent the third largest operator group with 15 manufacturing units, though these are older units, averaging only 0.37 mtpy. Overall, the average Indian cement factory has a capacity of 1.62 mtpy.

The CW Group report in a single source details all the larger integrated gray, integrated white, grinding stations and slag cement plants in India, providing details on principal cement type produced, plant capacity, ownership structure, and affiliation with global groups. In conjunction with the report, the CW Group also published a large-scale poster showing the location and nature of all cement units across India, providing a strategic and visual perspective of India's dynamic cement manufacturing facilities

To learn more about the report and poster are available directly from CW Group, click here.