‘‘National Energy Conservation Award – 2012’’ for MCL

House Magazine of Madras Cements Ltd

For Private Circulation only

P R Ramasubrahmaneya RajhaChairman & MD

A s s t r o n g a s f a m i l y b o n d sA s s t r o n g a s f a m i l y b o n d s

Dear friends,It is said that tough times make tough people and the present time is replete with

challenges for the cement industry. Though it is part of the typical business cycle we are going through, it is, nevertheless, a clarion call for preparing ourselves for the future by honing our internal capabilities and sharpening our focus onto the emerging demands of the business environment.

I would like to dwell on a few signicant aspects to which we must focus our attention during these crucial times. As you know that, during the last couple of years, we have made huge investments in capacity expansions as also in forward integration projects such as grinding units and packing plants to cater to the increasing demand of the construction industry as well as to ensure timely delivery to our customers. The investments were funded using a prudent balance of internal accruals and external borrowings. While on the one side, we incur additional costs due to interest payments, there has been also considerable increase in input costs and the freight charges, amply adding up to our production costs. With the competition getting more intense due to increased supplies, margins are also on the squeeze.

At this juncture, it is very important for us to focus on two vital areas: First and foremost, we must keep the costs under control at all fronts. Controlling of costs is not mere cutting down of expenditure, but it is to ensure that every rupee is spent prudently so that it accrues as value to the organisation. Now it is not about ‘doing more’, but it is about ‘doing different’. So, if you consciously observe your day-to-day routine activities and take a hard look around your workplace, there could be plenty of potential opportunities waiting to be improved. I am sure you can come out with new ways of doing things that could contain wasteful costs and enhance effectiveness. You might remember the old adage that many a drop makes an ocean. Our collective efforts can go a long way in building a culture of scal discipline.

The second aspect we should focus on is to explore means of becoming even more customer-centric. We have always stood steadfast in meeting our customers’ needs, not only their explicit needs but their unspoken ones as well and we have never shied away from walking the extra mile for accomplishing that. That is why you may nd our internal quality yardsticks go far beyond the prescribed standards. If we imbibe this spirit of customer-centricity in all our actions, then excellence will become part of our habit.

I see an all-round optimism and the economy is in the pink of health. I envisage a great potential for our Company in view of the imminent opportunities and our innate human capabilities. But, if we have to participate in the India growth story, it is for us to act on these vital aspects now. It is time for us to display our commitment and prove our resilience as we emerge even tougher, when the storm withers over time.

Wishing you and your family members all the very best.

From Chairman’s DeskJuly 2010 - October 2010 Vol. 1, No: 8

01

Jan - Mar - 2013 House Magazine of Madras Cements Ltd Vol. 2 No: 02

Inspirations

02 Ramco Bhandham

Patron

P R Ramasubrahmaneya RajhaChairman & MD

Advisory Board

A V DharmakrishnanChief Executive Officer

Balaji K MoorthyPresident (Marketing)

M J Sai KumarAsst Vice President – HRD

K.SelvanayagamCompany Secretary

N VaradarajanSr GM - IT

Editor

G BharathSr DGM- Learning & Development

COORDINATORS

RR NagarE Alwar, AGM- Personnel

AlathiyurSridhar N., Sr Manager-Personnel

AriyalurA Johnson Antony Leo, DGM-PersonnelJayanthipuramRavi Kumar G S JPM Sr.Manager Personnel

MathodManjunath Das, AGM-Personnel

Marketing-TamilnaduR Vijayan, AGM-Marketing, Madurai

Marketing-AndhrapradeshA Sriram Reddy, Manager- Marketing - Vizag

Marketing-KarnatakaS Srikanth, DM-Marketing, Banglore

Marketing-KeralaP Viswanathan, DGM-Marketing, Ernakulam

Corp Office, Grinding Units,R Murali, Dy. Manager- Payroll,Corp office, Chennai

Published by

Madras Cements LtdCorporate Office, 98-A, Auras Corporate Centre Dr RK Salai, Mylapore, Chennai- 04

Design & Printing G.Devaraj (98405 59153)

Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in knowledge and yoga; alms-giving, self-restraint and worship, study of one’s own (scriptures), austerity, uprightness. Chap-16, verse 1, Bhagavad Gita

Words of Wisdom from Father to SonThese are some of the valuable sayings of by our revered Founder Shri P A C Ramasamy Raja to his son. To reach an unshakable position you should always be well-informed. Be inquisitive and know the various aspects of life. Take initiative, if you want to be happy. Question only those, whom you think will answer you correctly. Never hesitate to wait at any man’s door to learn what you want. Question your Guru as many times as you can and clear your doubts. Never be prejudiced about anything. Sympathize with your enemies if they are ignorant. Receive anything in life calmly and at the same time, firmly. Enjoy the satisfaction of your achievements. Never expect others to be submissive to you. Try to give everyone a fair chance to come up. Remember that you can never be completely happy if your neighbours are not

happy. Find happiness in other’s happiness. Extend your hand to a friend in distress but don’t make his grief yours. Life

is short, so be happy.

Courtesy: The Sun of Rajapalaiyam (published in 1994)

From the Chairman’s Desk

03Ramco Bhandham

Dear Friends,We firmly believe that development is a process that

involves balancing the growth with the protection of the environment. In line with this philosophy, conservation of energy has always remained as one of our main focus areas. As a part of our continuous endeavour, we have been constantly exploring opportunities for prevention of energy wastage. We have never hesitated to invest in cutting edge technology, which brings in more energy efficiency. Our measures for energy conservation have yielded results and have helped in achieving reduction in power and fuel consumption.

It is a matter of pride and honour for us to receive the “National Energy Conservation Award – 2012” from the hands of our Hon’ble President of India. The Award has been given to our Alathiyur Unit for achieving a considerable reduction in specific-energy consumption over the previous year. It is really a big motivation for us to move further in this direction. I urge all employees to think innovatively and come up with ideas and suggestions for optimising our energy consumption.

As we face the future, let us continue to strive for excellence and rise to challenges as we have done before. Let us ensure that our actions enable us to move forward and grow consistently. I am confident that we can count on your continued commitment to achieve greater heights in the years ahead.

Wishing you and your family all the very best.

P R Ramasubrahmaneya RajhaChairman & MD

Message from our CEO

Dear Colleagues,

As you are all aware that we are an ethic based organization and we expect every Ramcoite accords utmost importance to upholding professional integrity. The ba-sic premise for enshrining the tenets like professional freedom, transparency and open channels of communication in our MCL’s “Core Values and Beliefs” is that they form the very foundation for professional integrity and management ethics.

A list of top 10 professional attributes has been furnished in a book called ‘The Professional’, written by Subroto Bagchi. The author has collated this list by gathering views from a group of world-wide business leaders from diverse fields, who have high degree of reputation for their professionalism. Here they are:

1. Integrity2. Commitment and ownership3. Action orientation and goal seeking4. Continuous learning5. Professional knowledge/skills6. Communication7. Planning, organizing and punctuality8. Quality of work9. A positive attitude, approachability, responsiveness and10. Being an inspiring reference to others, thought leadership

You will appreciate the value of integrity in displaying a professional behaviour and I am sure that every one of you will strive to imbibe all the professional qualities on a continuous basis so that you shine as an exemplary leader setting an example for the coming generations to emulate and follow.

Wishing you all the very best.

A V Dharmakrishnan

Chief Executive Officer

04 Ramco Bhandham

Awards & AccoladesAlathiyur

Energy Conservation Award:Alathiyur Unit has been awarded the “National Energy Conservation Award-2012” by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency under the Ministry of Power. S Shanmugam, VP (Mfg) had the rare privilege of receiving this prestigious award from Hon’ble President of India during the occasion of Energy Conservation Day celebrated by the Ministry of Power, Govt of India on 14th Dec 2012 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi in the presence of Hon’ble Minister of State for Power Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia. We are receiving this award for the third time and we have received this award earlier in the year 2000 and year 2003. This award is being given by Bureau of Energy Efficiency for Power for conservation of energy (both electrical energy and fuel energy) and the main criteria for the award is the percentage of reduction in energy compared to the previous year. The specific power consumption at our Alathiyur Unit for the year 2012 was 68.56 KWHr per ton of cement which is around 5.7% reduction from the previous year and the specific fuel consumption for 2012 was 721 KCals/ Kg of Clinker which is 5.4% reduction from the previous year.

Environmental ExcellenceAlathiyur Unit has been given the “Green Tech Award for Environmental Excellence” in Gold category among the cement sector. This award is instituted by M/s.Greentech Foundation, New Delhi and supported by Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India.

Ariyalur Mines won 2nd Prize in Trichy Zone “A” for Safety in the heavy mechanized category (conventional mines). S Ramalingam, AVP(Works) and G R Magesh, AGM(Mines) are seen rece iv ing the Award f rom Shr i Sengup ta , DDGMS-South Zone.

Anil Bags the Best Paper Award

Ariyalur

Anil Kumar Pillai, AGM, Tech Services, was awarded the Best Paper Award for his Paper titled “Fly-ash in Concrete Quality and Ecological Perspective” in the 31st All India Cement Seminar held at Pune in October 2012. The Seminar was organised by Madurai Productivity Council

CIO Special Awards-2012Every year International Data Group (IDG India), the World’s leading Technology Media, Event and Research Group, who publishes CIO Magazine in India is selecting the best 100 projects and awarding as CIO 100 award.The CIO 100 Award is given to the organizations that use information technology in innovative way to deliver business value by creating

competitive advantage, optimizing business processes, enabling growth or improving relationship with customers. This year, G.Murugesan, GM (IT) of Corporate office, has been awarded the prestigious CIO 100 Award 2012 for our Geographical Applications System – GeoApps project in Hyderabad, on 6th Sep 2012.

05Ramco Bhandham

Quality Circle Awards

Ariyalur

RR Nagar

The Quality Circle Forum of India had organized 26th National Convention on Quality Concepts at IIT Kanpur from December 17 to 20, 2012. Around 1100 teams participated from all over India including 3 teams from our Ariyalur unit and two teams from alathiyur units Based on the Case Study report, Presentation & Knowledge test, they have categorized awards as follows: Par Ex-cellence – 1st Prize, Excellence – 2nd Prize, Distinction – 3rd Prize, Meritorious - 4th Prize.

Alathiyur

2 QC Teams from Alathiyur viz, Team Victory and Team Galaxy participated in the Convention and both the teams won Par Excel-lence Award

Team Victory of Mech Dept presented on the topic “Tool Introducing For Puller Modification” and the Team Galaxy of Electrical & Instrumentation Dept presented on the Topic “To Maintain Optimum Level Temperature In Control Room”

Daisy Tulip Orchid

3 Quality Circle teams participated in National Convention for the first time from our Ariyalur unit and bagged the following awards:

Orchid team of Mech Dept presented on theme EOT crane modification and won Par excellence award. Other two teams, Tulip of Instrumentation dept and Daisy of Electrical Dept won the Excellence Award (II Prize)

N Ravishankar, SVP (Mfg) addressing the participants during the Quality Circles Management Presentation held at RR Nagar on 15.08.12

Quality Circles Make Presentations to CMD at Jayanthipuram

06 Ramco Bhandham

Quality Circles Make Presentations to CMD at Jayanthipuram

The II prize winners of the event Ramco Riders, JPM team receiving memento and cash award from CMD.

The I prize winners of the event Ramco Sudarsan, JPM team receiving memento and cash award from CMD.

President-Mfg is explaining QC journey of JPM to CMD.CMD addressing the teams that participated in the event.

A quality circle, as you all know, is a voluntary group employees, who come together to identify, analyze and solve work-related problems and present their solutions to management in order to improve the performance of the organization, and motivate and enrich the work of employees. They meet at regular intervals and they are trained in the basic skills of problem identification, information gathering and analysis, basic statistics, and solution generation. Quality circles were first established in Japan in 1962; Kaoru Ishikawa has been credited with their creation. The movement in Japan was coordinated by the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE). The first circles were established at the Nippon Wireless and Telegraph Company but then spread to more than 35 other companies in the first year. By 1978 it was claimed that there were more than one million quality circles involving some 10 million Japanese workers. In India, QCFI (Quality Circle Forum of India) is promoting Quality Circle activities in organisations. In order to prioritise and identify the problems, to generate alternative solutions and arrive at the best possible solution, the Quality Circle teams make use of what are popularly known as 7 QC Tools and they are: The Ishikawa or fishbone diagram - which shows hierarchies of

causes contributing to a problem The Pareto Chart - which analyses different causes by

frequency to illustrate the vital cause, Process Mapping, Data gathering tools such as Check

Sheets Graphical tools such as histograms, frequency diagrams,

spot charts and pie charts Run Charts and Control Charts Scatter plots and Correlation Analysis

Flowcharts

The QC Story

07Ramco Bhandham

Corporate Citizenship

Cement bags were donated to Sri Thulakatamman Temple in Palliyagaram for building the temple.

Chengalpet

Road between Kattuputhur & Pullipakkam village (3.76 km) has been completed under Self Sufficiency

Scheme with 50% funding

RR Nagar

Blood Donation Camp was organised at RR Nagar under the aegis of HDFC bank on 6th December 2012 and many employees came forward to participate in this noble cause.

Here, N Ravishankar, SVP (Mfg) RR Nagar is seen donating blood

Alathiyur / Ariyalur

Under Self Sufficiency Scheme (Namakku Naamay Thittam) Alathiyur and Ariyalur units donated Rs.2 lakhs for

constructing swimming pool. S Ramaraj-SGM-Admin Alathiyur, C Ravichandran-GM- Admin, Ariyalur and

G R Magesh AGM-Mines handing over cheque to Shri Darez Ahmed-District Collector, Perambalur.

CMD rendering financial support to the physically challenged

Jayanthipuram

Kolaghat

A nine member team of International delegates from various developing countries visited the Kolaghat plant on 28th January 2013 on a Training Programme organized by Bureau of Indian

Standard. During their visit, a Play with Safety theme emphasizing on the use of PPEs was organized, which was

highly appreciated by the visiting delegates.

08 Ramco Bhandham

PPC vs. OPC: An interesting Analogy

I know you are smart enough to say that the muscular runners are 100m Sprinters and the trim and slender runners are Marathoners. But the subtler difference is this: If you ask both sprinters and marathoners to run a marathon of 42.195 kms, the sprinters would collapse before half the marathon, where as the marathoners would go on and on and probably even after the marathon run, they would ask ‘what next?’This interesting analogy was brought out by President

Both the pictures are taken from London Olympics. Can you spot the difference between the two sets of runners?

(Marketing) to highlight the difference between OPC and blended cement when he was interacting with the MACE team during a training workshop conducted at RRDC, Chennai on 15th March 2013. He also added that it is a matter of pride for us that we, Madras Cements, are the pioneers in introducing PPC as a blended cement brand way back in 1998. There was a huge PPC bashing in the industry but we made our RAMCO SUPERGRADE a grand success.

President (Marketing) interacting with Tamilnadu MACE team during the Training Workshop at RRDC

Inviting Your Participation/ Contributions:Dear Ramcoites,

You have been glimpsing the issues of our House Magazine Ramco Bhandham in the past. We now feel your active participation in the contents of the magazine can bring in a great reading experience for our fellow-Ramcoites. Hence, you are cordially invited to contribute any original work of yours such as an article of interest to our readers, photograph, poem or an art piece etc. to our house magazine. Our Editorial Advisory Board will help us in selecting the suitable contributions. If we publish your article, we want to accompany it with compelling images that illustrate your subject. You know your subject best, so we are appealing to you for images. We also appreciate an author photo to

accompany your write-up.Please also do share your feedback and suggestions on what you would like to see in your house magazine. You may send in your contributions and feedback/ suggestions to the Editor, Ramco Bhandham at gb@madrascements.co.in Cover photos:You may also submit images/ art-work/ photos for the cover. We are seeking thought-provoking approaches to visually communicating our Ramco Bhandhatwam or the emotional bond we, as Ramcoites, enjoy in being engaged with our Company—images which speak in new and interesting ways. Surprise us. Modern digital cameras put the power of making beautiful images in all our hands. Use the power and have fun!Looking forward to meeting you in the next issue.

- Editor, Ramco Bhandham09Ramco Bhandham

CMD Visits Jayanthipuram

CMD paying his reverential pranams to the Founder CMD hoisting the National Flag on Republic Day

CMD is given a guard of honour by the security force during Republic Day

Arulmigu Sidhi Vinayakar Temple Kumbhabhishekam

Consecration (Kumbhabhisekam) of Arulmigu Sidhi Vinayakar Temple at Ariyalur was performed on 23.01.2013 in the presence of our CMD. A large number of people including many prominent personalities of the locality like District Magistrate,

Panchayat Presidents and senior officials of MCL took part in this holy occasion.10 Ramco Bhandham

You may remember that RR Nagar Unit launched the 5S initiative last year on the Founder’s Day in the gracious presence of our CMD. Dr. R. Balakrishnan, 5S consultant, has been hand-holding us since the launch in the effective implementation of 5S. As we have started implementing the 5S practices at RR Nagar, we are able to realise that 5S bringing in multi-fold benefits: the clean work environment has improved the safety conditions and also better utilisation of space. There is also considerable saving of time since we are able to locate and retrieve not only the materials but also files and papers easily. Hence 5S helps in improving the productivity and also in reduction of inventory levels. 5S Practices started with 1-S activities in totally 46 Zones which include Production areas, Office area and beyond the work place areas. 1-S activities are 40% completed and 2S activities around 30% completed.Hands-on Involvement in cleaning:Apart from these visible benefits, the employee morale and teamwork has also improved considerably and there is a sense of belonging and ownership among the employees at large. All

RR Nagar- Work Excellence Through 5S

received by Workshop and for the Month of January 2013 by Stores Department. 5S internal Audit teams have been issued with overcoat which they wear during the 5S audit process.Action Plans Time office, 5S Zone display score board and 5S Gallery board

are being planned to be kept in front of Time Office. 2 S activities in various zones like identification of racks &

Cupboards, Oil storage area is in progress. We have started the pipeline painting (2S work) and

identification work as per 5 S Practices in Kiln and Rawmill section.

Mass 5S activity planned twice a month to speed up 5S activity and also to improve team work.

Weekly 5S progress review meetings are being regularly conducted to monitor the progress of 5S activities.

- N Ravishankar, Sr VP (Mfg), RR Nagar

the workmen, staff and officers involved themselves in the 5S activities with lot of enthusiasm and we have cleared more than 50 tonnes of scrap and set material from different zones without engaging any external labour. Apart from raising the team spirit and morale of employees, it has also brought in monetary savings in labour costs. 5S Award Ceremony:To motivate all the 46 zones to perform better continuously, a Rolling Trophy for the Overall Winner (Best performing zone) and six Rolling Shields for the first and second places in each of the 3 areas namely, the Production areas, Office areas and beyond the workplace areas. They are given to the zones based on the monthly internal audit score given by the plant audit team and the monthly external consultant audit score. The first Awarding Ceremony took place on 29th December 2012 and since then we had also presented the Rolling shield for the month of January-2013. Overall best shield for December 2012 was

Every day the zone leaders are advised to talk about 5S activities for not less than 30 min. to the zone members to speed up the 5S implementation process.

The 5S Team leaders and zone leaders are preparing the ACTION PLAN to complete the 1-S & 2S activities based on the audit feedback during the zone audit.

Every day the Zone Leaders conduct the 5S audit in their respective zones and display the current status in the 5S corner board to take corrective action.

Sr. VP (Mfg) issuing 5S Over coat to a 5S Internal Auditor

Team spirit at Mass 5S Activity

Tools codified and neatly arranged

11Ramco Bhandham

Sri Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamiji visits Jayanthipuram

Anugraha Bhashanam by his Holiness

Swamiji’s vaatsalya for the cow Dhuli Pada PoojaSwamiji performing Chandra Mouliswara Pooja

12 Ramco Bhandham

Sri Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamiji visits Jayanthipuram

Our Jayanthipurm was immensely fortunate to have the divine blessings of Jagadguru Shankaracharya Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamiji, the presiding Pontiff and the 36th in the line of Jagadgurus of the celebrated Sringeri Sri Sharada Peetham. His Holiness visited Jayanthipuram on 17th and 18th of February 2013 and showered His graces on the devotees. The devotees had gathered in huge numbers to have the darshan of Maha Swamiji and offered their obeisance to the Padukas of Holiness.Sri Bharathi Theertha Mahaswamiji has been the guiding spirit behind innumerable spiritual aspirants and our CMD and his family have been ardent devotees of Mahaswamiji.An erudite scholar, His Holiness has composed many a divine verse in praise of His Guru, the previous Gurus and various forms of God. His Holiness is also a versatile linguist. His discourses in chaste Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Hindi have pulled people from far and near towards treading a virtuous life.

Dhuli Pada Pooja Devotees in rapt attention during Swamiji’s discourse

Submission of Swagata Patra by CMD

Swamiji releases the book

13Ramco Bhandham

Guide To A Better LifeRandy Pausch, a 47-year-old computer-science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, died of pancreatic cancer in 2008, but wrote a book “The last lecture” before then, one of the bestsellers in 2007. In a letter to his wife and his children, he wrote this beautiful "guide to a better life".

Personality:1. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what

their journey is all about.2. Don't have negative thoughts of things you cannot control.

Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment. 3. Don't overdo; keep your limits 4. Don't take yourself so seriously; no one else does 5. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip 6. Dream more while you are awake 7. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..8. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner of his/her

mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.9. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate

others.10. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present 11. No one is in charge of your happiness except you 12. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn.13. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and

fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

14. Smile and laugh more15. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Community:16. Call your family often17. Each day give something good to others

18. Forgive everyone for everything 19. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age

of 6 20. Try to make at least three people smile each day 21. What other people think of you is none of your business 22. Your job will not take care of you when you are sick. Your

family and friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:23. Do the right things 24. However good or bad a situation is, it will change 25. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up 26. The best is yet to come

27. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.Forwarded by: Muthumariappan G, Asst Officer

–Support Services, Alathiyur

1. Make sure that your monitor is at arm's length away from you. your fingertips should barely be touching the screen. You should also be able to see over the top of the monitor.

2. The light you use should be on a low setting and out of your direct line of vision.

3. Make sure that the screen is square to your line of vision.

4. Your arms should be at a 90 degree angle and your elbow's bend.

5. You should be sitting up straight like a board with your back and butt against the chair.

6. Your chair should be well padded and fully adjustable.7. You Should have a wrist pad lying on the desk that you

can use to rest your hands on while you are not typing.8. Keep your feet flat on the floor and close together.

Office Ergonomics: The Right Posture

14 Ramco Bhandham

Tech-TalkFlyash in Concrete

(Excerpts from the award-winning Paper presented by the Author in the 31st All India Cement Seminar held at Pune)Benefits of using Flyash in ConcreteResearch Results from Literature of concrete using flyash and other blending materials: IS 1489 (Part 1):1991: Portland Pozzolona Cement - Specification – Part 1 Flyash based outlines the following advantages of Portland Pozzolona Cement: a. Produces less heat of hydration b. Offers greater resistance to the attack of aggressive waters than

normal Portland cementc. Reduces the leaching of calcium hydroxide liberated during

hydration Naik and Ramme have presented the following results based on the research conducted at precast /prestressed Concrete Plant with Class C flyash : a. Cement replacement of up to 30 percent with flyash increases

early strength compared with no flyash b. As the amount of flyash increases the water required for the

same workability in the mix decreases

c. Flyash use improves the workability of the mix and thus allows a decrease in the amount of water used.

d. For the same workability the water to cementitious ratio decreased significantly as the flyash content increases from zero to 30 percent replacement of cement

Thomas et al have emphasized on the following: a. Combination of silica fume and low CaO flyash is

complementary ; the silica fume improves the early age performance of concrete with flyash continuously refining the properties of hardened concrete as it matures.

b. In terms of durability blends are vastly superior to plain Portland cement concrete.

c. Most flyashes, regardless of composition, tend to reduce water demand of concrete and increase its resistance to fluid flow and the ionic diffusion. The beneficial effects of flyash on permeability and diffusivity tend to become more apparent with time (Maturity) especially in case of more slowly reacting low CaO flyashes.

Combination of silica fume and flyash in a ternary cement system should result in a number of synergistic effects which are as follows: Flyash increases long term strength development of silica

fume concrete Flyash offsets increased water demand of silica fume Very high resistance to chloride ion penetration can be

obtained with ternary blends Low CaO flyash compensates for higher heat release from

Type 10SF cement

Managers of Tech Services along with Ramalingam S, AVP (Works) Ariyalur and SVRK Murthy Rao, SGM (Process)

during the Internal Conference of Tech Services held at Ariylaur

Tech Services Team at Ariyalur Kolaghat Grinding Plant gets ISO14001

Kolaghat Grinding Plant has been certified IS/ISO 14001 : 2004 (Environmental Management

System) by BIS.

Office Ergonomics: The Right Posture

- Anil Kumar Pillai , AGM Tech Services

15Ramco Bhandham

- S Kishore, HRD Dept, Chennai

“A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle”, these inspiring words by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam reiterates that youth as a candle needs to be moulded and given a chance to enlighten themselves to make India a better place to live.On the above line, we at Madras Cements Ltd with deeply rooted culture and tradition are taking steps to infuse younger talent through campus placements by visiting various colleges across a gamut of streams. I was lucky enough to be a part of this journey of identifying the fresh talents. In the process, I had the opportunity of talking to a number of students and I was really amazed to see the enthusiasm and the interest the students showed to be a part of our company. The students are put through a rigorous selection process and the best talents are attracted to infuse young blood into the organisation. This will facilitate to have blend of young people and experienced hands to grow on a balanced pace and line. The young people showed a great amount of clarity and perseverance to be part of our organisation and I would see a wide spectrum of areas where the young people can be moulded into a successful professional to contribute to the growth of the organisation. I am searching for appropriate adjectives to describe the efforts and

Leader-speak

1. Can you tell us one person who has had a tremendous impact on you as a leader? Why and how did this person impact your life?

When I used to work for a Cement Project, at Uttar Pradesh state during 1980-83,at the age of 28years, I had the opportunity to work with Sri Kailash Nath Gupta, the then Project Director. His teambuilding efforts had great impact on my work culture and most importantly, his human approach in every aspect of organizational development inspired me a great deal. He used to hand-hold us and always gave us the feeling that he was behind us to support if we had any difficulty. That was how we gained confidence to take on any task, irrespective of how tough the task was.

2. What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess?

Integrity.3. What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today? Personal biases, prejudices and the political interference.4. How do you keep inspiring your people to set stretch goals

and walk the extra mile? I set tough targets for myself and when my people set target, I

encourage them to stretch and assure them of all the support. I also constantly review the progress and provide feedback at the right time.

5. What are the essential and core values of our organisation that sets it apart from the other companies?

Ethics, System oriented approach, participative management.

6. What would you look for in the people when you interview them for hiring?

Potential to perform and deliver results7. What advice would you like to give to the aspiring

leaders? Be sincere and honest to your profession.8. Life on the fast lane means meeting deadlines, related

stress and travel at odd hours. What is your mantra for stress management?

Take up yoga, Enjoy your work.9. What inspires you the most? When you get up in the

morning what are the thoughts that keep you energised for the day?

Drive for achieving the targets; the feeling of gratitude to whatever life has given us.

10. What would you like to tell our fellow-Ramcoites? Keep up the teamwork, encourage young people, always be

focused.

For the Leader-Speak column, we posed the following 10 questions to our President (Manufacturing) Shri P B Gopalakrishna and his responses are very insightful. We feature them here:

passion that was put forward by each individual during the process of selection. I got a bird’s eye view of the current younger generation and their trend in education and employment. Few snapshots of the efforts to attract young talents are also attached.

Infusing Fresh Talents – An Interesting Experience

MBA students participating in our campus selection

16 Ramco Bhandham

Marketing News – Tamilnad

Ramco team celebrated Diwali with Masons and their families in the Musiri area and the celebrations were organised at the Hotel Breeze, Trichy on 09.11.2012.

R Ramakrishnan, VP-Mktg addressing the gathering during the Dealers Meet at Trichy on 14.12.2012.

Our ICV transporter M/s.GARUDAR has won the ‘Regional Runner-up’ award for the Southern Region category in the recently held Mahindra Transport Excellence Awards 2012. Mr Saravanan (partner of M/s Garudar) is seen in the

Award ceremony picture published in Economic Times.

Transport Excellence Award to M/s Garudar

CMD inaugurates additional fleet of PMP Roadlines

M/s PMP Roadlines launched an additional fleet of seven new 21 tonner trucks on 5th December 2012. CMD graced the

occasion and participated in the Pooja held to mark the inauguration of the new trucks.

17Ramco Bhandham

Marketing News – Andhra Pradesh

Ramco sponsored a Picnic cum Family Get-together for the members of Visakapatnam Steel and Cement Dealers

Association at Vizag.

Our Marketing Team rushed to help and support the flood affected people in the areas of Anakkapalli and Payakkarao

pet by distributing food packers and blankets

PEP at Jayanthipuram

Learning Track

PEP at RR Nagar

Personal Effectiveness Programme (PEP) was conducted for executives at our Units by Ms Mahalakshmi of Prasanna

Trust, CoimbatoreMadras Cements net grows 9% on cost conservationOur BureauChennai, Feb. 13: “Sustained focus on containing costs” and improving efficiency, according to Madras Cements’ CEO, A.V. Dharmakrishnan, have contributed to the company reporting a nine per cent jump in net profit for the third quarter of the current year compared with the corresponding quarter previously.For the quarter ended December 31, the company reported a net profit of Rs 83.60 crore (Rs 76.84 crore) on a total income of Rs 904.95 crore (Rs 744.07 crore).Normally, the third quarter is a slow period for cement companies due to monsoons and drop in contribution from captive wind mills, which contribute to revenues in the first two quarters. But the continued focus on containing costs is beginning to pay off, he said.On the increased finance costs of Rs 42.85 crore (Rs 37.40 crore), he said the company’s thermal power projects and the grinding unit at Ariyalur have gone on stream. Also, previously the company had availed of loans at a fixed interest rates which are now being reset closer to base rates.Madras Cements has finalised plans to set up a 0.95-million-tonne grinding unit in Andhra Pradesh with an investment of Rs 350 crore. The work on the project will start once the statutory clearances are in place.The company has announced a second interim dividend of Re 1 per share for the 2012-13.

18 Ramco Bhandham

Marketing News – Kerala

President (Marketing) presenting the RAMCO jersey to a member of the Santosh Trophy Kerala Football Team, as Kerala Minister

Mr.K.C.Babu looks on, at the press conference on 17th Feb 2013. Our Company is the Title Sponsor of Team Kerala.

Ramco- The Title Sponsor of Team Kerala in Santosh TrophyIt is matter of great pride and pleasure for us for us at MCL that we were the principal sponsor of the Kerala Football Team in the recently concluded 67th National Senior Football Championship for Santhosh Trophy held at Kochi This is the first time, MCL has associated itself in a big way with

President Marketing handing over trophy and cash award to a member of Santosh Trophy Team Kerala in the presence of

Kerala Minister Shri K Babu and President of Kerala Football Association.

a sporting event in Kerala. They joined hands with Kerala Football Association (KFA) and have aggressively promoted the 67th Santhosh Trophy in Kerala. The inputs and the suggestions offered by Shri K. Babu, Hon Minister for Excise Fisheries and Ports, Kerala, is certainly one of the important reasons for the success of the tournament. Shri K.M.I Mather, the President of KFA was the pillar of strength behind the Santhosh Trophy Championships in Kerala and has played an active role in the smooth conducting of all the events connected with the tournament. The moment the sponsorship of the Kerala Football Team for the Championship was formalised, Ramco's innovative marketing team sprung into action. They lost no time in putting up adver tisements and large hoardings in the remotest villages of Kerala with the s logan Keralathe Vijayippikkoo (Go For Kerala). That message travelled like a whirlwind, thanks to the excellent network of dealers, associates, channel partners and Ramco's lacs and lacs of customers. The wonderful campaign undertaken by Ramco is the first of its kind in any Santhosh Trophy Football championships in Kerala, admits

This had brought in thousands of football crazy Keralites from Kasargode to Thiruvanantha puram to the stadium on all days especially when the Kerala Team played. The jingle and the contest in the FM radio had generated great enthusiasm and impact in the promotion of the event. Even Bus shelters wore a festive look with the posters of the Kerala Players beaming in the Ramco jerseys. We feel proud and contented that our association with the KFA has worked highly productive and we look forward to an excellent partnership with KFA in future. We genuinely feel that riding on the frenzy created by the Santhosh Trophy Championship in Kerala, it can build a Team in Kerala which would bring back the glory, passion and excitement of the global game of football back into the Gods Own Country and to the hearts of hundreds of

thousands of football lovers across the state and beyond.This is the beginning of a strong bond between Ramco Supergrade Cement and Kerala Football Association in the larger interest of promoting sports in general and the game of football in particular in Kerala.

KFA. Ramco, in its overwhelming enthusiasm to bring the universal game of football into the forefront of Kerala sports arena, had put up more than 200 hoardings across Kerala announcing the sponsorship of the Kerala Football Team in the Championship.

Team Kerala in a jubiliant mood

- P Viswanathan, DGM (Marketing), Kerala

19Ramco Bhandham

20 Ramco Bhandham

CORPORATE OFFICE Murugan V Sr.Manager-CivilHaresh M Dy.Manager-AuditPradeep R Asst.Manager-Recruit.&PMPrem Balaji S Jr.Manager-AuditNaresh Kumar D Officer Dev. Tr.-GeologyBharathi Kannan K Junior Manager-Landscape RAMCO R&D CENTRE Raja B Chemist TraineePalkumar B Chemist TraineeSivarama Krishna K Chemist TraineeBheeshmareddy P Chemist Trainee MARKETING Ramesh Barath Sr.DGM-Brand ManagementAvik Haldar Graduate Engr.Tr.-Tech.SrPrithwiraj Chatterjee Sales OfficerAnbalagan B Sales OfficerJyotish S Kumar Sales OfficerVeera Bhadra Rao B Sales OfficerKishore Babu M Sales OfficerMahesh M S Sales OfficerMurugesha N Sales OfficerManoj Kumar Sales OfficerRaman P Sales OfficerSwaroop G V D Sales OfficerSujesh Kumar P M Sales OfficerVedanayaga Prabahar A S Sales OfficerRajasekhar K S Sales OfficerRajasekhar C H Sales OfficerUttam Mahato Dy.Sales OfficerDibakar Das Dy.Sales Officer-Tech SerSreejith K Dy.Sales OfficerSreejith D Dy.Sales OfficerKrishnan Unni M Dy.Sales OfficerDanny Davis Dy.Sales OfficerRajkumar K Dip.Engr.Tr.-Tech ServRajasekhar N Dy.Sales OfficerAvinash N Acharya Dy.Sales OfficerSuresh V Dy.Sales OfficerHarihara Sudhan R Dy.Engineer–Tech ServicesPavan Kumar K Sales TraineePrasanna S Sales TraineeRam Kumar N Sales TraineePrabhakaran V K Dy.Sales OfficerPragadeeswaran G Dy.Sales OfficerRakesh P C Sales Trainee

Naveen A N Dy.Officer-Sales Promn.Vinoth M Sales TraineePonmuthu M Dy.Sales OfficerArnab Gupta Majumdar Asst.Officer-Support ServBishnupada Sahoo Marketing Services Tr.Satheeshkumar G Distribution TraineeRamkumar P Accounts Trainee R.R.NAGAR Veerabagu A GM-Production & ProcessMuralitharan K DGM-Admin. & LiaisonKrishnasami S DGM-PersonnelRamesh M Sr.Manager-Thermal Power PlantJagadeesh S Asst.Manager-PersonnelJesu Michael Alexander M Jr.Officer-SecurityKaruppasamy P Accounts TraineeThangaraja P Chemist TraineeGanesan R Apprentice - MechVenkatesan J CookNatarajan R Apprentice - InstrumentationManikandan P Apprentice - MechManikandan A Apprentice - Mech

JAYANTHIPURAM Anjaneyulu K Asst.Manager-GeologySai Kumar N Engg.Dev.Tr.-Inst.Rambabu S Officer-ProcessSreekanth K Timeoffice TraineeRaja Venkata Rao G Accounts Trainee ALATHIYUR Meenakshi Sunddaram S Graduate Engr.Tr.-Mech.Hanumath Prasad G Graduate Engr.Tr.-ProcessKaruppaiah P Asst.Officer-SecuritySatish Kumar V Apprentice - MechBattula Rajesh Apprentice - ElectricalBalamurugan N Apprentice - MechSingaravelu M Apprentice - MechBalamurugan G Apprentice - MechSubburaj P Apprentice - MechVairavasamy K Apprentice - Mech ARIYALUR Mathialagan G AGM-Admin & LiaisonSankar G Chemist TraineeGanesan B Temple Priest

Balamurugan D Apprentice - MechSelvakumar R Apprentice - MechSoundararajan G Apprentice - MechManikandan S Apprentice - MechSanthoshkumar R Apprentice - MechKalaivanan K Apprentice - MechKaleeswaran A Apprentice - MechSivasankaran B Apprentice - MechDharmalingam M Apprentice - MechRajkumar B Apprentice - MechMuthukumar G Apprentice - MechAnantha Raj P Apprentice - MechAyyavu S Apprentice - MechKaliappan K Apprentice - MechArun Kumar C Apprentice - MechBagavathi T Apprentice - Fitter MATHOD Mallikarjuna Reddy M Sr.Manager-QCPushpanathan R Officer-ProcessChandrashekhara Patil K T Chemist TraineeChidanandappa G Chemist TraineeVinay H Chemist TraineePraveena R Chemist Trainee CHINGELPET GRINDING UNIT Meenashisundaram R Sr.GM-Works SALEM GRINDING UNIT Madhusudan K GM-WorksMurugan M Dy.Engineer-ProcessKrishnabharathi D Chemist TraineeDevendiran S Apprentice - InstrumentationPackiyaraj D Apprentice - FitterBalamurugan M Apprentice - FitterPrakash R Apprentice - Electrical KOLAGHAT GRINDING UNIT Gopal Paul Graduate Engr.Tr.-Mech. RMC PLANT Sudhagar K Apprentice DRY MIX PLANT Sengamuthu A Apprentice - Electrical

Welcome to the Ramco Family

Murugan V SM-Civil, Corp.Office

Ramesh M, Sr.Manager-Thermal Power Plant, RRN

Ramesh Barath, Sr.DGM-Brand Management,

Corp

Mathialagan G AGM-Admin & Liaison,

ARY

Veerabagu A, GM-Production & Process,

RRN

Mallikarjuna Reddy M Sr.Manager-QC, MTD

Muralitharan K, DGM-Admin. & Liaison,

RRN

Meenashisundaram R Sr.GM-Works CGU

Krishnasami S, DGM-Personnel,

RRN

Madhusudan K, GM-Works, SGU

Encomia from Ramcoites of the past and present

AchieversMaster Avinash Krishna, son of Muruganandham, Officer Liaison at Ariyalur Unit, won 3rd - Runner-up prize in National Abacus competition held at Pune on 25.11.2012 which was conducted by SIP Academy, India.

It is a matter of pride for us that a student from our

PACR Industrial Training Institute, Ariyalur has been

adjudged as the BEST CRAFTSMEN in

Instrument Mechanic trade in the STATE OF

TAMILNADU in 49th State Skill Competition held in December 2012.

PACR ITI Student gets the Best Craftsman Award

Smart Kid

If you want to know work-atmosphere in different companies, the best place to go is a job site where people freely post their comments about various aspects without any restraints, since there is complete anonymity about the person. Their comments can sometimes, be very merciless. When I was recently browsing through the reviews posted in http://jobbuzz.timesjobs.com , I happened to land upon reviews of MCL by our ex and present Ramcoites. I was pleasantly delighted to find all the 17 reviews posted in the site were not only very positive but all 17 of them had also recommended MCL for joining employment. Here is the Score Card of MCL as given in Jobbuzz (ratings are on a scale of 5):Score Card Salary 4.4 Work Life Balance 4.2 Corporate Culture 4.1 Rewards & Recognition 3.9 Participative Management 4.0 Learning & Development 4.5 Career growth Plan 4.0 Communication 4.2

100% employees (17 reviewers) recommend Madras Cements Ltd and the top reasons for working in MCL are given as Remuneration 69% Learning & Development 57% Work/Life balance 45%I have just reproduced verbatim (without any editing) one review here, as a sample and you can see other reviews in the referred web-site. Very good colleagues and bosses.What are the main reasons for people to consider long careers in this organization?First reason would be a very good and supportive work environment

starting from the senior most level and you would be given importance not depending upon the position you hold or you are working in but on the ideas and the way you think about and put forth. You are always encouraged and all your views will be considered and given importance. You will have an increased confidence and encouraged by the top management to directly participate in some critical decisions which will help the growth.

What are the main reasons because of which employees leave the organization?As I am concerned I had to leave of some personal reasons but as far as my colleagues who had left at the time while I was working with the company were due to hike in salary from other companies and for the growth in positions but even after leaving the job whomever I have met (I mean to say those colleagues who had left the company for the reasons of salary and higher positions) have all regretted the decision of leaving madras cements ltd

What does the company do to create a work environment which ensures employees are more productive and motivated?There were always been continuous and periodical training programmes for the employees and directly GM sir will discuss with you regarding the problems you have and try to sort them out to the maximum extent and your senior colleagues always give a good support to you when you really feel that you are in need of some help. Work environment will be so good that you will feel more as you are working with your family members like elder and younger brothers.

How good are the career opportunities for employees in your functional area?If you are a fresher then I can say that it will lay down a perfect foundation for your growth and madras cements is such a good platform for your career growth and success that I can assure you that If you leave the company also after some 3-4 years minimum one day you will feel proud that you have really worked for some very good company which has got some good values and good working environment and some good colleagues and very good top management who are very helpful and friendly.

21Ramco Bhandham

Jayanthipuram

RR Nagar

Alathiyur

Orientation program for the KG Teachers of MCL schools, Chinmaya vidyalaya and Rotary Vidyalaya from

Rajapalaiyam on 15th Dec 2012 S Muthukrishnan, Administrator (Education) welcomes the participants

Kalathapasvi Sri K.Viswanath, renowned Film Director being felicitated by President(Mfg) during a School function

Ramco Vidyalaya Karate team won the Champion of Champions Trophy in the South Zone KARATE

championship at Kovilpatti

Prof Rahmath Bibi of Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan College graced the Inaugural function of Tamil Ilakkiya Mandra on 6th Dec 2012 at Vidya Mandir School, Alathiyur and here

S Ramaraj, SGM (Admn), Alathiyur is seen addressing the gathering.

Our Schools (RRN & JPM) get CBSE Affiliation

Ramco Vidyalaya at RR Nagar and Srimathi Sethuramammal Vidya Mandir at Jayanthipuram have got CBSE affiliation up to Secondary Level

22 Ramco Bhandham

Around our Schools

23Ramco Bhandham

Hearty Wishes for a Happy Married Life

Fare Forward Ramco Bhandam Wishes A Happy And Healthy Retired Life!

Mr.SNM Suri, DGM-Personnel retired on 24.10.2012.

Ganesan V S, AGM-Mines retired on 14/11/2012

R.Ganesan weds G.Kalieswari on

23/11/2012

S.Ganesh Kumar weds

G.Kiruthika on 5/12/2012

K. Srinivasa Varadhan

weds S. Padmaja on 28/10/2012

A.Manohar weds

M.Chitra Devi on 19-07-2012

R.Murugan weds M.Sujitha

on 22/08/12

D.Ashokkumar weds

S.Ceema on 03.09.2012

Palpandiyan weds

P.Murugeshwari on 18-11-2012

M.Kalimuthu weds

K.Palani Priya on 23.11.2012

Rama Rao Patibanda weds

Chy.Sneha Pallavi on 23.11.12

T.Shanmugam weds Devi on 28.10.2012

D.Karthikeyan weds

M.Indhumathi on 23.11.2012

T.Jawahar weds

Nandhini on 28-10-12

K.Karthick weds

G.Gomathi on 20.08.2012

CEO attended the marriage function of the daughter of Madan Mohan G, VP-Admin (JPM) and showered his blessings on the young couple

T Narendra Babu weds T Lavanya on 12-08-2012

Palaniappan V , Sr.Manager-Security, Ariyalur, retired on 01/01/2013

Kandasamy R, Attendant - HEO, Alathiyur, retired on 12/02/2013

N V Siva Perumal, Sr.Officer-Accounts retired on 19/10/12

N.S.Sasidharan retired on 08-09-2012

K.Rajendran,Attendant –Lab. retired on 03/11/2012

P Kannan, Officer-Time Office retired on 23/09/12