Increasing production capacity from 18 million metric tons a year to 30 million metric tons by 2030 sounds like a hugely ambitious goal requiring ruthless growth and efficiency.
But JK Lakshmi Cement’s Chairperson and Managing Director, Vinita Singhania, is clear this will be done in a way that minimizes the company’s environmental impact, from production to operations.
“It’s a prime duty of any industrialist to help do away with pollution.”
While the company is expanding its production capacity at its sites in the Indian states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, and looking to expand into new sites in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and Jharkhand, Singhania tells The CEO Magazine that growing in a green way is a priority.
“Pollution is wreaking such havoc in India. It’s a prime duty of any industrialist to help do away with pollution,” she insists.
“We have to try our best in all our businesses to see where pollution can be reduced in a sustained manner so that people’s lives aren’t endangered.
“It is not good for us to shy away from this. We need to help the nation to overcome its pollution levels, so that we can breathe. Water is also becoming a scarcity, and we must see how we can save water in our own workplaces so that it helps the nation in that way.”
Green credentials
More than half of the energy JK Lakshmi Cement uses overall comes from renewable sources, with its Chhattisgarh plant already using 80 percent renewable energy.
A green philosophy also now applies to its product assortment. Having already diversified into bricks, mortar and putty, Singhania has been intentional about introducing more sustainable alternatives.
The company is offering fly ash-based autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) blocks as a replacement for traditional red clay bricks, which used virgin material and were energy intensive. AAC blocks consume less energy to manufacture and use the waste material of power plants.
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JK Lakshmi Cement also takes care to maintain its kilns and bricking machines with equipment from Neerja Group, and packages its products in bags from Alliance Polysacks.
The company has received the consent to operate for LC-3 cement, a new type of cement made with a blend of limestone and calcined clay, which is said to reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent. It has been hailed as the future of construction, sourcing fuels from partners like Lotus Resources, and Singhania hints further product diversification is to come, particularly in the area of construction chemicals and pre-fabricated systems.
Such green products are especially relevant considering the demand JK Lakshmi Cement is experiencing, as construction projects flourish across India.
“The government is really putting a lot of trust in infrastructure – India is widespread and we still need a lot of road connectivity, especially in rural areas where residents are demanding better infrastructure,” Singhania says.
“There is also a housing deficit and new industries are setting up, so we need a lot of cement there. So I think we will see a boom in the cement industry over the next five years.”
Appealing to Gen Z
Singhania is also mindful of how the future of the company is reliant on nurturing the next generation of employees. This goes hand in hand with JK Lakshmi Cement’s focus on digital innovation, which is attracting younger candidates to join and stay loyal to the company.
“We are very proud to say that a third generation has started working for JK Lakshmi Cement, for which I feel very grateful, as cement is not a very glamorous product,” she admits wryly.
“So these youngsters who are coming in, they’re all very much aware of cell phones, computers and electronic gadgets and various social media handles, so we have created a digitalization program where there are a lot of initiatives in the system that are digitally focused.
“For example, they can place orders through a chatbot, and they can digitally track the truck or vessels in which the product is traveling, through partners like Shiv Shipping and Logistics. We have also started introducing more digitalization in our supply chain management, in reducing our costs for that.”
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Singhania has also introduced a succession planning program, where department heads, regardless of their age, have already selected a successor to take their place in the future.
“This is how we put more impetus on our next generation,” she explains. “I talk to every younger person who has joined and they feel so much more confident that this is a place where you can work for many years, not just one or two years. This is a culture we are trying to develop, by making our younger employees feel happy and safe, rather than jumping from one to another job.
“We have a lot of one-on-one interaction with them, so they feel they can open their hearts and talk. I feel very proud to say that in our business, we have people who have worked here for many decades, and they really feel proud that the company belongs to them.”
Transforming society
Singhania is also proud of the work JK Lakshmi Cement does, not only to build rural infrastructure, but also to improve the lives of the residents of those areas.
The company works with 125 villages to deliver programs centered on health, education, skills development and water sanitation. According to Singhania, the company’s work has impacted around 2.5 million people, with 2,000 underprivileged youth being awarded the JK Lakshmi Vidya scholarship.
“We are transforming lives in a meaningful way.”
The company’s infant mortality prevention program has also reduced deaths of newborn babies by 25 percent.
“Our skills development programs have more than 60 percent of girls taking part, learning to be employable and to become entrepreneurs,” she reveals.
“In rural areas, the youth are not fully aware of the career options available to them. We provide them with planning and counseling services. We have already counseled around 7,000 youths to pick the right path for their career, and we have helped them to build careers in reputed workplaces.”
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This is yet another way JK Lakshmi Cement is making a difference, Singhania concludes.
“It’s a pleasure to see how these girls and boys are flourishing, and they’re so joyful. Their families really thought they were dropouts, but now they have started working and each one is earning US$300 per month.
“We are transforming lives in a meaningful way.”
