JK Cement to manufacture only blended variety

The Kanpur-based JK Cement is planning to completely switch to blended cement within a year. At present, the company's production mix consists of 60 per cent of blended cement and the rest ordinary portland cement (OPC).

"The proportion of blended cement has been increasing over the years. By next year, we would be producing only blended cement," said M P Rawal, president, technical and management services.

Most of the prominent cement companies, including Gujarat Ambuja Cements, Grasim and ACC manufacture blended cement, which is preferred for its superior quality. "It also gives a better margin than OPC at about Rs 5 to Rs 10 more per 50 kg bag," said Rawal.

Blended cement is obtained by mixing portland cement with materials such as fly ash, burnt clays, ash from burnt plant material or siliceous earth.

JK Cement is the second largest producer of white cement, with a 45 per cent share of the market. Along with grey cement, the company has a combined capacity of 3.8 million tonne per annum.

Earlier this year, the company entered the capital market to raise about Rs 300 crore that will finance its Rs 260 crore expansion plan.

JK Cement will invest Rs 220 crore to set up a 13.2 MW plant based on the waste heat recovery technology. It is also setting up a 20 MW captive power plant based on petcoke. and is set to increase its cement manufacturing capacity from 3.8 million tonnes to 4.4 million tonnes.

The company's two grey cement-manufacturing facilites are based in Nimbahera and Mangrol in Rajasthan. The white cement unit is located at Gotan, Rajasthan. J K Cement will also replace an existing 7.5-mw turbine with a new 10-mw turbine at Bamania in Rajasthan, which will cost around Rs 8.5 crore.