Steel and Tmt Bars

Steel Surge

In addition to boasting unprecedented growth rates, India’s steel industry is introducing

innovative products and boosting the quality of construction in the country, reports CHARU
BAHRI.

Steel is indispensable to infrastructure. And as successive five-year plans project higher

investment in infrastructure, the demand for steel will only grow. For its part, the National
Steel Policy formulated by the Indian Ministry of Steel envisages robust growth of the sector
(see box). However, given that the Indian per capita consumption of steel is only 35 kg
compared to the world average of 150 kg and 300 kg in China, we still have a long way to
go to increase the use of steel in construction.

Product mix
As the focus on developing infrastructure across the country gains momentum, the steel
industry has responded by adjusting its product mix. It seems to be increasingly focusing
on the production of long products
and simultaneously, the ratio of flat
to long products seems to be narro-wing. Long steel products, such as steel and TMT rebars,
are used in the construction and infrastructure industry.
In contrast, flat steel products are
largely used as inputs to make cold (or hot) rolled (steel) products, which are in turn used to
manufacture consumer dur-ables and automobiles.
It appears that the rising price of raw materials has led leading steel companies to innovate
and expand their product mix. “The rise in input costs, including iron ore and coke, has
exerted pressure on EBIDTA margins,” says Sajjan Jindal, Vice-Chairman and Managing
Director, JSW Steel Ltd. “To mitigate this squeeze and achieve higher growth than last year,
we are looking at increasing the product mix and improving efficiency by reducing
production cost too.”

The firsts
Indeed, JSW Steel Ltd is the first Indian company to produce Galvalume sheets under
technology licensing from BIEC International Inc, USA. Galvalume is a
barrier-resistant aluminium and
corrosion-fighting zinc patented alloy-coated steel sheet that boasts super-ior corrosion
resistance and heat reflectivity. As such, the product is
an upgrade over the company’s hot dip metal coating galvanising line. With over three
decades of use resulting in over 40 billion sq ft of steel roofing worldwide, Galvalume has
proven that its use in construction as a steel roofing system extends the service life of a
building, reduces maintenance and makes for energy-efficient green buildings that entail
lower heating and cooling costs. In fact, this latter property led to it being the favoured
material for the construction of new buildings for the Olympic Games in Sydney, Athens
and now
in Beijing. “The local production of Galvalume in India, along with technical support from
BIEC International and the ZAC Association, will elevate quality levels for the product and
its applications to the highest international standards,” says Jayant Acharya, Senior Vice-
President - Sales & Marketing, JSW Steel Ltd. “This will benefit the rapidly growing Indian
construction industry.”
The industry is also poised to benefit from ComFlor by Corus Steel, a unique steel flooring
product (see box), points out Darayus J Shroff, General Manager, Corus International (India)
Pvt Ltd. “This is a first for the country as no other company is offering products like
ComFlor at present,” he says. “Since being introduced in June 2007, ComFlor has gained
high popularity in India because of the edge it offers over conventional concrete flooring. It
is generally used for high rises (such as the Burj Dubai) and modern constructions because
of the flexibility it offers. In India, it has already been used in the Hotel InterContinental in
Mumbai and is currently being used in the construction of the ICICI business facility in
Hyderabad.”

Brand equity
The launch of branded steel products for construction comes at a time when consumers are
becoming increasingly brand conscious. According to Mayank Maheshwari, Director, SSH
Agrotech (P) Ltd, customers are well-educated today and respond to advertisements by
reputed brands on television or in the print media. “Steel rebars like TISCON, SAIL,
Elegant and SRMB enjoy a brand status in the Indian market,” he says. “These bars are
preferred over other brands available in the market.”
But as Rajiv Singhal, COMS, Long Products, Tata Steel, says, “Although a brand assures
consumers of good quality and service, merely calling a product by a name is not branding
and could be misleading sometimes. A brand must be backed by genuine and useful product
quality parameters and superior service.” As an example, Singhal explains that a sizeable
quantity of rebars is used by common people in the construction of their houses. As these
consumers are concerned about the quality of TMT bars they use, industry leader Tata Steel
actively engages in various steps such as organising consumer interaction with structural
engineers and architects, and dissemination of product brochures to educate consumers
about steel products.
Consumers also need to be alerted to the fact that large plants, specifically automatic rolling
mill plants, manufacture good quality products compared to local manufacturers.
Manufacturers using imported TMT plants (quenching plants) accepted and appreciated
worldwide for their quality - such as Thermex from Germany, Tempcore from Belgium or
Jettherm from the US - are able to add both to their brand image and quality of steel rebars.

Educating the consumer

Indeed, education and awareness is essential, especially considering the fact that the
nomenclature of certain steel products - like TMT bars-is often confused with a brand.
Apparently, in the early 1980s, the Indian steel industry coined the phrase ‘thermo-
mechanical treatment’ (TMT), which
was introduced in IS: 1786 : 1985 to refer
to two patented quen-ching and tempering processes developed
in Europe. These proc-esses, however, are post-rolling operations that involve no mech-
anical treatment.
What is of concern is that over the years, as far as TMT bars are concerned, the phrase
‘TMT’ has come to signify a technology that gives you rebars with properties - such as
ductility - better than those obtained by the ‘cold twisted bars’ (CTD) process. However,
given that every rolling mill involves thermal and mechanical treatment, even rolled bars
that do not undergo any quenching and tempering process can legally be called TMT bars.
So companies cannot be held responsible if civil engineers buy such bars under the mistaken
belief that they are purchasing a superior product. Therefore, civil engineers need to be
cautioned about blindly specifying TMT bars. Instead, they should specifically ask for bars
in terms of yield strength, stress ratio and elongation.

Cracking the code

Hence, in Maheshwari’s view, “Testing for rebar properties before use in RCC must be
made mandatory. We cannot sleep in peace until such a regulation is introduced. The time
has come for an urgent revision of IS 1786:1985
in light of the superior quenched and tempered technologies, incorrectly referred to as TMT
in India, now available in the country.”
In this context, Nalin Gupta, Executive Director, J Kumar Infraprojects Ltd, points out that
his company ensures the testing of every lot of TMT bars procured for physical and
chemical properties, after which the bars are used in projects. And speaking of the code for
rebars IS: 1786 : 1985, Singhal says, “Given that the current code was institutionalised back
in 1985, and a lot of technological advancements have taken place since to achieve better
functional properties of reinforcement bars suiting different conditions, the current code
could include specifications for upgraded quality of rebars being used worldwide, updated in
line with recent developments in international codes.”
Continuing the same thread, Maheshwari observes that the old concept of Tor steel or CTD
bars has been replaced by TMT bars, but under the same IS: 1786 : 1985 code of the Bureau
of Indian Standards (BIS). “The technology underlying CTD bars and TMT bars differs yet
the scope of standards used in the aforesaid code is the same,” he says. Undoubtedly, then,
the code needs revision for TMT bars. But equally important, products should be
manufactured to strictly conform to the corresponding BIS code. In this context, a source at
the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL, or Visakhapatnam Steel Plant) notes that some major
amendments were recently proposed, the majority of which were accepted, so
the new revision will be brought into effect soon.

Seismic zones
Further, Maheshwari points out
that 50 to 60 per cent of India falls under the seismic 3, 4 and 5 categories. Thus, safety
measures relating to construction should be given the utmost importance. However, while on
the subject of codes, is it a matter of concern that currently according to code IS: 13920,
rebars (HSD steel bars of Grade Fe-415) used in seismic zones 3, 4 and 5 should have an
elongation of 14.5 per cent or more? Isn’t this too low a minimum value?
For his part, Singhal is in favour of a suitable revision of the current stipulation of an
elongation of 14.5 per cent for rebars used in hazardous seismic zone 3, 4 and 5. Further,
expressing the belief that a rebar’s ductility and higher UTS play a critical role in
performance, he believes that there should also be incorporation of uniform elongation with
a minimum value in the code, in line with international specifications. Meanwhile,
Maheshwari cites the example of New Zealand - it has prepared a special new code AS/NZS
4671:2001 for steel-reinforcing materials, including rebars, to be used in seismic areas.
According to him, India’s IS : 13920 code could be revised to specify an elongation of
20 per cent or more.
Hopefully, India is getting its act together. As pointed out by the source at RINL, the new
revision of IS:1786 (which is cross referred in IS:13920) includes a proposal to introduce
three new grades with superior properties, namely Fe-415 D, Fe-500 D and Fe-550 D. The
minimum percentage of elongations proposed for the same are 18, 16 and 14 respectively.

Saving on consumption
The revision of codes should be judicious and reflect the grades of steel currently used in the
country. For instance, while a section of the industry believes that, as grade Fe-415 is used
in most infrastructure works, grade Fe-550 may safely be deleted from the code because it is
hardly ever used and does not exist in the codes of most developed countries. However,
Maheshwari points out that grade Fe-550 (in HSD steel bars according to BIS) actually
differs from grades Fe-415 and Fe-500 in certain mechanical and chemical properties (see
box). Thus, even though its use is very low compared to Fe-415 and Fe-500, there are
certain applications where grade Fe-550 is most suitable. Singhal describes grade Fe-550 re-
bars with higher yield strength as being able to reduce the consumption of rebars and
improve quality of RCC construction by reducing congestion. “This is particularly important
for high-rise and heavy duty structures, especially now that the
country has the capability to use compatible grade of concrete to go along with such high
strength rebars,” he says.
It appears that Fe-550 grade material can ensure savings in steel consumption - it’s all a
question of ensuring proper design and application. In fact, there are some grades in
different international standards where higher yield strengths are specified. Some of these
are:

YS (N/mm2)
JIS G 3112 SD 490-625
ASTM A615 Grade 75 520

The quality imperative

Considering that the construction industry is engaged in building a new India, one fact is
unassailable: every quality control measure that may be ensured by incorporation into the
code should be prioritised. Similarly, every activity that lowers quality of steel and TMT
bars used for construction should be prohibited, again by mention in the code. In this
respect, the source at RINL explains that the issue of using steel with an unknown history -
such as scrap from the ship-breaking industry - was addressed in the recent revision of IS
1786, as undoubtedly using any scrap for direct rolling without knowing its properties would
affect quality of rebars. In such cases, it also becomes very difficult to ensure that the
product conforms with the requirement of code.
As Gupta says, “The rising cost of steel has already affected the construction industry
adversely as the escalation clause does not account for actual increase in prices of steel.”
Hopefully, innovations by the steel industry (see boxes) and its appropriate emphasis on
quality products will reduce the burden rising costs have placed on the construction industry.
Then, the future growth of the Indian steel industry will pose no detriment to the well being
of countless Indians relying on the availability, cost and quality of its output.

A global footprint

• Tata Steel has acquired the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus to become the world’s fifth
largest steelmaker, adding 19 million tonne of steelmaking capacity.
• Essar Global has acquired Canada’s Algoma Steel for $ 1.63 billion and US-based
Minnesota Steel.
• Naveen Jindal-promoted Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL) has bagged the $ 2.1 billion
contract for developing one of the world’s largest iron ore deposits, El Mutun. The project
includes a
2 million tonne steel plant in Bolivia.
• JSW Steel has acquired Jindal United Steel Corporation, Saw Pipes USA and Jindal
Enterprises LLC at Baytown, Texas, for
$ 940 million.
• Steel Strips Wheels Ltd has received an order from French car maker Renault SA worth $
27.56 million to supply around 1 million steel wheel rims for over five years.

Industry estimates

CAGR considering 2004-05 as a base

Production of crude steel 110 million tonne 7.10%
Demand for steel 90 million tonne 6.90%
Steel exports 26 million tonne 13.30%
Steel imports 6 million tonne 7.10%

The rapid rise in production has resulted in India becoming the world’s fifth largest producer
of steel, up by two places, on the back of 50.71 million tonne production of crude steel and
51.9 million tonne of finished steel. The production of finished steel grew by 16.52 per cent,
from 44.54 million tonne in 2005-06 to 49.39 million tonne in
2006-07. In addition, the government has projected India’s steel production to be around 124
million tonne by 2012 and with a capacity of around 275 million tonne by 2019-20.

ComFlor by Corus

Composite steel floor decks are profiled steel decks that bond to the concrete slab to become
part of the floor structure. The deck initially acts as shuttering for the concrete, and after the
concrete cures, the deck acts as the positive bending reinforcement. The composite steel
deck and the concrete interlock, creating a composite slab. This interlocking is achieved
through a system of embossments and ribs that are built into the deck.
The ComFlor range of composite floor decks includes shallow decks that are suitable for
conventional composite construction, wherein the deck is placed onto the top flange of the
steel support beam and covering un-propped construction from 2.5 m to 5.1 m. In contrast,
ComFlor deep decks provide a clear open space between beams with typical un-propped
spans extending to 6 m and propped spans to 9 m. The deck is contained within the beam
depth, which provides a very shallow floor zone. The shape of the deck profiles allows for
service integration and the whole system provides inherent fire resistance.
Composite slabs are a very practical, speedy and economical means of creating a floor
system and work particularly well in conjunction with composite beam construction. This
method of construction allows for taller, lighter, more flexible structures based around a
steel frame. ComFlor is also known to add to the stability of a structure, eliminate the need
for temporary props, reduce the need for concrete compared to conventional reinforced
concrete construction, and increase the overall floor height by reducing the floor zone.
Corus International (India) Pvt Ltd offers complete tailored decking solutions covering the
full scope of design, detailing and supply of decking systems coupled with logistic,
technical, finance and documentation support.

Steel used in hydro projects

Hydro projects imply dams, canals, and other construction works that require special steel
because of the continuous and heavy contact of the structure with water. While normal mild
steels products are not feasible for such works, galvanised or stainless steel or epoxy-coated
clad rust-proof re-bars may be employed in these situations at a greater initial expense, but
to significantly increase the service life of the project. Generally, hydro projects require
material with superior corrosion-resistance. According to Rajiv Singhal, COMS, Long
Products, Tata Steel, the company supplies rebars to hydro projects from its product basket
based on the requirements specified by its customers in that sector.

Stainless innovations for infrastructure

As far back as the 1930s, stainless steel (SS) rebars similar to today’s 1.4301 (304 type)
were used in the reinforcement of the Progresso Pier in the Gulf of Mexico. The use of such
an alloy was prompted by the benefits of SS over and above carbon steel. Apparently,
contrary to reinforcing concrete, carbon steel rebars can do exactly the opposite - if humidity
manages to ingress the structure, the rebar swells as it corrodes, resulting in cracks in the
concrete. The corrosion process is made far worse by chlorides from either atmospheric
sources or de-icing salts on roads. The use of SS in the Progresso Pier has allowed it to stay
maintenance-free in a very aggressive and demanding environment for almost 70 years.
Conversely, a second bridge built alongside in the 1960s using carbon steel rebar was closed
prematurely in 1982.
Now as the construction industry worldwide becomes increasingly aware of the need to use
sustainable materials that ensure product durability and low maintenance costs, the use of SS
rebars has assumed paramount importance. As SS mirrors carbon steel in all physical and
load bearing properties, it may be replaced ‘like for like’, and also be connected to carbon
steel without fear of increased galvanic corrosion to the
parent carbon steel. Austenitic stainless reinforcing bars also have low magnetic
permeability. When used in bridges, SS reinforcement also reduces the concrete
requirement, and eliminates expensive bridge deck surface treatments.
The only thing going against SS rebars is their high cost, which is in part due to their high
nickel content. In this regard, Yatinder Suri, Country Head, Outokumpu India Pvt Ltd, says,
“Outokumpu Stainless’s Lean Duplex LDX 2101® is a new grade of SS that contains only
1.5 per cent of nickel but outperforms current standard stainless grades in both strength and
corrosion resistance.” Apparently, the ongoing Gateway Upgrade Project, aimed at
duplicating a motorway bridge across the Brisbane River in Australia’s Queensland, is
making use of duplex LDX 2101® SS rebars from Outokumpu in a groundbreaking move
towards sustainable infrastructure development at competitive cost. Outokumpu has also
introduced SS rebars into the Indian market to extend the life of concrete structures under
construction. “Technical experts have concluded that Duplex stainless steel is the ideal
product to build long-lasting (over 100 years) infrastructure around India’s coastal areas,” he
adds.

Comparison of grades Fe-415, Fe-500 and Fe-550

Mechanical properties FE-415 FE-500 FE-550
0.2 % proof stress/yield stress, min. N/mm2 415 50000.00% 550
Elongation, per cent, min. on gauge length 5.63 ÖA, where A is cross-sectional area of the
test piece 14.4 1200.00% 8
Tensile strength, min. 10% more than the actual 0.2% proof stress but not less than 485.0 N/
mm2 8% more than the actual 0.2% proof stress but not less than 545.0 N/ mm2 6% more
than the actual 0.2% proof stress but not less than 585.0 N/ mm2
Chemical properties
Carbon 0.3 0.3 0.3
Sulphur 0.06 0.055 0.055
Phosphorus 0.06 0.055 0.05
Sulphur and phosphorus 0.11 0.105 0.1

Innovations from Tata Steel

Tata Steel has introduced grades like Fe-500 (high strength steel), super ductile rebars for
earthquake prone areas and CRC (corrosion-resistant bars) for coastal areas. It has also
introduced the concept of selling by piece instead of kilogramme to reduce costs.

On the anvil

• Arcelor Mittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, plans to set up two greenfield steel projects
in India each with a capacity of 12 million tonne per annum.
• Acerinox SA, the world’s second biggest stainless steelmaker, is joining hands with
Japan’s Nisshin Steel to build a steel plant in India.
• Tata Steel, the world’s fifth largest steel maker, plans to double its capacity by 2015, by
adding another 35 million tonne capacity.
• India’s largest steel manufacturer SAIL is planning to increase its annual production of 12
million tonne per annum to 24.98 million tonne per annum by 2011-12.
• Sinosteel Corp, China’s second biggest iron ore trader, plans to invest $ 4 billion to build a
5 million tonne greenfield steel plant
• Kalyani Steels will set up an integrated steel and power project in West Bengal, at a cost of
$ 1.63 billion.
• Investment worth $ 365.7 million in steel is coming up in Karnataka.
• Mesco Steel plans to invest around $ 2.8 billion in two steel plants -
a brownfield expansion and a greenfield project - in Orissa.
• Vedanta Resources plans to enter the Indian steel sector with a 5 million tonne plant at an
investment of about $ 6.02 billion in Orissa.
• SAIL will invest $ 5.006 billion in West Bengal. This is almost two-fifths of the $ 13.27
billion spread planned by SAIL.
Feature - RMc and Concrete Equipment

The Right Mix

The infrastructure boom has given a rightful fillip to the ready-mix concrete industry. This,
in turn, has prompted equipment manufacturers to offer India the world's best in technology
and service. CW takes a closer look.

Here’s something you probably knew – ready-mix concrete (RMC) enables good
construction as it facilitates the production of better quality concrete that is not subject to the
vagaries of on-site mixing. RMC assures consistent quality through accurate computerised
control of aggregates and water according to mix designs. It is also eco-friendly as it
incorporates recycled materials like fly ash and slag.
All this accounts for the fact that the Indian market for RMC is growing at
15 to 20 per cent per annum - even 25 to 30 per cent in some regions - owing to the boom in
real estate activities. With quality increasingly becoming an imperative among developers,
the demand for RMC will only rise.
“The RMC industry in India is estimated to be about 32 million cu m in 2007 and is
projected to reach 75 million
cu m in 2011,” predicts Sanjay Bahadur, Managing Director, ACC Concrete. “The
acceptance of RMC is very good. However, the end customer needs to have confidence in
RMC wherever it is coming from. For this, we need professionalism and transparency.”
According to Bahadur, the Concrete Association has formed guidelines for RMC plants to
follow so that quality is maintained, irrespective of which company manufactures concrete,
or where it is manufactured.

Top tech
Intrinsic to good concrete, though, is good equipment. And India is no slouch in that
department; with major players striving to give the customer the world's best in technology.
“Recent developments have been on reduction of energy consumption, controls to achieve
closer tolerance levels, improved environment protection systems and high uptime of
equipment,” explains Asit A Patel, Managing Director, Gujarat Apollo Industries Ltd. “We
have achieved these developments through value engineering.” According to him, the USP
of the company, which manufactures asphalt plants, paver finishers, wet mix plants, bitumen
sprayers, kerb pavers, compaction equipment, crushing and screening machines, road
marking machines and allied equipment, is high uptime, prompt after-sales service, faster
delivery period and value for money.
Schwing Stetter India, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Schwing GmbH, Germany, also offers
batching plants for concrete preparation, transit mixers for concrete transportation and
concrete pumps (trailer, line and truck-mounted) for placing the concrete. The company also
manufactures specialised equipment like shotcreting machines, concreting machinery for
tunnels and dam projects and recycling plants for ready-mix companies.
“We offer concrete pumps and batching plants,” says MS Bhadbhade, Managing Director,
Aquarius Engineers Pvt Ltd. “Our concrete pumps are designed with ‘S-valve’ technology,
the latest available worldwide. Our batching plants, too, use the most current mixing
technology, batching and weighing system, and operating software.” Pumps with S-valve
technology can pump harsh as well as high slump concrete of good quality and assure
trouble-free operation and optimal efficiency. Similarly, while the company’s small batching
plants use Planetary or Sun mixer technology, the bigger batching plants use twin shaft
technology - both are state-of-the-art.
“Our basic concept of ‘less power, more output’ has remained a central focus of our drive
for unique featu-
red equipments and machineries,” J N Surelia, Proprietor, Maxmech Group, tells us. “The
USP of our equipment is a combination of indigenisation and imported critical parts and
components with technology back-up from international associates.” The company's product
range has been used in projects across India and is also exported to countries like
Afghanistan and Malaysia. Top products include its concrete batching mixing plant with
special features not available in other plants or machines
produced in India; wet mix macadam plant with value-added features; and the feature-
packed mobile concrete plant, which combines compact design with high efficiency.

Support and service

However, the best equipment is no use to the customer without good after-sales support, a
fact that all major players are aware of.
“We have sales and service offices in all important locations in India, and authorised dealers
in many parts of India,” says Patel. “So, even the remotest locations aren't too far from our
service centres.” Gujarat Apollo provides intensive training to the customer's personnel,
enabling them to maintain the equipment well, and maintains stocks of spare parts at the
project offices of customers in remote locations. “This combination helps in maintaining
high uptime of our equipment,” he adds. “When required, we fly our service personnel or
spare parts to the nearest airport. In the worst-case scenario, the wait time can be
48-72 hours but it is generally less than 24 hours.”
Aquarius too has sales and after-sales support offices in all the major cities of India. “Every
part of our country is not more than an overnight journey from our service network,” says
Bhadbhade. “Our service vans further extend our reach in critical areas. Apart from this, we
also conduct on-site training and scheduled inspection visits to site, and maintain stock of
emergency spare parts at the customer's site and our branch offices.”
Surelia too is proud of Maxmech’s service network. “We register our presence in every nook
and corner of the country through a widespread marketing network comprising branch
offices, distributors and agents, and resident
representatives,” he says. “Responsive after-sales service personnel are spread
over the entire country. Maxmech Group is the only Indian company with a
centralised 24-hour emergency help-line. Total commitment to timely customer service with
minimum downtime has always remained our focus.”

Imported or indigenous?
Despite the high technology and efficient after-sales support that Indian players now
provide, there are many who still insist that imported equipment is superior to indigenous
machinery. Is this really the case?
“Our range of equipment is in no way inferior in quality to imported equipment,” responds
Patel. “In fact, in certain areas like energy consumption, we are better. We have stringent
quality control measures in place and our supply chain is also subject to such quality
standards.”
Bhadbhade weighs into the debate, saying, “We have been manufacturing the equipment at
our Goa factory for a long time. We have seen that concrete quality and handling is quite
different to that observed in other parts of the country. Hence, und-erstanding local
conditions and then adopting global tec-hnology is very important. Our mac-hines offer
high-efficiency output under extreme levels of performance on various sites in India and our
customers are satisfied.”
Meanwhile, Surelia says, “In-depth study of internationally acclaimed products and
technologies inspires us to develop the equipment and machinery indigenously. Nonetheless,
key components are imported from reputed European manufacturers. With this combination,
our products are recognised to have global standards, yet are developed indigenously.
Whenever required or demanded, we have invited international technological partners and
collaborators to help us develop our machines locally.”
Growing steady
While the indigenous vs. imported debate rages on in the minds of many, the infrastructure
boom has ensured a period of steady growth for major players in the sector. “Our growth is
around 25 per cent,” reveals Patel. “We are targeting sales of Rs 230-240 crore for FY 2008-
09.”
Bhadbhade’s sales target includes more than 600 stationary concrete pumps, 50 boom
pumps and about 120 large batching plants. “We are setting up a new factory near Pune,
exclusively for increasing the production of batching plants,” he shares. “The first phase is
already completed while work of the second phase will be complete by August 2008. After it
is fully operational, our batching plant production will be nearly tripled. Second, our Unit 1
in Goa is under expansion for production of concrete pumps. This is planned for completion
by the end of this year.”
It’s good news for Surelia too. "This sector is reportedly growing at around 30 per cent,” he
tells us. “We have outperformed this with a growth close to 50 per cent last year and
turnover of
Rs 300 million. Maxmech is poised for
a growth of nearly 70 per cent over 2007-08 with sales turnover targeted over Rs 500
million. With new production facilities and additional capacities in place, we aim to grow
between 80 to 100 per cent consistently for two years starting 2009-10 to reach a turnover
close to Rs 2,000 million by 2010-11.”

The future of RMC

Just like their individual growth rates, major players have high expectations from the RMC
industry in India. “With the government's continued thrust on the road sector, we expect a
CAG of 18-20 per cent for the next five years,” predicts Patil. “The Indian construction
industry is slowly but steadily becoming quality conscious,” says Bhadbhade. “The RMC
industry holds the key to this.”
But there are still some bottlenecks that need to be resolved. “There is lack of a level playing
field in this industry,” rues Patel. “Certain type of equipment is allowed to be imported
under zero duty but we cannot sell the same equipment made in India under zero excise
duty.” Bhadbhade too urges the government to have an overall perspective of national
growth plans vis-à-vis the RMC segment and the requirement of users.
For his part, Surelia sees the government playing a catalytic role in the growth of the
industry, based on its infrastructure-friendly Budget this year. “We forecast growth between
50 and 60 per cent for the next two years,” he reiterates. We like the sound of that!

When do you decide to put up a plant at site?

Sanjay Bahadur tells you.

“If you have a plant at site, freight cost is low; but if utilisation is low, the cost of the plant
becomes high. So you have
to strike a balance between volume
and time frame. If a 50,000 cu m commercial building is to be put up in four months, it
makes sense to buy RMC. But if you have 12 to 18 months for the same size, there is
enough time and the size is big enough for a small 30 cu m plant at site to be viable. For a
contractor who is not in a hurry, a 50,000 cu m and above project is worth having a plant on
site. For an RMC manufacturer, 8,000-10,000 cu m from a site is good for a site plant.”

Quick Bytes

l The Indian market for RMC

market is growing at 15 to
20 per cent per annum - even
25 to 30 per cent in some regions - owing to the boom
in real estate activities.
l Recent developments have
been on reduction of energy
consumption, controls to achieve closer tolerance levels, improved environment protection
systems and high uptime of equipment
l With the government's continued thrust on the road sector, Gujarat Apollo expects a CAG
of 18-20 per cent for the next five years.
l Maxmech Group forecasts a growth between 50 and 60 per cent for the next two years.
l Aquarius Engineers conducts
on-site training and scheduled inspection visits to site, and maintains stock of emergency
spare parts at the customer's site and branch offices.

Putzmeister pumps it up!

Here's a landmark moment. After repeated extension of the use of the last remaining
Putzmeister super high-pressure trailer concrete pump 14000 SHP D over the past months at
Burj Dubai, the concrete delivery was completed on April 9, 2008, reaching a new world
record height of 606 m.
As a result of the predominantly steel construction of the last tower levels and the low
concrete quantities used above 586 m, the concrete pump was barely working to capacity for
more than a few hours per week. Owing to the disassembly started in the meantime, the
building's guided delivery line is no longer in the way of Burj Dubai's interior fittings.
During the last pump operations, a concrete pressure of 200 bar was measured on the
Putzmeister trailer concrete pump with S transfer tube 14000 SHP D with an output of 28 cu
m per hour. Overall, the three Putzmeister high-performance pumps have, during their 32
months of operation, pumped approximately 165,000 cu m of high-strength concrete. This
exclusively involves concretes of the property classes C50 for the floors as well as C60 and
C80 for the walls of the central core. With a 606 m height difference, the concrete required
approximately 40 minutes from the filling of the hopper to its discharge from the delivery
line. The concrete volume in the line (nominal diameter 150 up to 550 m height, after this
ND 125) amounted to approximately 11 cu m with this installation height. This equates to a
weight of over 26 tonne on the Putzmeister concrete pump after every piston stroke when
the S transfer tube is switched.

Know your concrete

• Self-compacting concrete: This is concrete that requires little vibration or compaction.

Self-compacting concrete is the concrete that is able to flow under its own weight and
completely fill the formwork, even in the
presence of dense reinforcement, without the need of any vibration, while maintaining
homogeneity.
• Shrinkage compensating concrete: This is low shrinkage concrete (shrinkage < 250 µm/m)
used for applications such as construction of ground-bearing slabs for industrial, warehouse
and commercial floors.
• High early strength concrete: This is concrete that gains strength rapidly. For example, it
can achieve 70 per cent of its characteristic strength in three days instead of seven.
Applications include highways, airports, roads, pavements - any place where the time
available for concrete to gain strength is low.
• Aesthetic concrete: Examples include coloured, patterned, textured and exposed aggregate
concrete.
Value-added concrete

“A value-added product (VAP) is a peculiar RMC product that provides extra perceived
benefits to a certain segment within the construction industry chain, compared to a
conventional product. VAPs provide customers enhanced performance; good aesthetics with
reduced need of finishing; accelerated construction speed; reduced sections and saving on
space; ease of use; durability and enhanced service life; and
eco-friendliness,” informs Bahadur.
Here are various VAPs based on operational characteristics:

j Easiness of placement
- Self-compacting concrete
- Flowable fills
- Shotcrete
- Underwater concrete
- Long-life mortars

j Construction speeds
- High early strength concrete
- Fast-track
- Roller-compacted concrete

j Aesthetics
- White concrete
- Coloured concrete
- Exposed aggregate concrete
- Patterned concrete

j Reduced elements sections

- High final strength
- Lightweight structural concrete

j Enhanced performance
- Low shrinkage concrete
- Shrinkage compensating concrete
- Abrasion-resistant concrete
- Fibre-reinforced concrete

j Environment
- Cellular concrete
- Lightweight insulating concrete
- High volume fly ash/slag concrete
- Recycled aggregates concrete
- Low-noise pavement concrete
j Enhanced service life
- Aggressive chemical-resistant concrete
- Low-permeability concrete
- Marine concrete
- Frost-resistant concrete
- Fire-resistant concrete
- Corrosion-resistant concrete