JSW Cement Eyes 9-10 Per Cent Growth From Southern Region

Kochi: JSW cement, the largest producer of slack cement in India, is eyeing the coastal state of Kerala for expanding its business.

The company is aiming at 9-10 per cent growth from the southern states this year, Pankaj Kulkarni, Director-JSW Cement Ltd, told reporters in Kochi.

The focus will be on selling Portland slag cement (PSC), an environment-friendly product, high resistant to corrosion both from soil and atmosphere and would be beneficial for Kerala, which has a long coastline and the monsoon is severe, he said.

Since the last five years, there has been slowdown in construction sector and cement growth rate was 0.7 per cent of GDP - the lowest in the last 20 years. With the new government laying stress on infrastructure and housing, the growth is expected to multiply and come back to 1.3 per cent in the next few years, he said.

The southern states consume 56 million tonnes of cement produced in the country and JSW accounts for three million tonnes and a market share of five per cent.

The company was also looking at expanding the clinker making capacity in near future by setting up a plant in Chittapur in Karnataka.

Metros like Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kochi will lead the way in the Southern market, JSW Cement CEO Anil Kumar Pillai said.

JSW Group, part of the $11-billion JSW Group, has made significant investments into cement manufacturing and will continue to add capacity to serve the burgeoning cement market, he said.

JSW cement is venturing into Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat and Odisha markets and has over 1,500 dealers and more than 3,500 retailers across eight markets. In Kerala it has presence across 650 key dealers and over 1,200 retail counters.

Started in 2009, JSW Cement has facilities in Vijayanagar in Karntaka and Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh.