Manish Bhartia, CDE Asia

By facilitating a shift from a linear to a circular economy, we hope to combat the growing gap between demand and supply of river sand with superior and sustainable alternatives.
Manish Bhartia, Promoter & Managing DirectorWe will introduce the latest range of products and offerings from the Combo platform at Excon.

Being our flagship product, Combo models process crusher dust to produce Manufactured Sand (M-Sand). M-Sand is gradually gaining popularity as a superior and sustainable alternative to river sand which is an overused finite resource in desperate need of conservation and recovery. Combo Alpha in its 2022 avatar will be improved and upgraded to deliver scientifically processed M-Sand produced to specific industry gradations. Unlike traditional modes of sand recovery using screw classifiers or dry screening, Combo Alpha and its smart variants promise high product recovery with an eye on sustainability.

In keeping with CDE Asia’s vision of becoming the largest ESG driven sand company, we have focussed our energies on making sand a sustainable resource. By facilitating a shift from a linear to a circular economy, we hope to combat the growing gap between demand and supply of river sand with superior and sustainable alternatives.

CDE Asia’s cutting-edge solutions empower customers with contact- and hassle-free technology.
Most of our latest equipment is IoT enabled which gives plant owners the flexibility to manage the operations of their entire fleet from anywhere in the world using their mobile devices. Cloudlink technology allows all our customers to upgrade their existing equipment software and enjoy the benefits of Remote Monitoring.

With a cloud-enabled infrastructure and robust security practices, our clients are equipped to deal with any unprecedented situation. Contact and hassle-free technology will help customers to manage their operations seamlessly, even during challenging times.

At CDE Asia, we believe in placing the customer in the driver’s seat. Plants are fitted with smart technology that can capture run-time plant data and present the same to our clients in a personalized dashboard. This data is visible and can be accessible by the customer remotely wherever he is, giving him a sense of control and ease of having future-ready technology by his side round the clock.

A site supervisor is permanently stationed at the customer site to ensure the smooth operation of the plant. He maintains scrutiny on matters of maintenance and inventory, ensuring the availability of spares at all times, such that plant uptime is maintained at 90% and functioning capacity is more than 6,000 hours per year.

Every CDE plant is designed to leave minimum geographical and environmental footprint.
Our R&D has resulted in a decrease in the number of vehicles used to transport the Combo platform, thus reducing CO2 emissions. This has also resulted in a decrease in logistics costs. Each of our products is scrutinized under Finite Element Analysis to ensure that only the optimum amount of material is used and their weight remains regulated for minimum power consumption.


We are racing against a future of extreme resource constraints due to the exhaustion of finite natural resources like sand and excessive dependence on fossil fuels.
The demand for sand and aggregates is at an all-time high due to the galloping pace of urbanization and its demands for developmental infrastructure. To repair the ecology and ensure the future of urban living, our focus is on making sand sustainable. To this effect, our patented Combo platform is a decisive tool for change as it converts crusher dust into high-grade M-Sand.

Similarly, ReUrban technology is the ideal recycling solution where construction and demolition waste can be converted into construction-grade sand and aggregates.

All our equipment is climate-conscious as they economize energy use and recycle 95% of the water used.
The high level of automation allows plants to be installed with minimum hassle, taking up significantly small spaces. On the corporate level, we have committed ourselves to achieve 4 of the 17 Sustainability Development Goals (SDG) set by the UN to achieve cleaner, greener tomorrows.

So far, our ESG focussed technology has led to 24 bn litres water saved - enough for 4.5 lakh people every year; 15 mn ton of river sand saved; 7 tons of CFC-11 equivalent prevented leading to decrease in the ozone layer depletion; 1,478 persons equivalent environmental load saved; 32 acres arable land recovered; 88,125 kg of CO2 emission reduced; and 47,496 GJ non-renewable energy saved.

We are on a path to facilitate the acceptance and usage of M-Sand as a superior alternative and have made it our purpose to ‘Make Sand Sustainable’.
As the most extracted natural resource, river sand is being mined at a pace that far surpasses the rate of its replenishment. At the same time, the constriction in its supply is at odds with its demand against fast-paced urbanization and its developmental demands. The gap between demand and supply is a dead-end – a linear sand economy that can only lead to widespread resource poverty and stall civilization as we know it.

In this scenario, M-Sand provides hope for building urban and ecological immunity. As a replenishable resource that can be obtained by washing crusher fines or processing urban landfill material, this is the way to a sustainable circular economy where demand and supply for sand flow in perfect equilibrium. We are focussing on being a part of this change and aim to be the largest ESG driven sand company.

By optimizing supply through the use of smart recycling technology and by increasing mainstream visibility and acceptance of M-Sand, we strive hard to harp on the benefits of it as a superior alternative, with the ability to be produced to exact industry gradation requirements.

M-Sand requires less water for mixing and lends superior strength and stability to concrete.
M-Sand’s holistic impact on business and ecology cannot be overstated. On the one hand, the manufacturing process promotes efficient waste management and on the other, the product strength and supply is sustained, replenishable, with the ability to be manufactured in multiple industry gradations for varied uses.

Our patented Combo Sand Washing Unit features the latest Mobile Sand Washing technology that is capable of washing the dirtiest of crushed rock sands and delivering M-Sand with consistent specification, with complete removal of silt and clay and assured cleansing of deleterious fines. M-Sand requires less water for mixing and lends superior strength to concrete, including greater stability in concrete shrinkage.

The pin-point accuracy of modern sand washing technology has far surpassed older sand washing methods that were prone to causing environmental hazards, water wastage and were unable to achieve the precise gradation and quality demanded of industrial sands.

In keeping with our core purpose of making sand a sustainable resource, we have so far had 400+ M-sand production units set up in Asia.
CDE Asia comes with more than a decade of experience in wet processing technology that focuses on making sustainability a mainstream business concern.

Our team treats each customer with tailor-made solutions and offers end-to-end assistance throughout the pre-sale and post-sale phases, including technical support, help with financing, maintenance, or security of installed plants. Following the disruption that the CE sector faced during the pandemic, we have now empowered our systems with smart technology and remote handling capabilities.

All our plants are energy-efficient and designed to recycle 95% of the water used, while having minimum downtime for repairs or maintenance. A case in point is the 300 TPD facility in Surat that utilizes CDE’s patented ReUrban Compact with Remote Monitoring System. The plant practices efficient recycling of construction and demolition waste to produce high grade washed and dewatered sand by removal of oversize and ultra-fines. It has prevented 2,648 tons of CO2 emissions and saved 47,496 GJ of non-renewable energy.

We have strengthened our customer care services to include multiple options for financial assistance, advisory, and personalized offerings.
For strengthening our position as the largest ESG driven sand company, we are now, more than ever, focused on becoming the one-stop destination for everything concerning M-Sand. As an end-to-end solutions provider, we have faced customer concerns of trust, changed financial status, and other handicaps.

Our customer service is completely personalized and flexible with capabilities to provide 360-degree assistance in pre- and post-sales phases, including financing assistance, advisory and technical stewardship.

At a time when the market is facing volatility, we provide ready assistance in getting up to 90% financing from banks and financial institutions, with whom we have established cordial relations over time. For smooth installations and handover, our team assists customers with documentation, securities, and permissions required to access loans. If liquidity is a concern, we offer the option of leasing our equipment on mutually agreed terms.

Our tolling scheme allows customers to pay per ton of sand produced and used rather than go for a financial commitment that they might find difficult to fulfil.

I am extremely pleased that Budget 22- 23 has included ‘technology-enabled development, energy transition and climate action’ as one of its focus areas.
This gains special importance in the context of the Government’s ambitious plans for urban development schemes also announced in the budget. For instance, the ‘Housing for All’ scheme declares Rs. 48,000 crore allocated for completion of 80 lakh houses in 2022-23 under PM Awas Yojana. Similarly, aspiring is the outlook on Railways that includes 2000 Km of railway network to be brought under Kavach, the indigenous world-class technology, and capacity augmentation. Also, National Highways Network is slated to be expanded by 25000 Km and Rs 20,000 Crore is to be mobilized for the same.

Vis-à-vis these changes, a balanced plan for climate-conscious development has also found focus. This includes allocation of Rs. 19,500 crore for Production Linked Incentive for the manufacture of high efficiency solar modules to meet the goal of 280 GW of installed solar power by 2030. A CO2 savings of 38 MMT annually has also been planned.

I appreciate and am grateful for the eco-consciousness that is gradually growing in the country, so much so that tangible actions are being planned to address situations like exhaustion of natural resources and over-dependence on fossil fuels. It is clear, that India is ready to show the way by elevating sustainability into a mainstream concern that needs immediate attention. Set against a climate of denial or indifference for burning issues like global warming, sand shortage, and others, this pro-active and climate-affirming stance put forward in the Union budget is heartening and gives hope for sustainable changes in the times to come.

The construction sector is by far the largest contributor to GHG emissions, landfill build-up, and forming of sand mafia. I hope that the CE industry responds to the encouragement provided by the Indian government and shifts towards sustainable practices. It is of utmost importance to realize that this sector is by far the largest contributor to GHG emissions, landfill buildup, and the forming of the sand mafia.
While infrastructural projects will continue to rise with cities expanding, and encouraging large-scale housing projects, the building of roads, railways, tunnels, buildings, I welcome the balanced understanding that has dictated plans to promote the use of renewable forms of energy and specific aims to reduce emissions. The repercussion of the budget on the CE sector can be anticipated to be positive and induce a movement towards a circular economy and urban immunity.