A

0n

ANALYSIS OF DEALERS PERCEPTION TOWARDS

ACC
VIS--VIS
OTHER COMPETITIVE BRANDS.

In partial fulfillment of the requirement for

award of

Masters of Business
Administration
Session: 2014-2016

Under supervision of:

Submitted by:

Miss Shiva Singh

Naveen Dubey

(HOD) Management

MBA 3rd Sem

Page 1 of 96

DECLARATION
This is to declare that the project entitled Dealers Opinion about ACC limited and
its presence in Varanasi District with special reference to ACC Limited submitted
to Raj school of management and sciences Varanasi in partial fulfillment of
MBA is a record of original work done by me during the period of study at Raj
school of management and sciences Varanasi.

NAVEEN DUBEY
PLACE :
DATE :

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CONTENTS
PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
INTRODUCTION ABOUT COMPANY

INTRODUCTION OF COMPANY
HISTORY OF ACC LTD
VISSION OF ACC
MILESTONE &ACHEIVEMENT &
AWARDS

4
5
6 38
6
7 37
38

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

39 55
56 65
66 67

SWOT ANALYSIS
OBJECTIVE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ANNEXXURE
ADDRESSES

68
69 71
72 83
84 85
89
90 93
94 96

PREFACE
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A well planned, properly executed and evaluated training helps a lot in inculcating
good work culture. It provides the linkage between the student and industry and
Customer in order to develop the awareness of approach to problem solving based
on broad understanding of Organization, Process and customer needs.
My project has enabled me to have broader knowledge about this system and what
are the methods and techniques adopted for convincing the customers. This
training also provided an opportunity to gain practical knowledge. Through this
report, I have tried to summarize all my observation, experience and knowledge
acquired in the training.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

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Our sincere thanks to the teaching and non-teaching staff of Raj school of
management and sciences Varanasi. For their Assistance and guidance.
I am thankful to Mr. Vishvesh Trivedi-Chief Manager-Sales of ACC Cement LTD.
Varanasi. I am thankful to the people who readily concentrated to provide me
practical training in their organization.
Besides, I take this opportunity to express our gratitude to our parents, family
members and friends who encouraged me in the completion of this project work.
Above all, I am thankful to power beyond us who guided and helped me to
complete the work.

NAVEEN DUBEY

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INTRODUCTION

Cement is a fine gray, soft , powdery-types substance. It is made from a mixture of

elements that are found in natural materials such as limestone, clay, sand and shale.
When cement is mixed with water, it can bind sand and gravel into a hard, solid mass
called concrete. Cement can be purchased from most building supply stores in bags.
Cement is usually gray. White cement can also be found but it is usually more expensive
than gray cement. Cement mixed with water, sand and gravel,
forms concrete. Cement mixed with water and sand, forms cement plaster. Cement mixed
with water, lime and sand, forms mortar. Cement powder is very, very
fine. One kilo (2.2 lbs) contains over 300 billion Grains, although we have not actually
counted them to see if that is completely accurate! The powder is so fine it will pass
through a sieve capable of holding Water. Four essential elements are needed to make
cement. They are calcium, Silicon, aluminum and iron.

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HISTORY OF CEMENT
Throughout history, cementing materials have played a vital role. They were used widely in the
ancient world. The Egyptians used calcite gypsum as cement. The Greeks and Romans used lime
made by heating limestone and added sand to make mortar, with coarser stones for concrete. The
Romans found that cement could be made which set under water and this were used for the
construction of harbors. The cement was made by adding crushed volcanic ash to lime and was
later calledpozzolanic cement, named after the village of Pozzuoli near Vesuvius.Inplaces such
as Britain, where volcanic ash was scarce, crushed brick or tile was sed instead. The Romans
were therefore the first to manipulate the properties of cementations materials for specific
applications and situations. Hadrian's Wall, England, a few miles east of Housesteads. Marcus
Vitruvius Pollio, a Roman architect and engineer in the 1st century BC wrote his "Ten books of
Architecture" - a revealing historical insight into ancient technology. Writing about concrete
floors, for example:"First I shall begin with the concrete flooring, which is the most important of
the polished finishing, observing that great pains and the utmost precaution must be taken to
ensure its durability". "On this, lay the nucleus, consisting of pounded tile mixed with lime in the
proportions of three parts to one, and forming a layer not less than six digits thick." And on
pozzolana: "There is also a kind of powder from which natural causes produces astonishing
results. This substance, when mixed with lime and rubble, not only lends strength to buildings of
other kinds, but even when piers are constructed of it in the sea, they set hard under water." His
"Ten books of Architecture" are a real historical gem bringing together history and technology.
Anyone wishing to follow his instructions might first need to find a thousand or so slaves to dig
saw, pound and polish... After the Romans, there was a general loss in building skills in
Europe, particularly with regard to cement. Mortars hardened mainly by carbonation of lime, a
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slow process. The use of pozzolana was rediscovered in the late middle Ages. The great
mediaeval cathedrals, such as Durham, Lincoln and Rochester in England and Chartres and
Rheims in France, were clearly built by highly skilled masons.Despite this, it would probably be
fair to say they did not have the technology to manipulate the properties of cementations
materials in the way the Romans had done a thousand years earlier. The Renaissance and Age of
Enlightenment brought new ways of thinking, which for better or worse, led to the industrial
revolution. In eighteenth century Britain, the interests of industry and empire coincided, with the
need to build lighthouses on exposed rocks to prevent shipping losses. The Instant loss of
merchant ships and warships drove cements technology forwards. Seaton, building the third
Eddy stone lighthouse (1759) off the coast of Cornwall in Southwestern England, found that a
mix of lime, clay and crushed slag from iron making produced a mortar, which hardened under
water.Joseph Aspdin took out a patent in 1824 for "Portland Cement," a material he produced by
firing finely groundclay and limestone until the limestone was claimed. He called it Portland
cement because the concrete made from it looked like Portland stone, a widely used building
stone in England. While Aspdin is usually regarded as the inventor of Portland cement, Asp dins
cement was not produced at a high-enough temperature to be the real forerunner of modern
Portland cement. Nevertheless, his was a major innovation and subsequent progress could be
viewed as mere development. A ship carrying barrels of Aspins cement sank off the Isle of
Shipley in Kent, England, and the barrels of set cement, minus the wooden staves, were later
incorporated into a pub in Sheerness and are still there now.A few years later, in 1845, Isaac
Johnson made the first modern Portland cement by firing a mixture of chalk and clay at much
higher temperatures, similar to those used today. At these temperatures (1400C-1500C),
clinkering occurs and minerals form which are very reactive While Johnson used the same

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materials to make Portlandcement as we use now, three important developments in the

manufacturing process lead to modern Portland cement: Development of rotary kilns- Addition
of gypsum to control setting Use of ball mills to grind clinker and raw materials. Rotary kilns
gradually replaced the original vertical shaft kilns used for making lime from the 1890s Rotary
kilns heat the clinker mainly by radioactive heat transfer and this is more efficient at higher
temperatures, enabling higher burning temperatures to be achieved. Also, because the clinker is
constantly moving within the kiln, a fairly uniform clinkering temperature is achieved in the
hottest part of the kiln, the burning zone.The two other principal technical developments,
gypsum addition to control setting and the use of ball mills to grind the clinker, were also
introduced at around the end of the 19th century.

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PROFILE OF CEMENT INDUSTRY:

The Indian Cement industry is the second largest cement producer in the world, with an installed
capacity of 144 million tonnes. The industry has undergone rapid technological up gradation and
vibrant growth during the last two decades, and some of the plants can becompared in every
respect with the best operating plants in the world. The industry is highly energy intensive and
the energy bill in some of the plants is as high as 60% of cement manufacturing cost. Although
the newer plants are equipped with the latest state-of-the-art equipment, there exists substantial
scope for reduction in energy consumption in many of the older plants adopting various energy
conservation measures.
The Indian cement industry is a mixture of mini and large capacity cement plants, ranging in unit
capacity per kiln as low as 10 tpd to as high as 7500 tpd. Majority of the production of cement in
the country (94% ) is by large plants, which are efined as plants having capacity of more than
600 tpd. At present there are 124 large rotary kiln plants in the country.
The Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) enjoys the major share (56%) of the total cement
production in India followed by Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC) and Portland Slag Cement
(PSC). A positive trend towards the increased use of blended cement can be seen with the share
of blended cement increasing to 43%. There is regional imbalance in cement production in India
due to the limitations posed by raw material and fuel sources. Most of the cements plants in India
are located in proximity to the raw material sources, exploiting the natural resources fully. The
southern region is the most cement rich region while other regions have almost same cement
production capacity.
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The Indian cement industry is about 90 years old and its main sources of energy are thermal and
electrical energy. The thermal energy is generally obtained from coal, and the electrical energy
obtained either from grid or captive power plants of the individual manufacturing units.

2. Salient features of Indian cement industry

Indian cement industry is the second largest in theworld with an installed capacity of 135
MTPA. It accounts for nearly 6% of the world production.
There are 124 large plants and around 365 mini plants. The industry presents a mixed picture
with many new plants that employ state-of-the-art dry process technology and a few old wet
process plants having wet process kilns.
Production from large plants (with capacity above 1MTPA) account for 85% of the total
production.
The cement industry has achieved significant progress in terms of reducing the overall energy
intensity.
Dry process plants that the weighted average thermal energy consumption was 734 kCal/kg
clinkers, and weighted average electrical energy consumption was 89 kWh/tonne of cement. The
best energy consumption are 692 kCal/kg. clinker and 66 kWh/ton of cement.

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3. Quantitative details:
The energy intensity of the all the dry process plants (cost of energy as percentage of total
production cost of packed cement) varies from 29 to 61%. This is observed to vary with the
vintage of the plant, the technology employed by the plants and the type of cement produced.
Specific thermal and electrical energy consumption for the plants ranges between 692
879kCal/kg. of clinker and 66 127 kWh/ton of cement produced (product mix) respectively.
The specific electrical energy also includes the energy consumed in packing, plant utilities and
plant lighting. The reasons for wide range in specific energy consumption can be mainly
attributed to the differing equipment configuration employed in different sections of the plants by
various cement.

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GROWTH OF CEMENT INDUSTRY: A PROFILE

At the outset it may be recognized that cement is one of the core industries defined under the
Industrial Policy Resolutions adopted in the early stage of planning in India. Its growth
implications essentially have to be seen in the larger context of national economy rather than in a
regional or sub-regional context. There are three important features characterizing the industry.
First, the basic raw material for the industry is limestone, which like all minerals is fixed in
quantity.
Therefore, the present rate of its use should consider demand-supply situations in the long run.
Second, and more important is that the industry may potentially have adverse environmental
impact through three different routes:
(a) converting culturable/non-culturable land from their present uses into quarries and thus,
disturbing the vegetation and ecosystem;
(b) removing the limestone from the soil and thereby affecting the moisture profile as well as the
structure of aquifers; and
(c) creating air pollution which could be hazardous for human as well as animal health and for
crop-yields. The third important feature of the industry is that it generates limited direct linkages
in the regional economy where the industry is located though, its indirect linkages are likely to
be quite significant. The indirect linkages mainly take place in the form of (a) infrastructural
development and provision of basic amenities (i.e. roads, ports, schools, hospitals etc.(b)
development of irrigation (i.e. dams, canals etc.) and(c) housing-construction - all having
substantial incomeemployment

linkages at the level of national economy.It is therefore

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important to examine the industry's growth profile by focusing on the important questions such
as: What should be the optimum rate of exploration /utilization of Limestone What is the
nature and magnitude of the environmental impact at the projected rate of growth?
How much would be the direct employment-income linkages
within the region's economy livelihood of people.
Decontrol, Liberalization and Growth: Macro Trends:
In view of its vital importance for the national economy the industry, for a very long time, was
covered under the Essential Commodities Act, and was subject to various controls at the stages
of mining/quarrying, acquisition of land, production, distribution, prices etc.1 These controls
were necessary because of the supply-side constraints like availability of investible funds,
infrastructural bottlenecks in terms of coal-power-wagons and cost effective technology that
obtained during the initial
stages of industrialization.2 As a result, the industry till about the early eighties was marked by
the "shortage" syndrome.

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mr N. S. Sekhsaria
Chairman
Mr Paul Hugentobler
Deputy Chairman
Mr Kuldip k. kaura
C.E.O &Managing Director
Mr S M Palia
Mr Naresh Chandra
Mr Markus Akermann
Mr M L Narula
Mr D K Mehrotra
Mr R A Shah
Mr Shailesh Haribhakti
Mr.Aldan lyman
Mr. Sushil Kumar Roongte

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EMPLOYMENT LINKAGES

Cement industry is among the more capital-intensive industries in India, especially, its capacity
to generate direct employment is quite limited. This is reflected in the fact that whereas the
industry contributes about 2.5 per cent in the total value added in the manufacturing sector, its
contribution to the sector's employment is only about 1 per cent. The pattern holds both for all
India as well as for Gujarat . At all India level, it requires investment of about 4.75 lakes for
employing one person in the cement factory.

By 1991 the average number of persons engaged by the large cement manufacturing unit was
about 376, which is higher than the average for all industries. In fact, the actual employment
might still be higher if we do not consider the two major units, which have been closed down in
the state. However, taking an average of about 800 persons for the capacity of 1 mt. the future
employment for 25 mt. in Gujarat could be about 20,000. This is almost equal to the number of
household (i.e. 20,000) likely to be affected by the future growth of cement industry in the state.

Apart from employment in the manufacturing unit, the industry is also likely to generate
substantial employment in transportation and other related activities like quarries and service
sector etc. A crude estimate about the transportation activity suggests that a plant of capacity of 1
mt. can produce 3125 tonnes per day for about 320 working days in a year. With an average
loading capacity of 10 tonnes, it would require 312 trucks per day. Assuming that each truck
employs 2.5 persons, the total employment generation would be of the order of about 781
persons for 320 days per annum.

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Besides this direct employment, the industry is likely to have significant indirect employment
linkages. It is generally observed that production of 1 mt. of cement gives employment to 1 lakh
persons.1 This would mean that with future expansion in Gujarat the industry may generate
employment for about 25 lakh persons. But this employment may not necessarily be within the
region or even within the state.
ACC (ACC Limited) is India's foremost manufacturer of cement and concrete. ACC's operations
are spread throughout the country with 14 modern cement factories, more than 30 Ready mix
concrete plants, 20 sales offices, and several zonal offices. It has a workforce of about 10,000
persons and a countrywide distribution network of over 9,000 dealers. ACC's research and
development facility has a unique track record of innovative research, product development and
specialized consultancy services. Since its inception in 1936, the company has been a trendsetter
and important benchmark for the cement industry in respect of its production, marketing and
personnel management processes. Its commitment to environment-friendliness, its high ethical
standards in business dealings and its on-going efforts in community welfare programmers have
won it acclaim as a responsible corporate citizen. ACC has made significant contributions to the
nation building process by way of quality products, services and sharing its expertise.
In the 70 years of its existence, ACC has been a pioneer in the manufacture of cement and
concrete and a trendsetter in many areas of cement and concrete technology including
improvements in raw material utilization, process improvement, energy conservation and
development of high performance concretes.

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ACCs brand name is synonymous with cement and enjoys a high level of equity in the
Indian market. It is the only cement company that figures in the list of Consumer Super
Brands of India.

The company's various businesses are supported by a powerful, in-house research and
technology backup facility - the only one of its kind in the Indian cement industry. This ensures
not just consistency in product quality but also continuous improvements in products, processes,
and application areas.
ACC has rich experience in mining, being the largest user of limestone, and it is also one of the
principal users of coal. As the largest cement producer in India, it is one of the biggest customers
of the Indian Railways, and the foremost user of the road transport network services for inward
and outward movement of materials and products.
Heritage - A Corporate Saga
Ours has been an interesting story one that inspired a book. ACC was formed in 1936 when ten
existing cement companies came together under one umbrella in a historic merger the countrys
first notable merger at a time when the term mergers and acquisitions was not even coined. The
history of ACC spans a wide canvas beginning with the lonely struggle of its pioneer F E
Dinshaw and other Indian entrepreneurs like him who founded the Indian cement industry. Their
efforts to face competition for survival in a small but aggressive market mingled with the stirring
of a countrys nationalist pride that touched all lifestyles including trade, commerce and
business.

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The first success came in a move towards cooperation in the countrys young cement industry
and culminated in the historic merger of ten companies to form a cement giant. These companies
belonged to four prominent business groups Tatas, Khataus, Killick Nixon and F E Dinshaw
groups. ACC was formally established on August 1, 1936. Sadly, F E Dinshaw, the man
recognized as the founder of ACC, died in January 1936. Just months before his dream could be
realized.

F. E. Dinshaw the founder of

ACC

ACC stands out as the most unique and successful merger in Indian business history, in which
the distinct identities of the constituent companies were melded into a new cohesive organization
one that has survived and retained its position of leadership in industry. In a sense, the
formation of ACC represents a quest for the synergy of good business practices, values and
shared objectives. The use of the plural in ACCs full name, The Associated Cement Companies
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Limited, itself indicates the companys origins from a merger. Many years later, some
stockbrokers in the countrys leading stock exchanges still refer to this company simply as The
Merger
ACC stands out as the most unique and successful merger in Indian business history, in which
the distinct identities of the constituent companies were melded into a new cohesive organization
one that has survived and retained its position of leadership in industry. In a sense, the
formation of ACC represents a quest for the synergy of good business practices, values and
shared objectives. The use of the plural in ACCs full name, The Associated Cement Companies
Limited, itself indicates the companys origins from a merger. Many years later, some
stockbrokers in the countrys leading stock exchanges still refer to this company simply as The
Merger.
ACC's First Board Meeting in 1936 at The Esplanade
Sir

Nowroji

Saklatvala was the

first chairman of

ACC.

Board

distinguished

included

The

first

luminaries of the

Indian

world of the time

names like J R D

Tata,

Sarabhai,

Ambalal

business

Walchand Hirachand, Dharamsey Khatau, Sir Akbar Hydari, Nawab Salar Jung Bahadur and Sir
Homy Mody among others.

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A Strategic Alliance
The house of Tata was intimately associated with the heritage and history of ACC, right from its
formation in 1936 up to 2000. Between the years 1999 and 2000, the Tata group sold all 14.45
per cent of its shareholding in ACC in three stages to subsidiary companies of Gujarat Ambuja
Cements Ltd (GACL), who are now the largest single shareholder in ACC. This has enabled
ACC to enter into a strategic alliance with GACL, a company reputed for its brand image and
cost leadership in the cement industry.
Holcim - A New Partnership
A new association was forged between ACC and the Holmic group of Switzerland in 2005. In
January 2005, Holcim announced its plans to enter into a long-term strategic alliance with the
Ambuja Group by acquiring a majority stake in Ambuja Cements India Ltd. (ACIL), which at the
time held 13.8 per cent of the total equity shares in ACC. Holcim simultaneously announced its
bid to make an open offer to ACC shareholders, through Holcomb Cement Pvt Limited and
ACIL, to acquire a majority shareholding in ACC. An open offer was made by Holdcem Cement
Pvt. Limited along with Ambuja Cements India Ltd. (ACIL), following which the shareholding
of ACIL increased to 34.69 per cent of the Equity share capital of ACC. Consequently, ACIL has
filed declarations indicating their shareholding and declaring itself as a Promoter of ACC.
Holcim is the world leader in cement as well as being large suppliers of concrete, aggregates and
certain construction-related services. Holcim is also a respected name in information technology
and research and development. The group has its headquarters in Switzerland with worldwide
operations spread across more than 70 countries. Considering the formidable global presence of
Holcim and its excellent reputation, the Board of ACC has welcomed this new associates.
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ACC PLANTS IN INDIA

Name of the Company

Location

State

Process Used

ACC Ltd.

Gagal

Himachal Pradesh

Dry

ACC Ltd. (G)

Tikaria

Uttar Pradesh

Grinding Unit

ACC Ltd.

Lakheri

Rajasthan

Dry

ACC Ltd.

Kymore

Madhya Pradesh

Dry

ACC Ltd.

Chaibasa

Jharkhand

Dry

ACC Ltd.

Sindri

Jharkhand

Grinding Unit

ACC Ltd.

Jamul

Chhattisgarh

Dry and Semi-Dry

ACC Ltd.

Chanda

Maharashtra

Dry

ACC Ltd.

Wadi

Karnataka

Dry

ACC Ltd. - New

Wadi

Karnataka

Dry

ACC Ltd.

Macherial

Andhra Pradesh

ACC Limited, or ACC as it is popularly known, is Indias foremost manufacturer of cement.

Formerly called The Associated Cement Companies Limited, ACCs corporate office is located
in Mumbai.

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Page 23 of 96

HISTORY

The Indian cement industry dates back to 1914 when the first unit with a capacity of 1000 tonnes
was established in Porbandar.Today, India is ranked second in the world with an installed
capacity of nearly 154 million tonnes and turnover estimated at about US$ 4.5 billion (Rs.20,250
crore).While per capita consumption of about 95 kilograms as against a world standard of nearly
260 kilograms appears small thedemand drivers are all there. Growth in the housing sector, the
establishment of a central road fund for national highways and bridges and increasing rural
demand are all expected to push the industrys growth to more than 10% per year. (Source:
indiamarkets.com) About 60 major companies and some 300 mini cement plants form the
backbone of the industry. In this scenario ACC stands tall as Indias first name in cement and
concrete. ACC has an installed capacity of 20 million tonnes per annum and a market share of
13%. This makes it the highest selling brand in India.The companys operations is spread
throughout the country. Newly reorganized into three regional profit centers, the company

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operates fourteen modern cement factories, fifteen ready mix concrete plants, a bulk cement
handling terminal, nineteen sales units and 54 zonal offices. It has a workforce of 8900 persons.
The companys countrywide supply chain is an enviable marketing and distribution network that
comprises 194 warehouses, more than 9,000 dealers and 50,000 retail outlet.

The establishment of ACC is an Indian corporate saga that inspired the writing of a whole book.
The company was formed in 1936. when ten existing cement manufacturers came together under
one umbrella the countrys first notable merger, at a time when the term mergers and
acquisitions was not even coined. The history of ACC spans a wide canvas beginning with the
struggle of its pioneer F E Dinshawand other Indian entrepreneurs of the cement industry. Their
efforts to face competition for survival in a small but aggressive market mingled with the stirring
of a countrys nationalist pride that touched all walks of life including trade, commerce and
business. The founding companies belonged to four prominent business groups Tatas, Khataus,
Killick Nixon and F E Dinshaw. ACC was formally established on August 1, 1936. Sir Nowroji
B Saklatvala was the first chairman.The new company had four managing directors, one from
each constituent group. Its first Board included distinguished luminaries of the Indian business

Page 25 of 96

world of the time J R D Tata, Ambalal Sarabhai,Walchand Hirachand, Dharamsey Khatau, Sir
Akbar Hydari, Nawab Salar Jung Bahadur and Sir Homy Mody. The elaborate teakwood
panelled board room in Cement House, with its enormous teakwood table, bears eloquent
testimony to this heritage. Today the company is part of the Holcim group of Switzerland, which
is the world leader in cement, concrete and aggregates. ACC changed its name from its original
The Associated Cement Companies Limited, to simply ACC Limited on September 1, 2006.

About The product

ACC's brand name is synonymous with cement and enjoys a high level of equity in the
Indian market. Acc has a wide range of cements and blended cements is marketed through a
network of 19 Sales Units, 54 Area Offices, and 194 warehouses. This is backed by a
countrywide network of over 9,000 dealer who, in turn, are assisted by their sub-dealers.
ACCs marketing, sales and distribution processes are industry standards. ACC is essentially a
peoples brand of cement with more than 80 per cent of sales made through an extensive dealer
network that covers every state in India. Its customer base represents the masses of India individual homebuilders in small towns, rural and semi-urban India. ACC cement enjoys an
image of assuring consistency and of high quality
backed by in-house research and expertise.
Complementing this is a unique customer services cell
comprising qualified civil engineers, who assist and
advise customers with prior and post sales service.

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This service begins with selection of type and grade of cement (where applicable) to
troubleshooting and on-site assistance.
ACC manufactures the various kinds of Portland Cement for general construction and special
applications. In addition to this, ACC offers two value added products namely, Bulk Cement and
Ready Mix Concrete.
ACC manufactures the following types of cement, in addition to which, it provides Bulk Cement
and Ready Mix Concrete.
Ordinary Portland Cements
1. 43 Grade Cement (OPC 43 Grade)
ACC Cement is the most commonly used cement in all constructions including plain and
reinforced cement concrete, brick and stone masonry, floors and plastering. It is also used in the
finishing of all types of buildings, bridges, culverts, roads, water retaining structures, etc.
What is more, it surpasses BIS Specifications (IS 8112-1989 for 43 grade OPC) on compressive
strength levels.
ACC Cement is marketed in specially designed 50 kg bags.
2. 53 Grade Cement
This is an Ordinary Portland Cement which surpasses the requirements of IS: 12269-53 Grade. It
is produced from high quality clinker ground with high purity gypsum.

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ACC 53 Grade OPC provides high strength and durability to structures because of its optimum
particle size distribution, superior crystalline structure and balanced phase composition.
Blended Cements
1. Fly-ash based Portland Pozzolana Cement
This is a special blended cement, produced by inter-grinding higher strength Ordinary Portland
Cement clinker with high quality processed fly ash - based on norms set by the company's R&D
division. This unique, value-added product has hydraulic binding properties not found in
ordinary cements.
It is available in specially designed 50-kg bags.

What is special about ACC Fly-ash based PPC?

ACC Fly-ash based PPC is made by intergrinding high strength clinker with specially
processed flyash. This imparts a greater degree of fineness to ACC Fly-ash based PPC
cement, improved workability properties while mixing, and makes concrete more
corrosion resistant and impermeable. All of this makes for better long-term strength and
improved corrosion resistance and therefore, greater life for your constructions. ACC Fly

ash based PPC is an eco-friendly cement

What are the advantages of using ACC Fly-ash based PPC ?

In concrete made from ordinary cements, moisture reacts with calcium hydroxide in
concrete to form calcium bicarbonate, which leaches out of the concrete, leaving pores

Page 28 of 96

that reduce its strength. ACC Fly-ash based PPC has ingredients which react with calcium
hydroxide to form CSH gel, to provide additional strength, which actually makes the
concrete grow in strength over the years. It also produces less heat of hydration and offers
greater resistance to the attack of aggressive waters than normal Portland cement.

Portland Slag Cement

This is a slag-based blended cement that imparts strength and durability to all structures. It is
manufactured by blending and inter-grinding OPC clinker and granulated slag in suitable
proportions as per our norms of consistent quality. PSC has many superior performance
characteristics which give it certain extra advantages when compared to Ordinary Portland
Cement
It is available in specially designed 50-kg bags.

Compared to OPC, ACC PSC imparts some important additional advantages

Reduction in free lime leaching.

Ultimate higher strength.

Improved workability, reduced bleeding as well as segregation and corrosion.

Denser, less permeable concrete, and mortar.

Page 29 of 96

Better resistance to sulphates, chlorides, and CO2 and alkali-aggregates reaction.

Less heat, reduced plasticity and drying shrinkage.

Increased static modulus of elasticity.

Increased serviceability with less deflection of members and micro cracks and reduced
cost of construction and maintenance.

All these factors make for a strong, durable, and longer lasting construction. ACC PSC benefits
the structure, protects the environment by reducing CO2 emissions and helps conserve energy.
Which is why it is often referred to as an eco-friendly cement.

Bulk Cement

Yet another first in our seven-decade history of cement in India has been the introduction of Bulk
Cement, an alternative to bagged cement, which is of particular advantage to large consumers of
cement. Internationally, the trend is to move cement more and more in loose form rather than
bagged. In fact, over 90 percent cement in the USA, and other European countries is transported
and sold in bulk, unlike in India, where only one percent is transported in bulk.

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Beside all above discussed tyes Acc also provides Ready Mix
Concrete. ACC set up India's first commercial Ready Mix
Concrete (RMX) plant in Mumbai in 1994. Today this business
has been reorganized as a separate company called ACC
Concrete Limited which is one of the largest manufacturers of RMX in India with over 40
modern plants in major cities such as Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi. Hyderabad,
Goa, Pune and Ahmedabad.
The company manufactures Portland cements for general construction while blended products
include fly ash and slag based cements. Both these varieties of cement are acknowledged for
their high quality with special properties that offer durability and resistance to aggressive
environments. In addition to conserving valuable mineral resources and reducing waste, the
production of these blended cements helps reduce the emission of carbon dioxide. ACC set up
Indias first facility for distribution of cement in bulk in 1956, but most cement in India is still
sold in bags of 50 kilograms. The company introduced cement in 25 kilograms as also jumbo
bags.

Brand Values
Having enjoyed the status as the leading brand in cement for more than six decades, the name
ACC is synonymous with and almost generic to the cement category. The brand is preferred
because it offers customers an assurance of top quality that is easily demonstrated through long
lasting structures. Other products and services of ACC, such as ACC Concrete are also associated
with the same qualities of proven expertise, reliable performance and durability. But more than
its products, ACC stands out as a brand name that denotes trust and dependability. Employees,
dealers, suppliers and associates share a strong bond with the company and a sense of
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togetherness with all stakeholders. The brand promise is essentially of a strong, caring and
supportive partner characterized by the integrity and leadership qualities of its people. The
company has just unveiled a new corporate identity that includes a refurbished new logo. It is
designed to be simple yet more colorful and vibrant and aimed to convey more dynamic and
contemporary look

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PRODUCTS : : CUSTOMER SERVICES

ACC is essentially a peoples brand of cement with more than 80 per cent of sales
off

made through an extensive dealer network that covers every state in India. Its customer base
represents the masses of India - individual homebuilders in small towns, rural and semi-urban
India.
Going beyond the supply of cement, Acc offer ACC Help
services to share knowledge about the process of home
building and correct procedures of product usage.
Acc Regional Offices have Customer Services Cells manned by qualified Civil Engineers who
interact with customers to assess their needs and problems, offer advice before and after sales
including educating users and customers on correct usage of cement and concrete and good
construction practices.
ACC reaches out to its customers, home builders and engineers in the following ways:

ACC Help Centres: For personal guidance on the right construction practices.

ACC Help Literature: Easy-to-understand construction guides.

ACC Help Vans : Mobile help services. Acc engineers in vans assist users at their site
www.acchelp.in : an interactive website for all users construction related questions.
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Indian Concrete Journal : the countrys oldest civil engineering journal

For more information consumer can SMS ACCHELP to 575758 or send Acc an email
addressed to acchelp@acclimited.com
ACC Help Center
The first of its kind in India, the ACC Help Center, now available in several cities, provides basic
information and guidance to customers on construction practices and various home buildingrelated procedures - such as pre-construction worries on stamp duty, selection of architects and
appropriate service providers, estimating budgets. Issues from purchasing land, budgeting to
choice of material and planning of the construction process are elaborated, step-by-step.
Tutorials, conveniently scheduled in the evenings, guide the customer, through the relevant
stages of house construction. The center distributes specially designed booklets on each stage of
building ones Dream House. These publications are available in English, Hindi and major
regional languages. To look for an ACC Help Centre users can log on to www.acchelp.in or
write to acchelp@acclimited.com|

ACC Help Literature

The ACC Help Center distributes specially designed booklets on each stage of building ones
"Dream House". These publications are available in English, Hindi and major regional
languages.
ACC Help Vans
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Mobile touring vans to visit construction sites to educate users and masons at site and provide
certain specialized services like supervision during slab casting on demand.
www.acchelp.in
This is an interactive website, designed primarily for the individual house builder and the small
consumer. The site provides downloads and online inputs on a host of topics like estimation,
budgeting, selecting architects and easy-to-build home-plans for different plot sizes.
Indian Concrete Journal
The "Indian Concrete Journal", the countrys oldest civil engineering journal, continues to be
published by ACC. It reaches out to practicing and consulting engineers, architects, builders,
contractors and government departments. It aims to disseminate the latest information and
technological progress in civil and structural engineering, cement and concrete technologies,
construction methods and practices.
QUALITY
Product Development has always been an important activity at ACC, arising out
off

of a focus on quality and process improvement. It has been a constant partner, driving research,
innovation and evaluation.
ACC has effectively pledged its reputation as the market leader in the
quality of cement. Maintaining this lead calls for harnessing the

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resources and expertise of the company - from applied research and production to marketing.
Accordingly, all ACC factories are equipped with state-of-the-art process control instrumentation
and associated quality control and testing laboratories manned by qualified personnel.
As a result of this focus on quality, ACC cement specifications exceed those set by BIS by a
wide margin. Today, all ACC cement plants have the ISO 9001 Quality Systems certification.
This demonstrates our tradition of providing reliable and consistent quality through the
application of modern technology, and justifies the preferences of a nationwide customer base.

PROCESS OF MAKING ACC LIMITED

Raw Materials
The main raw materials used in the cement manufacturing process are limestone, sand,
shale, clay, and iron ore. The main material, limestone, is usually mined on site while the other
minor materials may be mined either on site or in nearby quarries. Another source of raw
materials is industrial by-products. The use of by-product materials to replace natural raw
materials is a key element in achieving sustainable development.
Raw Material Preparation
Mining of limestone requires the use of drilling and blasting techniques. The blasting
techniques use the latest technology to insure vibration, dust, and noise emissions are kept at a
minimum. Blasting produces materials in a wide range of sizes from approximately 1.5 meters in
diameter to small particles less than a few millimeters in diameter.

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Material is loaded at the blasting face into trucks for transportation to the crushing plant.
Through a series of crushers and screens, the limestone is reduced to a size less than 100 mm and
stored until required.
Depending on size, the minor materials (sand, shale, clay, and iron ore) may or may not
be crushed before being stored in separate areas until required.

Raw Grinding
In the wet process, each raw material is proportioned to meet a desired chemical
composition and fed to a rotating ball mill with water. The raw materials are ground to a size
where the majority of the materials are less than 75 microns. Materials exiting the mill are called
"slurry" and have flow ability characteristics. This slurry is pumped to blending tanks and
homogenized to insure the chemical composition of the slurry is correct. Following the
homogenization process, the slurry is stored in tanks until required.
In the dry process, each raw material is proportioned to meet a desired chemical
composition and fed to either a rotating ball mill or vertical roller mill. The raw materials are
dried with waste process gases and ground to a size where the majority of the materials are less
than 75 microns. The dry materials exiting either type of mill are called "kiln feed". The kiln feed

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is pneumatically blended to insure the chemical composition of the kiln feed is well
homogenized and then stored in silos until required.
Preprocessing
Whether the process is wet or dry, the same chemical reactions take place. Basic chemical
reactions are evaporating all moisture, calcining the limestone to produce free calcium oxide, and
reacting the calcium oxide with the minor materials (sand, shale, clay, and iron). This results in a
final black, nodular product known as "clinker" which has the desired hydraulic properties.
In the wet process, the slurry is fed to a rotary kiln, which can be from 3.0 m to 5.0 m in
diameter and from 120.0 m to 165.0 m in length. The rotary kiln is made of steel and lined with
special refractory materials to protect it from the high process temperatures. Process
temperatures can reach as high as 1450oC during the clinker making process.
In the dry process, kiln feed is fed to a preheated tower, which can be as high as 150.0
meters. Material from the preheated tower is discharged to a rotary kiln with can have the same
diameter as a wet process kiln but the length is much shorter at approximately 45.0 m. The
preheated tower and rotary kiln are made of steel and lined with special refractory materials to
protect it from the high process temperatures.
Regardless of the process, the rotary kiln is fired with an intense flame, produced by
burning coal, coke, oil, gas or waste fuels. Preheated towers can be equipped with firing as well.
The rotary kiln discharges the red-hot clinker under the intense flame into a clinker
cooler. The clinker cooler recovers heat from the clinker and returns the heat to the preprocessing

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system thus reducing fuel consumption and improving energy efficiency. Clinker leaving the
clinker cooler is at a temperature conducive to being handled on standard conveying equipment.
Finish Grinding and Distribution
The black, nodular clinker is stored on site in silos or clinker domes until needed for
cement production. Clinker, gypsum, and other process additions are ground together in ball
mills to form the final cement products. Fineness of the final products, amount of gypsum added,
and the amount of process additions added are all varied to develop a desired performance in
each of the final cement products.
Each cement product is stored in an individual bulk silo until needed by the customer.
Bulk cement can be distributed in bulk by truck, rail, or water depending on the customer's
needs. Cement can also be packaged with or without color addition and distributed by truck or
tractor.

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MILESTONES

Page 40 of 96

1936

Incorporation of The Associated Cement Companies Limited on August 1, 1936.

1936

First Board Meeting of The Associated Cement Companies Limited held at

Esplanade House, Mumbai on November 10, 1936.

1937

With the transfer of the 10th company to ACC, viz. Dewarkhand Cement
Company, the formation of ACC is complete on October 23, 1937.

1944

ACCs first community development venture near Bombay

1947

Indias first entirely indigenous cement plant established at Chaibasa in Bihar

1952

Village Welfare Scheme launched

1955

Sindri cement works used the waste product calcium carbonate sludge from
fertilizer factory at Sindri.

1956

Bulk Cement Depot established at Okhla, Delhi

1957

Technical training institute established at Kymore, Madhya Pradesh.

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1957

Katni Refractories

1961

Blast furnace slag from TISCO used at the Chaibasa Unit to manufacture Portland
Slag Cement for the first time in India.

1961

Manufacture of Accocid Cement, which resists the corrosive action of acids and
chemicals.

1961

Oilwell Cement manufactured at ACC Shahabad Cement Works in Karnataka for

cementation of oilwells upto a depth of 6,000 feet.

1961

Manufacture of Hydrophobic (waterproof) cement at ACC Khalari Cement Works

in Bihar.

1962

Manufacture of Accoproof, a waterproofing additive.

1965

ACCs Central Research Station (CRS) established at Thane

1965

Manufacture of Portland Pozzolana Cement.

1965

Manufacture of Calundum, a High Alumina Binder; Firecrete, Low Density

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Alumina Castables and High Alumina Refractory Cement.

1968

Advent of computers in ACC for data processing and designing management

information and control systems.

1968

ACC supplied and commissioned one-million-tonne iron ore pelletising plant

ordered by TISCO

1971

Manufacture of Whytheat Castables A, K, C and Cal-Al-75

1973

Take-over of The Cement Marketing Company of India (CMI)

1977

ACC receives ASSOCHAM first national award for the year 1976 instituted for
outstanding performance in promoting rural and agricultural development
activities.

1978

Introduction of the energy efficient precalcinator technology for the first time in
India. Full scale commercial production based on MFC technology at Wadi in
1979.

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1979

ACC wins international contract for operation and management of a new one
million tonne cement plant at Yanbu-Ras Biridi in Saudi Arabia.

1982

Commissioning of the first 1 MTPA plant in the country at Wadi, Karnataka.

1984

ACC achieves a breakthrough in import substitution by developing and supplying

a special G type of oil well cement to ONGC.

1987

ACC develops a new binder for use at sub-zero temperatures, which is

successfully used in the Indian expedition to Antarctica.

1992

Incorporation of Bulk Cement Corporation of India, a joint venture with the

Government of India.

1993

ACC starts the commercial manufacture of Ready Mixed Concrete at Mumbai.

1995

ACC selected as Most Respected Company in India by Business India.

1998

Commissioning of the 0.6 MTPA cement grinding unit at Tikaria, Uttar Pradesh.

1999

Commissioning of captive power plants at the Jamul and Kymore plants in

Madhya Pradesh.

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1999

Tata group sells 7.2% of its stake in ACC to Ambuja Cement Holdings Ltd, a
subsidiary of Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd. (GACL)

2000

Tata Group sells their remaining stake in ACC to the GACL group, who with
14.45% now emerge as the single largest shareholder of ACC.

2001

Commissioning of the new plant of 2.6 MTPA capacity at Wadi, Karnataka plant,
the largest in the country, and among the largest sized kilns in the world.

2002

ACC wins PHDCCI Good Corporate Citizen Award

2003

IDCOL Cement Ltd becomes a subsidiary of ACC

2004

IDCOL Cement Limited is renamed as Bargarh Cement Limited (BCL).

2004

ACC raises US $ 100 million abroad through Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds
(FCCBs) for US$ 60 million and Global Depository Shares (GDSs) for US $ 40
million. Both offerings are listed on the London Stock Exchange.

2004

ACC named as a Consumer Superbrand by the Superbrands Council of India,

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becoming the only cement company to get this status.

2004

GreenTech Safety Gold and Silver Awards awarded to Madukkarai Cement Works
and Katni Refractory Works by Greentech Foundation for outstanding performance
in Safety Management System.

2005

ACC receives the CFBP Jamnalal Bajaj Uchit Vyavahar Puraskar Certificate of
Merit 2004 from Council For Fair Business Practices.

2005

Holcim group of Switzerland enters strategic alliance with Ambuja Group by

acquiring a majority stake in Ambuja Cements India Ltd. (ACIL) which at the time
held 13.8 % of the total equity shares in ACC. Holcim simultaneously makes an
open offer to ACC shareholders, through Holdcem Cement Pvt. Limited and ACIL,
to acquire a majority shareholding in ACC. Pursuant to the open offer, ACILs
shareholding in ACC increases to 34.69 % of the Equity share capital of ACC.

2005

Commissioning of Modernisation and Expansion project at Chaibasa in Jharkhand,

replacing old wet process technology with a new 1.2 MTPA clinkering unit,
together with a captive power plant of 15 MW.

2005

Financial accounting year of the company changed to calendar year JanuaryDecember

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2006

Subsidiary companies Damodhar Cement & Slag Limited, Bargarh Cement

Limited and Tarmac (India) Limited merged with ACC

2006

ACC announces new Workplace policy for HIV/AIDS

2006

Change of name to ACC Limited with effect from September 1, 2006 from The
Associated Cement Companies Limited.

2006

ACC receives Good Corporate Citizen Award 2005-06 from Bombay Chamber of
Commerce and Industry

2006

New corporate brand identity and logo adopted from October 15, 2006

2006

ACC establishes Anti Retroviral Treatment Centre for HIV/AIDS patients at Wadi
in Karnataka the first ever such project by a private sector company in India.

2007

ACC partners with Christian Medical College for treatment of HIV/AIDS in Tamil
Nadu

2007

Sumant Moolgaokar Technical Institute completes 50 years and reopens with new
curriculum

2008

Ready mixed concrete business hived off to a new subsidiary called ACC Concrete
Limited.

2008

ACC Cement Technology Institute formally inaugurated at Jamul on July 7.

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2008

First Sustainable Development Report released on June 5.

2008

ACC wins CNBC-TV18 India Business Leader Award in the category India
Corporate Citizen of the year 2008

2008

Project Orchid launched to transform our Corporate Office, Cement House into a
green building.

2009

ACC received the Jamanalal Bajaj "Uchit Vyavahar Puraskar" of Council for Fair
Business Practices

2009

ACC is allotted coal blocks in Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

2009

ACC's new Grinding plant of capacity 1.60 million tonnes inaugurated at

Thondebhavi in Karnataka.

2010

Kudithini Cement Grinding Plant inaugurated in Karnataka on January 4, 2010

with a capacity of 1.1 MTPA of Portland Slag Cement.

2010

ACC acquires 100 percent of the financial equity of Encore Cements & Additives
Private Limited which is a slag grinding plant in Vishakhapatnam in coastal
Andhra Pradesh. This company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of ACC in
January 2010.

2010

ACC enters its platinum jubilee year - the first company in the cement industry to
achieve this status

2010

ACC receives FICCI Award for Outstanding Corporate Vision Triple Impact
Business Performance Social & Environmental Action & Globalisation for 2009Page 48 of 96

ACC was the first recipient of ASSOCHAMs first ever National Award for
off

outstanding
in received
promoting
rural
and
agricultural development activities in
10 - performance
a unique award
for the
first
time
1976. Decades later, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry selected ACC as winner of
2011
World's largest kiln installed at ACC Cement Plant, Wadi, Karnataka with a
its Good Corporate Citizen Award for the year 2002. Over the years, there have been many
capacity of 12,500 tonnes per day creating new landmarks for cement industry
awards and felicitations for achievements in Rural and community development, Safety,
Health, Tree plantation, afforestation, Clean mining, Environment awareness and
2011
Central Control Room Building at ACC Chanda Plant, Maharashtra set up as a
protection.
Green building, the first of its kind in an industrial environment
Awards received in 2010

9th Greentech Safety Gold Award in cement sector to ACC Jamul

Awards received in 2009

Financial Express-Emergent Ventures India (EVI) Green Business Leadership

award

Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) award for Excellence in

Financial Reporting for Annual Report 2008

Indian Merchants Chamber Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Trophy 2009

to ACC Gagal

Indian Merchants Chamber Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Commendation

Certificate 2009 to ACC Sindri

8th Greentech Safety Award 2009 in Gold category in cement sector to ACC
Tikaria

8th Greentech Safety Gold Award in cement sector Jamul

Page 49 of 96

National Award for Fly Ash Utilisation - by Ministry of Power, Ministry of

Environment & Forests and Dept of Science & Technology, Govt of India - for
manufacture of Portland Pozzolana Cement.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Market Share Analysis
Market share analysis is another useful marketing control tool. However, if it is not
handled properly and interpreted correctly, it can throw up highly misleading information. It
becomes an effective control to only when it needs the following preconditions it is accurately
measured , it is measured both at macro and micro levels ; the comparisons of targeted and actual
market shares are also made both at macro and micro levels, and the comparisons are made over
reasonably long spell of time.
Before a firm attempts a market share based evaluation and control, it must have
clarity on whether it is consciously seeking definite share of the market .It is implied in any
market share evaluation that the marketing performance will be assessed based on the market
share. It is also implied that a definite minimum shares of the market is the real aim of the

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firm .Otherwise, the evaluation becomes a purely theoretical exercise and loses its control
potential.
Market share analysis can be utilized for evaluating the market performance of a firm;
for setting targets for the firm and for developing long-term sale forecast for the firm.
Market share has to be measured on rational grounds. Comparisons may be made with
the most efficient firms in the industry, or the Industry leader, or a group of growing firms.
Comparisons can be made against industry average performance. Whatever be the criteria of
comparison, the general economic conditions, which have a bearing on the industries
performance, have to be five due weight age .Quite often the market share of a firm may go up
substantially without any effort on the part of its marketing department the increase may be due
to environmental factors. Unless these dimensions are understood in the proper respective,
market share analysis will give the wrong interpretation. So it is essential to use market share
analysis in an intelligent and objective manner. It is also essential to understand ones production
boundaries correctly to make share analysis purposeful. Shares can be worked out a product subcategory level. Product category level, national level and regional level. Each measurement has
its own use and implications.
The scope Of marketing research
Marketing research departments have been steadily expanding their activities and
techniques. The eight most common activities, in order of importance, are determination of
market characteristics, development of market potentials. Market

shares analysis, sales

analysis, competitive product studies, of business trends .Less than half of the firms do their
off
own advertising
research or carry out any marketing operations research.

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These studies have benefited over the year from increasingly sophisticated technique.
Many techniques were developed outside of marketing by researches in economic, statistics,
sociology, social psychology, and psychology. They were drawn in and amended by marketing
researcher who recognized opportunities for their use. Many of them such as questionnaire
construction and area sampling come long naturally and were quick and widely accepted as
belonging in the corpus of marketing research practices .others such as motivation research and
mathematical methods came in uneasily, with prolonged and heated debates among practitioners
over their practical usefulness. But they , too, settled in the corpus of marketing research
methodology or at least the parts that stood the test of time.

Organization of marketing research departments.

The size and reporting arrangements of marketing research departments vary
tremendously among industries and companies. Each the name of the departments varies from
marketing research department to market research department commercial research and
business research.
In smaller companies, marketing research departments consist of a few professional
researchers and clerical assistants. In larger companies, the departments may contain one or two
dozens full-time employees. A few companies have very large staffs. For example, proctor &
gamble, has a field staff of over 120 trained analysts testing and checking its products. Generally,
the largest research departments are found in the larger advertising agencies, where the media
number is 33 employees. Large consumer and industrial companies average 10 employees the
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number of full time employees does not necessarily reflect the volume of work because of
varying company ratios of inside to outside work. The employees within the firm do not
generally carry out field work but rather advise management on needed research , research
design, and proper interpretation of information.

Managements use of marketing research

The growth in the number of marketing research departments suggested extremely rapid
acceptance of marketing research by American Business. Yet this impression must be qualified.
About 45 percent of the responding companies reported no formal marketing research
department. Furthermore, companies reported no formal marketing research department.
Furthermore, companies with departments often operated with very small budget. The typical
corporations investments in marketing research are minimal and it indicates reluctance within
industry to invest in research dealing with people, markets and marketing to the extent that
would seem to be called for by corporations that espouse the so called modern marketing
concept.
Market share Analysis
Many management look for the true measure of their success not in absolute sales
performance but in their sales performance relative to competitors the key statistic in this
connection is their market share.

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There are at least two reasons for managements interest in market share measurement for
appraising performance .In this first place , it suggest whether changes in company sales were
due to uncontrollable outside forces or weakness in the companys marketing program. If a
companys sales fall but its market share remains constant, this implies that the whole industry
was affected by similar environmental forces. In the second place, the market share standard
implies a comparison of the companys performance with the average performance of the other
companies in the industry rather than with the performance of the best companies .If
management could not maintain its share of the market , the implication is that the companies
marketing mix or its execution is seriously at fault. Market share measurement is a useful tool
because these two assumptions have some validity. But several qualifications should be kept in
mind to avoid drawing the wrong conclusions from market share measurements. The
assumptions that outside forces affect all companies in the same way often not true.
The surgeon general report on the harmful consequences of cigarette smoking caused
total cigarette sales to falter but not quality for all companies.

The companies that had

established a reputation for better filter were hit less hard.

The assumption that a companys should be judged against the average performance of
all companies also in not always valid. A company with greater than average opportunities
should register a growing market share if its market share remains constant this imply deficient
rather than average management.
If a new form enters the industry, then existing firms market share may fall. Here in case
share a fall in the company is performing below the average of the industry.

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Sometimes the decline in the companys market share is the result of a deliberate
policy to improve profits. Management, for example may drop unprofitable customers or
products with resulting decline in market share.
Market share fluctuates for many reasons. For example, the market share in a
particular period can be affecting by whether a large sale is made on the last day of the period or
at the beginning of the following period. A Current shift in market share does not always have
significant marketing implications.
Market share analysis like sales analysis, increase in value when the data are
disaggregated along various dimensions .If the data are available, the company might watch the
progress of its market share by product line, customer type , region , or other breakdowns.
International Harvesters truck sales is Los Angeles metropolitan areas registered an
absolute measures between 1952 and 1953. An analysis of their market share, however shown a
steady decline .Apparently total truck sales in Los Angles were growing faster than Harvesters
sale. This led the company to consider whether it was handicapped by too for sales braches in the
Los Angeles are relative to its competitors.
A company would also want to note the market share trends of individual competitors. It
will want to know which companies are gaining and losing customers, and from what other
companies these against and losses are coming .It will want especially to note the trend in the
market share of its closest rival , if the rivals share is growing relatively faster, then the company
will want to remain its basic marketing strategy.

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The fundamental theorem of market- share determination. We left answered the

questions of what the companys market share should normally be at the ligh t of its competitive
marketing offering.t
The most popular theory is that the market shares of various competitors will be
proportional to their marketing effort shares. This normal expectation can be called the
fundamental theorem of market share determination and is symbolically expressed in questions.
If a firm is not enjoying a normal market share, how can it be explained? At least four different
hypotheses can be advanced. The existence of differences in marketing helps to explain why
market shares may suddenly rise for particular companies when no changes have occurred in
their relative marketing expenditures. This can happen when a firm develops better advertising
platforms or finds more effective advertising media. Usually the qualitative and quantities effects
of marketing and the matter is further complicated by the probable increase in advertising by
competitors. Nevertheless, when market shares finally stabilizes, it will be clear whether the firm
performs at average or greater than average effectiveness in spending marketing funds.
Market effectiveness should be generalized to include qualitative advances enjoyed by
the firm that are not directly related to the qualitative advantages enjoyed by the firm that are not
directly related to the quality of the good current marketing expenditures . For example, the firm
may be located on a superior site, and this can give it a long-term advantage over competition
.Or the firm may enjoy an unusual among of good will stemming from the personality of the
founder that causes better sales than could be expected simply based on share- of marketing
expenditures. In general where market shares and effort shares diverge for a substantial period of
time, the analyst might search for the cause in qualitative advantages of cement firm over
competition.
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2. Random Factors Hypothesis

The random factors hypothesis holds that in any particulars period the respective shares
may diverge from the its normal value because of weather, loss or gain of few important
customers, inventory stock outs, and so on. Therefore, management must be careful in
interpreting and responding to current market- share changes a 2 percent decline in market share
may reflect normal variations is brand loyalty or point to a real decline in the companys
marketing effectiveness . If there is no evidence of the latter management might wait to see what
happens to market share in the next period. Market share may rise again, indicating normal
fluctuations, or it may fall again, indicating the some systematic factor may be at work. Any
changes in market share should be judged against the known variance of market share changes,
and if the change appears to be a rare event in probability terms, immediate action may be called
for.

3. Lagged Adjustment Hypothesis

A third interpretation of a discrepancy between current market shares and marketing effort
shares is that the difference is temporary and in time will diminish and disappear. For example, a
Nielsen study on new- shares for a new product must initially spend approximately 20 percent of
total industry marketing expenditure .obviously this excessive level or marketing expenditure is
only temporary in order to enable the firm to break into the market .After getting of its 10
percent share of market the firm can slowly bring down its percent of total marketing
expenditures without losing its 10 percent market share . or if it continues to spend 20 percent of
the market ; otherwise something is wrong is wrong with its product or marketing effectiveness.
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4. NONLINEAR MARKET-SHARE HYPOTHESIS:

The preceding three hypotheses all accept the fundamental theorem of market share
determination and provide reason for observed divergences. It is conceivable that the theorem
does not hold and that increased marketing effort first produces increasing and they decreasing
returns in the way of market share. This was the conclusion drawn.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARKETING INFORMATION SYSTEM AND
MARKETING RESEARCH.
Marketing research may be defined as the through and objective gathering and analysis of
data that pertain to a given problem in marketing.

SCOPE OF MARKETING RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.

For about 60 years, there has been a steady growth in marketing research departments,
reflecting managements recognition of the importance of this activity. In a broad based study
sponsored by the American Marketing Association 77 percent of the responding companies
reported having a formal marketing research department.
PROCEDURE IN MARKETING RESEARCH
1. DEFINE THE OBJECTIVE

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Research should have a clean idea of what they are trying to accomplish in a research
project that is, what is the goal of the project .Usually the objective is to solve a problem, but
this is not always so. Often the purpose is to define the problem, or to determine whether the
firm even has a problem. To illustrate a manufacturer of commercial air- conditioning equipment
had been enjoying a steady increase in sales volume over a period of years. Management decided
to make a sales analysis. This research project uncovered the fact that although the companys
volume had been increasing. Its share of the market had declined. In this instance, marketing
research uncovered a problem that management did not know existed.
2. CONDUCT SITUATION ANALYSIS
The situation analysis involves obtaining information about the company and its business
environment by means of library research and extensive interviewing of company officials. The
researchers try to get a feel for the situation surrounding the problem. They analyze the
company. Its market its, competition, and the industry in general. In the photo accessory, case the
researchers studied, several trade magazine articles in the library and held extensive discussions
with company executives and workers.
In the situation analysis, the researchers also try to define problem more clearly and to
develop hypotheses for further testing. In a research project, a hypothesis is a tentative
supposition or a possible solution to a problem. It a well- run project, each hypothesis should be
prove or disproved on the way to fulfilling the projects objectives.
3 & 4. CONDUCT INFORMAL INVESTIGATION
Having gotten a feel for the problem, the researchers are now ready to conduct an
informal investigation to some extent this step overlaps the preceding one, which involves
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getting background information investigation consists of talking to people outside the company
intermediaries, competitors, advertising agencies, and customers.

5. PLAN AND CONDUCT FORMAL INVESTIGATION

If the informal investigation has shown that the project in economically feasible.
Management then determines what additional information is needed. The next step for the
researcher is to plan where and how to get the desire data.

SWOT Analysis for ACC Cement

STRENGTHS.
1.

It is having a good image and brand loyalty among consumers.

2.

Service is good

3.

Dhalai karne ke liye people ask for ACC

4.

They have same price prevailing for wholesale at dealers/stockiest retailers end.

WEAKNESS.
1.

The competitors are doing much promotional activity rather than ACC Limited thats
why it facing more problems in selling of product in the market.

2.

Lack of awareness program for consumers.

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OPPORTUNITY.
1.

Rapid growth is taking place in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

2.

People are opting for more stable structures and intensive use of cement is taking place,
even government is spending heavily on infrastructure projects. Thus, this is the right time
to fully tap these markets.

3.

As Indian core industry is also growing at rate of nearly 10% per annum,it is having a
good future.

4.

Foreign direct investment in infrastructure sector going to increase in coming years,

which will increase the demand of cement.

5.

Roads are undergoing through the transformation process through which the traditional
method of road building will be replaced by modern concrete roads.

THREATS:
1.

Large number of players in cement industry makes it more competitive for ACC to
carefullyprice its product and at the same time satisfy its dealers and customers.

2.

Players such as Jaypee Cement, Prism Cement, and Birla Samrat are eating up
considerablemarket share.

3.

Due to Indias exponential growth many new international cement companies are
expected in coming years which will bring a tide of change and can start price war.

4.

The emergence of small players in this market may increase the competition and start the
malpractices, and heavy discounts to retailers. They can also influence many retailers by
giving better profit margin, and other Benefits.

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OBJECETIVE

Objective has an important role in any research. No research exists

without any objective.ACC Cement Ltd. gave me six weeks project of
ANALYSIS OF DEALERS PERCEPTION TOWARDS ACC
VIS A VIS OTHER COMPETITIVE BRANDS with the objective
to know the dealers perception aboutPage 62 of 96

pricing policy, quality, delivary system ,billing system,etc. sales volume

,ranking of different brands ,pricing of different brands promotional
supports given by the companies .effective media ,effective promotion &
factors for recommending the particular brand were also fall under the
objective.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Statement of The Problem
The achievements of marketing objectives are twofold ie, consumer satisfaction and profitable
sale. Customer satisfaction is gained and it greatly depends upon the manner in which the
marketing functions are organized.
Demand in Tea Industry is hence considered as an important one. The penetration of other
companies into the market is the main problem faced by the company due to which considerable
less market share appears .Conducting a market research and collecting dealers opinion

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regarding the quality, pricing, servicing and the margin provided by the company is also equally
important.
Objectives of Study
1. To find out the presence of ACC Cement in the town of Varanasi District
2. To find out the dealers opinion about certain aspects ACC Cement such as pricing,
Quality, Servicing and margin provided by the company.
3. To analyze competitors stagey
Scope of The Study
The study has been conducted to find out the market share of ACC cement and to collect
the dealers opinion regarding its quality, servicing and margin provided by the company in the
town of Varanasi District.
Analyzing the survey data, and there by giving the best possible suggestions as solutions
to the problems faced by the company.
Need For The Study
The need for the study was felt due to the fact there was a decline in the market share of
ACC Cement in Varanasi District. The research work also acted as a source to find out the
competitors present market situations and ACC dealers psychology regarding the ACC Cement.
Period of Study

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The survey was conducted as a part of the curriculum of MBA programme and the survey
was conducted for the period of 60 days.
Universe of Study
The study has been carried out at ACC Help Centre Varanasi And the market survey has
been carried out at all town of Varanasi District.
Sources Of Information
The dealers and the sub dealers were the major sources of information for the primary data.
The secondary data was collected from the annual report and net and other records
maintained by the company.
The above-received data (primary and secondary) forms the basis for entire analysis.

Research Design
The survey was conducted in Varanasi District and a total of about 50 respondents were
collected. The information given by they were the backbone behind the research work.
Tools For Collection Of Information
The primary data was collected by

means of questionnaire for getting information from the

respondents a detailed questionnaire has been prepared and necessary information was collected.
Forms the primary data.
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Tool for Data Analysis

Tools for data analysis includes simple arithmetic calculations like averages, percentages,
charts, graphs etc.

Limitations Of The Study

1. This study is mainly focused on Varanasi district only and it cannot be taken for granted
as the situation for the other districts.
2. It has its own uniqueness in certain aspects as far as ACC Cement is concerned.
3. Some or the respondents were reluctant to give some information
4. Secondary report is taken from annual report and broacher of the company and internet

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

The importance of market share analysis for any industrial concern need
not be over emphasized. The existence of adequate demand can make
substantial difference between the success and failure of an enterprise. It
is important for the management to pay particular attention to the
planning of the target market. This chapter analysis the available data to
Page 66 of 96

find out the presence and estimate the market share of ACC cement in
selected town of Varanasi district.

AVAILABILITY OF BRANDS AT DIFFERENT SHOPS

NO OF SHOPS
BRAND NAME

DIGITS)

(IN

AVAILABILITY AT SHOP
(IN %)

PRISM
10

14.3%

ACC
30

42.85%

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JAYPEE
20

28.57%

MYCEM
5

7.14%

OTHERS
(ULTRATECH)

7.14%

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35
30

30

25
20

20

No. of Shops

15

Availibilty At Shops (In Digits)

10

10
5
0

Acc

jaypee

Prism

MYCEM

OTHERS

Brands

Availability at Shops (IN %)

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Availibility At Shop (IN%)

7%

7%

14%

29%

Jaypee
Acc
Prism
Mycem
Others

43%; 43%

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From the above figure, it is obvious that Acc is the most available product leaving behind its
competitors. The 2nd position is occupied byJaypee, after which Prism comes at 3rd position and
than other brands.

SALES IN VARANASI (IN M.T.)

Brand

Monthly Sales

Acc

(IN M.T)
10500

Jaypee

8833.33

Prism

8416.66

MyCem

6543.77

Other

3500

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SALES
12000

10000

8000

SALES (IN M.T)

6000

4000

2000

BRANDS

Sales In Varanasi (IN %)

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Sales (In %)
32%
19%
8%
5%

36%

ACC
JAYPEE
PRISM
MYCEM
OTHER

From the above it is obvious that ACC stands at the top position after occupying 36%
share in market and leads to JAYPEE,PRISM & other competitive brands in sales volume.
PREVAILING PRICE IN THE MARKET
BRAND NAME

PRICE RANGE (Rs.)

Prism

260-270

Jaypee

260-270

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Acc
270-280

Mycem

255-260

Other
255-260

HIGHER RANGE:-ACC

270-280

MIDDLE RANGE:-JAYPEE
PRISM

260-270
260-270

LOWER RANGE:--

Mycem

255-260
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Other
255-260
Above data & graph shows that price of ACC falls in the category of higher range. Price of
JAYPEE,PRISM falls in the category of middle range and price of MYCEM $ OTHERS
falls in the category of lower range.

EFFECTIVE MEDIA

Choices(In %)

40%

6%
25%

15%
14%

Pamphlets
Radio
T.v
Wall Painting
Others

Above figure exhibits that WALL PAINTING & HOARDING is the first choice of
customer. Than PAMPHLETS & POSTERS occupies the 2nd and then T.V., RADIO & OTHERS.
Page 75 of 96

OTHERS INCLUDE:--Wall painting on busy places, Bags, Seat cover & Kiosk etc.

EFFECTIVE PROMOTION TOOL

Target Segment Meet

Discount

35%

Advertising &Publicity
Others

8%
27%
30%

It is well known that customers are price sensitive. So people placed the DISCOUNT at top
position.
ADVERTISING comes at the second slot followed by TARGET SEGMENT MEET &
OTHER
DEALERS PERCEPTION TOWARDS THE QUALITY OF DIFFERENT BRANDS

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Quality is another major component of cement to which consumers give preference while
purchasing cement. Consumers prefer to purchase the brand having faster setting time, consistent
supply & weight, attractive packaging, favorable price, dealers reputation in the market. Dealer
say to me that quality of all prevailing brands, is satisfactory but setting time of ACC is better
in comparison with other competitive brands but complain of cracking is also included in this.

DEALERS PERCEPTION TOWARDS THE DELIVERY OF DIFFERENT BRANDS

There are various systems for delivery of products. To have a competitive advantage over
others in these days of neck to neck competition, FREIGHT ON RAIL (FOR) service is the
most popular one. Under this system, you dont have to go for collecting the products. In case of
FOR , transportation cost is beared by the company itself.

DEALER PERCEPTION TOWARDS THE PACKAGING OF DIFFERENT BRANDS

It is well known that FIRST IMPRESSION IS THE LAST IMPRESSION.
At which stage knowledge fails, our glimpse provides us the right destination.
Attractive packaging plays an important role in enhancing the sale of any product. Dealer
prefers attractive, comfortable in handling & fully packed packaging. During my survey I did not
receive any complain from dealers about packaging.

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DEALERS PERCEPTION TOWARDS THE BILLING SYSTEM OF DIFERENT

BRANDS
During my survey I have noticed that the stockiest are not very satisfied with the account
keeping of company. They say that they should be provided the statements of their account on
the regular basis so that they may get to know what they have got as a benefit. Most of the
complains were related with the billing done by the company. They say that sometimes they
have

to sell the product at the lower price than the price conveyed by the company.

About the different meetings:-

Dealers told me that all the companies organize MASON MEETING, SUB-DEALER
MEETING, and ARCHITECT MEETING ETC.
Frequency of visiting of field officer is:Normally during my survey, people informed me that frequency of visiting of field officer is
satisfactory. Retailer rated the frequency of visit on 10 point scale which is given below:\

9out of 10 by Acc
6 out of 10 by Prism.
7 out of 10 by Jaypee.
6 out of 10 by Mycem.
6 out of 10 by Others

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CONCLUSION
Now I shall conclude my study. When I go through my whole research, there are several points,
which are quite peculiar.
These factors are:
Good quality including fast setting time.
Favorable price.
Good distribution policy.
Effective sales promotional schemes including advertisements.
Large sales force for creating the demand .
Time to time information about prevailing market price & dealers perception about
prevailing prices.

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RECOMMENDATION
After my project study, going through the market conditions of cement and the marketing
strategies of the company , I would like to make following suggestions to the company : An effective distribution policy to increase the market share of ACC. A better distribution
system consisting of various channels of distribution will certainly uplift its present
position .It has been seen that due to the lack of proper distribution, ACC cement is being
severely effected, so a good policy should be quickly laid down.

Actually the customers are price sensitive so price should be kept as reasonable as
possible.

Fostering better relationship among channel members by arranging regular meet and
conducting workshops for them.

Motivating channel members to sell more cement of ACC by associating incentives to

prescribed targets.
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Welfare schemes for channel members should be devised.

Devising some promotional schemes to attract the customers as well as channel members.
Advertisement campaigns should be carried on comprehensive scale.

Strict vigil about black marketing and price variations and appropriate action should be
taken.

Better sales margin should be given to channel members especially to retailers.

And at last main and important suggestion emphasizes the fact that sales force should be
increased

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SUGGESSIONS
The following suggestions are followed to cement companies based on the conclusion drawn
from the research study: Companies have to increase the awareness level in the buyers through print media and
other advertisement channels.
Company should maintain their regular supply according to the demand.
Proper survey and guideline should be given by the company.
Quality and brand name are two important factor hence companies have tried to build and
maintain name and their goodwill in the market.
Company should have reasonable price of the product to reach everyone.
Word of mouth can be generated by keeping the existing customers.

Page 82 of 96

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS :
PHILIP KOTLER
WILLIAM J. STANTON

- MARKETING MANAGEMENT
- MARKETING MANAGEMENT

RAMASWAMY & NAMAKUMARI

- MARKETING MANAGEMENT

C.R. KOTHARI

- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

D.D SHARMA

MARKETING RESEARCH

SIBRAJAN MISRA

- ORIGIN & GROWTH OF

ACC INDUSTRY IN INDIA

Page 83 of 96

Page 84 of 96

ANNEXURE
1)WHICH COMPANIES YOU DEALING WITH?
a)Acc
b)Prism
c)Jaypee
d)Mycem
e)Samarat
f)Others

2)Name of the brands which sells most in market?

a)Acc
b)Prism
c)Jaypee
d)Mycem
e)Samarat
f)Others

3)What your perception about pricing policy of different brands available in market?

4)What your perception about quality of different brands available in market?

Page 85 of 96

5)What your perception about delivery system of different brands available in market?

6)How satisfactory is the billing system of different companies?

7)Which company gives you the best promotional support?

a)Acc
b)Prism
c)Jaypee
d)Mycem
e)Samarat
f)Others

9)What kinds of meeting do different companies organizes?

10)What is the frequency of "field officer" visit of given companies?

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11)What kind of promotional supports are given to you by companies?

a)Wall painting
b)Banner
c)Hoarding
d)Kiosk
e)Others

12)Which is the effective media for the cement companies?

a)T.V
b)Radio
c)Internet
d)Others

13)What kind of promotion is effective for the cement companies?

14)Factors which you consider while recommending the particular brand?

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15)In which season demand is more?

a)Jan -March
b)April-June
c)July-Sep
d)Oct-Dec

16)Can you attend any seminar organized by any cement companies?

a)Yes

b)No

17)From where you purchase the cement?

a)From manufacturing plant

b)From other sources

18)Do you have any suggestion?

a)Yes

b)No

If yes then
specify................................................................................................................................................
...............

Page 88 of 96

Corporate Office
Overseeing the company's range of businesses, the Corporate
Office is the central headquarters of all business and human
resource functions.
ACC Limited
Cement House
121, Maharishi Karve Road
Mumbai - 400 020
India
Tel: 91-22-33024321
Fax: 91-22-66317440
Head Office
ACC Concrete Ltd
ACC Thane Complex
Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg,
Teen Haath Naka
Thane (West) - 400 604,
India
Fax: +91-22-2583 8415

TECHPORT
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ACC Thane Complex

L B S Marg
Thane (West) - 400 604,
India
Tel : +91-22-33028000, 39248200

Regional Offices

Eastern Region (Kolkata)

Shrachi Tower, 5th floor, 686 Anandpur,
EM Bypass, Kasba,
Kolkata - 700 107, India
Tel: +91-33-39509736-39
Fax: +91-33-39509740
Northern Region (New Delhi)
414-421, Splendor Forum (4th Floor)
3, District Centre, Jasola, (Near Apollo Hospital)
New Delhi - 110 044
Tel: +91 11-46583600
Fax. +91 11-46583664

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South & Western Region (Pune)

313, Connaught Place,
Third Floor, Bund Garden Road,
Pune - 411 001, India
Tel: +91-20-66271000 / 66271040
Fax: +91-20-66271090
ACC Delhi Liaison Office
82-84, Janpath,
New Delhi - 110 001, India

Tel: 91-11-2332 1837, 2332 0933

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