PRODUCT PROFILE Concrete is a composite construction material composed primarily of aggregate, cement and water. Concrete is widely used for making architectural structures, foundations, brick/block walls, pavements, bridges/overpasses, motorways/roads, runways, parking structures, dams, pools/reservoirs, pipes, footings for gates, fences and poles and even boats. Concrete blocks for building houses were first made in Europe around 1850. Ready mix concrete is a modern trend of introduction in the Asian Countries. It is already introduce long before in the European Countries. It is new concept of use concrete in the construction area. Ready mix concrete has advantages in the area where immediate requirement of concrete mixture like in the preparation of bridge overhead roads on or the road construction. In India there is a hope to get good scope of RMC within short period. There are plenty of raw materials and plant machineries in India indigenously. Technical Specifications of Concrete Blocks Typical size -300 x 200 x 150 mm Average compressive strength at 28 days 50-110 kg/sq.cm Mix Proportion -1:12-14 (1 part cement: 12-14 parts sum graded aggregates) Water absorption in 24 hours -less than 10% by weight of block Applications The concrete hollow blocks are used for building construction in developed countries. It takes less time in building work when concrete hollow blocks are used for building walls. Several bit of wall height can be constructed in a few hours in case of concrete hollow block walls compared with much slower rate of construction with conventional bricks. The second major advantage derived by the use of concrete hollow blocks is that the cavities in the blocks are fitted with air column even after completion of the building work. The cavity firmed in the concrete blocks makes it easy for prompt handling and higher in weight in comparison to the solid blocks of the same dimensions. Thus, workers engaged in building construction work feel less exhausted even after long stretch of work. It is used in the construction of bridge, dam overhead roads, pools, multi stories buildings etc. Global demand National Scenario India is the second largest producer of cement in the world after China. It is followed by Japan and the USA. The overall turnover of the industry is placed at Rs 600 bn. India accounts for a share of about 6% against China's 37% and the USA's 5% of global production. India is the second largest producer of cement in the world after China. It is followed by Japan and the USA. The overall turnover of the industry is placed at Rs 600 bn. India accounts for a share of about 6% against China's 37% and the USA's 5% of global production. Cement and ready mix concrete demand is dependent on the level of construction activities. Construction activities are in turn closely related to a number of macroeconomic factors such as consumer spending, population growth, manufacturing sector growth, inflation rates, and government spending etc. The construction industry is the second largest industry in India after agriculture. It accounts for about 11% of India’s GDP. Construction constitutes 40% to 50% of India's capital expenditure on projects in various sectors such as highways, roads, railways, energy, airports, irrigation etc. The growth of RMC (Ready Mix concrete) in India has in the past been predominantly driven by demand from the metro cities. International scenario The world market for Ready Mix Concrete is projected to reach $105.2 billion by the year 2015. This is primarily driven by rapid growth in infrastructure, residential sectors, and non residential sectors in various parts of the world. Further, the rapidly growing demand for the ready mix concrete in urban areas will also contribute to the market growth. The demand of concrete block & ready mix concrete in the market is immense and therefore its market position is splendid. Hence it is an excellent field to venture.