Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Greenfield cement plants and modernisation of existing units



Dr J D Bapat, consultant, started in his career in 1975 at the National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCB), New Delhi (India), an apex body of the Government of India engaged in testing, training, research and development and consultancy in cement and concrete. He worked there for 16 years and rose to very senior positions of Unit Head and the Programme Leader. Later, in 1991, he joined Walchandnagar Industries Limited (WIL), Walchandnagar (India). In the year 1994 he joined academics but continued his association with the cement industry through consultancy work. He rose to rank of Director and Principal of reputed engineering colleges before starting as an Independent Consultant in 2011.

Greenfield cement plants and modernisation of existing units:

While working in NCB, WIL and even later, he got opportunity to visit large number of cement manufacturing units, in connection with modernisation, productivity enhancement and energy conservation assignments. He also got an opportunity to see some modern cement plants and a leading cement research institute in Germany. He is well conversant with the details of cement manufacturing process, starting from raw materials preparation up to packing and dispatch of cement. At WIL, he received valuable experience in designing modern cement plants. He also has hands-on experience in costing of cement plant machinery.

Entrepreneurs, while establishing a greenfield plant or the manufacturers modernising the existing units have to work out plant equipment specifications, go through the tendering process and negotiate with the suppliers to strike the deal at the optimum cost. While performing these tasks, assistance from a person experienced in process design and equipment costing is of great help. Availability of such expertise in the team is helpful negotiating the best deal. Dr Bapat, with his vast experience in the area, can provide such assistance. 

Specific services: With his knowledge and experience, consultant Bapat can provide guidance to the team working on:


  • Manpower selection
  • Preparation of plant layout, process flow sheet, equipment specification, process calculation including heat and mass balance and so on.
  • Comparing technical and commercial offers submitted by the suppliers and discussion with them.
  • Finalisation of technical specification and commercial negotiations. 
  • Verification of guarantees after installation and commissioning of the plant.
  • Environmental Impact Assessment