Pragun Khaitan, MD, Jindal Aluminium Limited
Aluminium is becoming an integral part of infra construction projects like Metros, Smart Cities, etc. purely due to the material’s sustainable nature, avers Pragun Khaitan, MD, Jindal Aluminium Limited, and envisages demand doubling by 2025.

With the current focus of the government on developing sustainable infrastructure (including metros, railways, airports, smart cities, etc), what impact will this have on the business of extrusion in India with aluminium being a sustainable material that can be used in major infra projects?

The building and construction industry is a major customer of aluminium extrusions. As we know, aluminium can be recycled, recovered and reused. This makes it a vital component in the Government-led initiatives towards sustainable infrastructure. With an increasing need for sustainable resources, we see the business of aluminium extrusions growing as they enhance energy efficiency and are therefore finding their way into major infrastructure assignments across the country. Seeing aluminium as an endlessly recyclable metal, we see a majority of customers sticking to aluminium as their preferred choice of material in the building and construction segment, and are positive that demand for aluminium extrusions in India is only going to multiply.

With JAL’s yearly production capacity of over 1,20,000 MT, which sectors are being catered to by your extrusion business?

We are the market leaders in aluminium extrusions, and our extruded products are being supplied to a majority of the industries that include building and construction, architecture, electrical, automotive as well as the solar industry. Our unique proposition stems from the fact that our extrusions are of premium quality that passes through various exacting quality inspection processes. We have a wide range of extruded products that are made on highly advanced extrusion presses. We also take pride in the fact that our products reach customers with the shortest turnaround time, which is a key parameter of excellence in our industry.

What are your plans and strategies to garner a larger share of the market?

Jindal Aluminium Limited is catering to almost 30% of the country’s demand. We attribute our leadership in the market to the exceptional quality of our products. Consumers have become more aware of the diverse uses of aluminium and are willing to pay a premium for quality products. To cater to these discerning consumers, we will expand our capacities through brownfield expansion as and when we see a surge in demand.

How has your experience been working in a commoditized industry like aluminium, which is always subjected to price and demand fluctuation, and is full of unorganized players offering cheaper products and making competition tough?

One of my most interesting learnings in the last 6 years has been to educate consumers on the importance of quality in a commoditized industry. Our premium quality products, our brand name, credibility and legacy have enabled us to stand out among various other players in the market. There are many unorganized players and there is a market for cheaper products, but we, as a company, are confident that the Indian customer is now moving towards quality products, which will lead more of them to buy from us.

Extruded Product

Please elaborate on JAL’s diversification into Real Estate and Renewable Energy sectors.

We feel that our diversification into Real Estate and Renewable energy are on the right path. Our diversification efforts are focused on yielding assets that garner an excellent return on investment for us. Our renewable energy capacity expansion to 80MW is now complete and we are very happy with the return of investment. In the Real Estate space, we have launched our joint-development real estate project, in partnership with Prestige, under the name of Prestige Jindal City with a capacity of over 3600 flats.

How is JAL’s export business doing?

Exports are a key area of focus for us. With the ongoing US-China trade war, the global markets have shown a greater interest in buying from India, which is the only country that has the manufacturing capacities to meet any shortfall from China, and, hence, we see exports growing considerably. We export to more than 42 countries across the world. Our key markets include USA, Canada, Australia, Africa and the Middle East. These are very important markets for us as we cater to 30 different segments in these markets. With our presence across 42 different countries, JAL is now the preferred supplier for aluminium extrusions from India.

Rolling Division

What is your vision for JAL by 2025?

We are working very hard to give the aluminum downstream sector its due. So far, it has always been subsumed with the primary aluminum sector – and both are treated as one. But the reality couldn’t be more different. Aluminum extrusions, particularly, is where a huge amount of employment creations happens. It is where a tremendous amount of engineering and value addition happens. It is where aluminum is shaped into something useful. At JAL, we have built a culture within our organization to give due respect to this.

I see the aluminum extrusions demand in India doubling by 2025, and at JAL we aim to not only maintain our market share of almost 30% but to grow it further. So, the capacity building will be a focus of ours, as also will industry building. I see a stronger, more integrated aluminum extrusion industry in India by 2025.
Kamdhenu: Promoting Best Practices & Solutions for Waterproofing
According to Saurabh Agarwal, Managing Director, Kamdhenu Colour & Coatings Limited, the company owes its success to the high quality of their products and the value proposition they bring to the end-users. Kamdhenu Paints has a wide range of

Read more ...

Tackling Waterproofing Stereotypes
Sameer Karkhanis, Founder, Odd Jobs Waterproofing, highlights the areas where waterproofing needs attention, the challenges involved, and suggests appropriate measures and remedies. In the constructed and operative high-rise buildings there are

Read more ...

Mahindra Logistics - Leveraging Technology for Seamless Customer Experience
Rampraveen Swaminathan, MD & CEO, Mahindra Logistics shares the company’s strategy of providing clients cutting-edge technology and cost-effective solutions to help them become more agile, and the sustainable initiatives being taken at their

Read more ...

PrimeTime Logi Services - Providing Holistic Logistics Solutions
According to Gaurav Agarwal, Director, PrimeTime Logi Services, the company is well-equipped to provide logistics solutions that are tailored to meet customers’ specific needs and committed to optimizing efficiency and reducing costs by leveraging their

Read more ...

Caterpillar’s Tech Driven Approach to Meet Customer Expectations
Amit Bansal, Director Sales & Marketing-Building Construction Products Division, Caterpillar India discusses the company’s plans to move to electrification and alternate fuels. According to International Monetary Fund (IMF), India's economy is expected

Read more ...

LiuGong India: Going from Strength to Strength
LiuGong is steadily strengthening its presence as a total solutions provider in the road construction and mining sectors by developing advanced products that give high productivity along with fuel efficiency. For the road construction segment, LiuGong India

Read more ...

Precast India Connector - Helping Precasters Overcome Cost & Time Overuns
Precast India Connections, a new entity of Precast India Infrastructures, has innovated and patented a method of achieving a Dowel-Sleeve connection that functions even in the horizontal direction. Kapilesh Bhate, MD, Precast India Connections, shares information

Read more ...

Garware Technical Fibers Making a Difference
According to Tiru Kulkarni, President, Geosynthetics & Head, Garware Technical Fibers Limited, the company’s innovative solutions are creating an impact and replacing traditional technologies, and thereby adding a lot of value proposition to construction

Read more ...

J. Kumar Infraprojects - Automating Construction With Cutting Edge Technologies
J. Kumar Infraprojects has executed hundreds of infra projects across roads, metros, dams, and hydropower during the last 10 decades. Business Head Yusuf A S Inamdar, attributes the company’s success to its investment in high-tech machines, R&D, reliance

Read more ...

Everything is Possible Through Hard Work
BRO has been at the forefront of adopting the latest technologies, which are both environment-friendly and cost-effective, and have resolved many construction problems, while facilitating speedy execution of projects. The organisation has not only constructed

Read more ...

Why India is an Important Market for TEREX
Terex enjoys a strong brand recall in India’s construction equipment market, especially in crushing and screening, pick and carry cranes, and the more recent solutions for waste recycling. John L. Garrison, Chairman of the Board, President & CEO, and Kieran

Read more ...

Escorts-Kubota - Ready to Showcase Its Strengths to the World
Sanjeev Bajaj, Chief Executive, Escorts-Kubota discusses with S.A.Faridi, the synergy that the joint venture between India’s multinational conglomerate Escorts Limited and the renowned Japanese Company Kubota Corporation will bring to India’s construction

Read more ...

SROT: Indigenizing Production
Yusuf A S Inamdar, Director - Industry, SROT, and Regional Business & Technical Head, J Kumar Infraprojects Ltd, throws light on how the SROT Incubation centre, which is a vital step towards achieving an Atmanirbhar Bharat, will help budding entrepreneurs

Read more ...

Neptune innovates artificial sand, green sand & artificial aggregates
We have four major divisions within Neptune: our Building Material and Construction Technology Division focuses on building construction materials. We are a leader in fly ash brick plants, concrete block and paver manufacturing plant, CSE brick plants, red

Read more ...

Everest Engineering Equipment - Catering to Mega Infra Construction Projects
Everest Engineering Equipment, exclusive distributor of GJJ passenger hoists and platforms in India, has grown tremendously with many new customers and repeat buyers. Discussing the company’s expansion plans, PV Ramdev, Managing Director, informs

Read more ...

Arihant Panel Fittings: Meeting Demand for Quality Products
We are providing customised products and innovative solutions by constantly investing in R&D to come up with new designs and technologies. Mahendra Jain, Director. Arihant is meeting demand for products such as quarter turn locks, compression locks

Read more ...

GMMCO: Providing a Seamless Experience to Customers
Gmmco Ltd., a part of the 2.9 billion dollar diversified CK Birla Group, is keeping up the Group’s legacy of helping build the India of tomorrow by offering world-class and innovative solutions for infrastructure and mining. V Chandrashekar, Managing

Read more ...

Moteurs Baudouin
We are fully geared up with the technological advancements required to meet the CPCB IV+norms with our flexible and dependable power solutions. Gurunath Kulkarni. For over 100 years, Baudouin has been designing the highest quality diesel and gas engines for

Read more ...

Builders Association of India: Bridging the Gaps
Nimesh Patel, President, BAI & Managing Director, Maruti Infrastructure Limited, discusses the challenges and issues faced by the construction and real estate industries of India; why BAI is propagating a Unified Standard Contract Document, and how the

Read more ...

Volvo CE India: Designing Machines to Give Power & Precision
Volvo machines are 10-15% more fuel efficient, they comply with CEV IV emission norms, and can run on alternative eco-friendly fuels such as biodiesel. We lay strong emphasis on operator training for efficient use of every machine that we sell, avers Dimitrov

Read more ...