Associated Cement Company (ACC) released its specialised cement, Coastal Plus, here on Friday. The cement is manufactured at Encore, a cement plant in the special economic zone at Duvvada near here, which the ACC acquired a few years ago.

Mr Vivek Chawla, Chief Executive (East) of the company, said that it was “a premium high-performance cement which will give both high early strength and enhanced durability to the structure.”

It was first tested in Kerala where the response was very good and now it was being released in Vizag market.

Resist Corrosion

He said the cement resist corrosion, a major problem in the coastal areas, and it would be a superior product.

The price would be slightly higher than that of OPC cement but in view of the long-term benefits the customers would not mind it.

“It is a product suited to a niche market,” he said. It was also being packed in a special way, using imported material which would not absorb moisture in the coastal areas, he explained.

Mr Susim Patra, Sales Head (Orissa and North Andhra), and Mr Sandip Das Gupta, Head of regional customer service, spoke about the special features of the cement such as less cracks in the structure, less permeability, no seepage problem, resistance to harmful ingredients and gases, resistance to chloride and sulphate attack.

“It will provide a complete solution to our customers in the coastal areas,” they said.

Mr N. Nageswara Rao, Plant Head, Encore, said ACC had modernised the plant at Duvvada special economic zone after acquiring it last year and “now it is ready to meet the requirements of customers in north-coastal Andhra Pradesh. We have great facilities for grinding the slag in the plant and producing superior cement.” The plant would initially produce 3,000 tonnes month.

In response to a question about the higher cost of the product, Mr. Chawla said a number of costly additives were going into the product and, therefore, the slightly higher costs were inevitable and the price was justified in view of the long-term benefits.

Mr C. Kurian, the Director (Sales - East), also spoke about the product.

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