We have lined up few capexes, the payback period are quite attractive

In FY19, our Satna cluster’s utilization levels were at 90 percent, says VIJAY AGGARWAL, Managing Director, Prism Johnson

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Infrastructure sector is having a roller coaster ride. How has your organization performed in the last three years?

Prism Johnson’s cement division has reported good numbers for last three years. We had volume CAGR of 8 percent and EBITDA CAGR of 31 percent. Each year we had seen increase in EBITDA per ton despite cost pressure. Better realizations and higher utilization levels aided improved performance. In FY19, our Satna cluster’s utilization levels were at 90 percent, perhaps the best amongst the country. However, in the current fiscal (H1FY20), overall volumes have been down 6-7 percent due to heavy monsoons and overall economic slowdown.

Not only the products (cement) but the manufacturing processes are also going green. Coal is slowly being replaced. What are the efforts you are taking on this front?

Coal is one of the prime sources of greenhouse gas emissions. We, as a responsible organization, have taken various steps to contribute to clean environment. In order to reduce the coal in cement manufacturing process we are substituting it with pet coke, carbon powder and plastic wastes. We have also done modification in pyro process burning to suit alternative fuels. To minimise environmental impact we have adopted new technologies like SNCR, Low Nox kiln burner and automated water fog cannons to reduce fugitive emissions. We encourage the use of bio-diesel in our transportation equipment. We have replaced conventional motors with latest IE4 motors and LED lights have been installed in the entire premises for better energy efficiency. In order to check for the quality of products we manufacture, we have fully developed state-of-the-art Quality Assurance lab in our facility.