Boom makes cement marketers an idle lot

AHMEDABAD: Guess what are marketing teams in cement companies doing these days? They are not chasing clients or targets. Instead, many of them have been reduced to invoicing officers or collection agents.

The boom in the construction industry and the consequent surge in demand for cement have been a boon for the cement companies. With most cement makers being flooded with orders, their marketing staff have little to run after. Experts say the demand for cement is much more than its supply. What’s more, the situation is unlikely to change for the next two years.

JK Cement, which has seven marketing offices in Gujarat, is planning to engage their marketing staff in other jobs. “The demand is very high and we are booked for the coming year. Hence, marketing is certainly not a major focus area,” says Vinay Saxena, who is in-charge of JK Cement’s operations in Gujarat.

Such a situation may force manufacturers to go for manpower rationalisation, believe many. Many cement manufacturing companies are engaging their marketing personnel in works such as invoicing, payment collection and other clerical assignments.

According to Mr Saxena there are no plans to retrench any employee but the company will utilise the staff for other purposes. “We may shift them to other states where the demand is not so high and marketing is required,” he says.

Other manufacturers such as Sanghi and Saurashtra Cement too are flooded with the orders. The demand for cement is likely to shoot up even more.

According to a study conducted by Saurashtra Cement, the cement consumption in India is expected to go up to 185 mtpa in 2009-10 from the current 136 mtpa level. In Gujarat, the consumption is estimated to go up to 121 LMT from the current 98 LMT level during the same period.

“The demand is huge and we may not be able to cope with it in the next few months,” says Sanjay Bhatia of Saurashtra Cement.

Mr Bhatia says the company may utilise the marketing staff for other purposes as there is hardly any scope for marketing. However, Alok Sanghi, director of Sanghi Cement, says: “Though the market is growing and demand is high, the marketing department is still required.

This is a passing phase. If the demand keeps increasing, we may think of utilising our marketing workforce for other purposes.”