With a production level of over 500 million tons last year, India is the second largest cement producer in the world. And with the India Brand Equity Foundation estimating that production will exceed 550 million tons by 2020, the industry is only moving one way. Against this backdrop, Volvo CE’s Indian operations organized its first internal interactive event dedicated to the cement industry.
The Cementing Success event took place at Volvo CE’s Customer Center in Bangalore from April 15 to 16. The two-day event included workshops on the cement industry from the mining process, machine application to cement terminology, along with a complete run-down on the company’s range of products for the industry, from mining through to material handling. Attendees included Volvo CE sales & service team along with its dealer partners.
“Cement companies in India are seeing continual growth and many are expanding their facilities,” said Dimitrov Krishnan, vice president and head of Volvo CE India. “There are over 575 cement plants in the country and each needs to use the right machines to achieve optimum productivity. Our machines have been working with cement companies across India for many years, but we wanted to stage this event to enhance our dealers’ and sales & service team’s understanding of how we are a total solutions partner for the cement industry.”
Guest speakers from the Holcim Group, Harsh Chitravanshi, Purchase Head & Abhijit Chattopadhyay, Technical Head, were also part of this session. It served as a platform for them to share their experiences & expectations from Volvo CE India. “We have been associated with Volvo CE India since 2015, with the shrinking margins in the industry, it is necessary for us to look for machines with low fuel consumption yet safe and comfortable. Volvo CE fits perfect in those criterias.” said Harsh Chitravanshi,
“With the cement industry growing in India, it was important to help our teams maximize their knowledge of the cement industry,” Krishnan said. “With deeper insight into the industry, our dealer partners and sales & service teams will be better positioned to help customers optimize their cement operations using Volvo CE machines.”
With increased construction and infrastructure activity expected to continue, the cement sector in India continues to attract investment. According to the Government of India’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, cement and gypsum products attracted US$5.26 billion of foreign investment between April 2000 and June 2018. With its unrivalled products, technology and customer support, Volvo CE is now well-placed to cement its place as the industry’s leading equipment supplier.
India's cement industry