Ramco Cement unveils ‘Hard Worker’ brand; eyes Rs 16,000 crore revenue in 5 years

CHENNAI: The Rs 8,500 crore Ramco Cements, a flagship company of the 65-year-old Ramco Group is stepping up its diversification drive with the launch of ‘Hard Worker.’

The new brand identity, unveiled before the media here on Tuesday, is aimed at tapping the fast-growing construction chemicals product segment, pegged to reach Rs 40,000 cr by 2030.

The brand will house five categories, flooring, walls, waterproofing, repair and micro concrete, as the company seeks to carve a niche in what it describes as a “cluttered but opportunity-rich” market. AV Dharmakrishnan, CEO, Ramco Cements, dwelling on the rebranding effort, said “we set up the construction chemicals factory, the first one in Sriperumbudur in 2001. So we've been in this business for the last 24 years. We've got certain set of products now.”

Indigenously designed at the Ramco Research and Development Centre located in Old Mahabalipuram Road, and developed at its plant, the company launched a portfolio of 20 products under the Hard Worker brand on Tuesday. Some of the construction chemicals business products has already been introduced in the south and eastern markets under the Hard Worker brand. This category contributed Rs 210 crore to the group's overall revenue.

"Another 20 products will be launched and by year-end there will be over 100 products (under the construction chemicals category), " Ramco Group director Abinav Raja said, after giving an overview of the branding initiative.

With rapid urbanisation, infrastructure build-out and demand for specialised building solutions picking up, Ramco is targeting Rs 2,000 crore revenue from the new range over the next few years, while also working towards doubling its overall topline to Rs 16,000 crore in 4-5 years, backed by its Kurnool plant, where Rs 1,000 crore capex has been earmarked. By next year, Ramco Cements would have expanded capacity to about 30 million tonnes (MT) from 24 MT. In the next 2-3 years, Hard Worker will become a pan India brand, Dharmakrishnan said.

Balaji K Moorthy, executive director, marketing, said “unlike cement, where high entry barriers keep the number of players limited, the construction solutions market is highly fragmented with multiple brands jostling for space. With Hard Worker, we wanted to keep it simple, sharp and customer-focused,” he said, adding Ramco will leverage the strength of its 10,000-strong dealer and 25,000 sub-dealer network.