Gujarat Ambuja - Redefining Operational Efficiency

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Cutting Costs Contd...

- FREIGHT Contd... This marked the birth of the idea of using the sea route, instead of land. The sea route would bring down the distance to 315 kms. GACL set up a special cell to develop this idea. The company invested Rs 1 billion to set up modern ports and freight-handling terminals at Muldwarka and Surat (south Gujarat) and Panvel (near Bombay). In addition, it bought three special ships (one designed in Singapore and the other two in India) to transport the cement. The vessels, custom made for Indian conditions and requirements, had the capacity to transport 2500 tonnes of cement each. The port terminal at Muldwarka was an all-weather port, handling ships with 40,000 DWT.5 It was also equipped to export clinker and cement and import coal and furnace oil. A fleet of five ships, with a capacity of 2500 DWT each, ferried bulk cement to the packaging units from this port. The bulk cement terminal at Surat had bulk cement unloading capacity with a storage capacity of 15,000 tonnes. The terminal at Panvel had a storage capacity of 17,500 tonnes.

To facilitate transportation by ship, GACL sent cement in sealed road tankers from the plant site to the shipping terminal, where it was transferred to silos.⁶ From these silos, it was transferred into airtight holds in the ships. At the destination, the cement was unloaded from ship holds and again placed in silos, before being pumped into the sealed road tankers. Customers were provided small storage tanks into which cement was pumped from the sealed tankers by a fluidization process.⁷ For customers who preferred bagged cement, GACL arranged special packing facilities at the unloading terminals. GACL had conveyor belts running up to the dispatch yard for loading the trucks and wagons. A fleet of around 350 self-financed trucks and a railway siding on the factory premises provided flexibility in the mode of transportation.

The cost of transporting cement to Bombay worked out to about Rs 400 per tonne as compared to over Rs 1800 per tonne by road. Since the cement was now being moved in bulk, packaging costs were also reduced. Thus, GACL was able to save roughly Rs 160 million annually. Besides, there was far less wastage and spillage, and since the cement was untouched by human hand, it of the finest quality. GACL's shipping facilities brought many coastal markets within easy reach and made it one of the largest exporters of cement. Because of the port, it was now much more convenient for the company to import coal. A strong focus on logistics management helped GACL reduce finished goods inventory levels also. A Mumbai dealer could obtain stocks within eight hours because of the company-owned jetty.⁸ The cement was packed at a plant at the jetty itself, at the rate of 100 tonnes per hour.

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5] Deadweight tonnage (DWT) is the total carrying capacity of a ship in metric tons, including the weights of fuel, stores and cargo.
6] Large containers where cement is stored till it is transferred to ships for transport.
7] A process by which small size solid particles are made to behave like gases and liquids.
8] A place where ships are loaded/unloaded.