Will cement demand grow post-pandemic?
Cement is a typically cyclical sector that has weathered many an economic storm. And with the world reeling under the Covid-19, everyone is waiting and watching how the sector will react. India is the second largest producer of cement in the world and the second largest consumer (next to China in both cases). The sector plays a significant part in the growth story of Indian economy, providing employment to over a million people, directly or indirectly. And over the past few years, it has witnessed a lot of consolidation: Today, the top 20 cement companies account for almost 70% of the total cement production in the country.

in association with organised the 11th Cement Expo Plus Online on March 17. The virtual event involved the 6th Indian Cement Review Conference 2021 that focused on three sessions:

  • Will cement demand grow post the pandemic?
  • Opportunities for automation and digital transformation
  • Using municipal solid waste as fuel in the kiln

The conference was followed by the 4th Indian Cement Review Awards 2021 that will recognise and reward India鈥檚 Fastest Growing Cement companies.

Chief Guest Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Government of India, shared his message with the industry, probing the central question, 鈥淐an we make everything Atmanirbhar?鈥

In his inaugural address, Pratap Padode, Founder & President, FIRST Construction Council, pointed out that 鈥渃ement production has been falling, which could indicate that the pent up demand has already been exhausted.鈥

A large number of stakeholders from the industry participated and spoke:

聽 Arun Attri, Vice President-IT, Wonder Cement
聽 Ashok Kumar Dembla, President & Managing Director, KHD Humboldt Wedag
聽 BN Mohapatra, Director General, NCCBM,
聽 Mayank D Kamdar, Marketing Director, Lilanand Magnesites
聽 Michel Folliet, CEO Co-Founder, Pantheum Solutions
聽 Nitesh Jain, Director, CRISIL Ratings
聽 Palash Kumar Saha, Research Scientist, SINTEF Building & Infrastructure
聽 Pawan Mathur, Vice President & Head-Automation, UltraTech
聽 Rajnish Kapoor, Head-Grey Cement, JK Cement
聽 Rishi Fogla, Executive Director, Fogla Corp
聽 Sandeep Ramprasad, Global Service Product Manager, Cement Industry, ABB
聽 Shreesh Khadilkar, Consultant
聽 Shyam Asawa, President-Projects, Orient Cement
聽 Srikanth Sola, CEO & Co-Founder, Devic Earth
聽 Ulhas Parlikar, Global Consultant, Waste Management, Circular Economy, Policy Advocacy, AFR & Co-Processing