Sankar Cement — one of independent India’s first cement brands that began production in 1949 and played a quiet but crucial role in shaping South India’s landmark projects like the Pamban Bridge and IIT Madras — has quietly reached its sunset moment this month.
India’s largest cement manufacturer UltraTech Cement, which acquired The India Cements Ltd (ICL) in December 2024, phased out Sankar, along with two other iconic brands of the Chennai-based major — Coromandel and Raasi — from April.
This is part of a larger strategy by UltraTech, the Aditya Birla Group’s flagship company, to unify the marketing process and improve cement quality, bringing all under the UltraTech brand.
This will also help UltraTech on its road to becoming the largest cement brand in the world, outside China.
Sources told Business Standard that Conkrete Super King (CSK), dubbed Dhoni Cement in the market and heavily marketed using M S Dhoni and the IPL franchisee Chennai Super Kings (CSK) branding, may also be integrated into the UltraTech fold as part of brand integration.
This is also seen as a move to bring in larger brand tie-ups with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), which a consortium led by the Aditya Birla Group (ABG) acquired for a staggering $1.78 billion last month.
However, multiple company sources said there are no such immediate plans now, as they are just part of a group of investors.
“On March 31, India Cements discontinued supply of Sankar, Coromandel and Raasi. UltraTech itself has a premium brand value, and this is part of the larger group brand integration strategy,” said a source aware of the development.
However, UltraTech did not respond to questions from Business Standard. Another source said this is also improving cement quality by using blended cements (PPC) instead of the previous cement, which had a higher share of clinker.
India Cements was founded in 1946 by S N N Sankaralinga Iyer and T S Narayanaswami. The company set up its first cement plant in 1949 at Talaiyuthu, a tiny hamlet in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu.
According to old-timers in the company, the Sankar brand got its identity from its founder’s name.
In a recent investor call, UltraTech chief financial officer (CFO) Atul Daga said the company was rapidly converting India Cements brands with a sharp focus on improving the quality of the product manufactured at the acquired plant locations.
By the end of Q3, the brand transition of India Cements had reached 58 per cent, and UltraTech had lined up around ₹601 crore as part of its cost improvement capital expenditure programme.
“The company’s celebrated Sankar brand was associated with historic projects like Pamban Bridge, Idukki Dam, Kudankulam Nuclear Plant, and IIT Madras. Coromandel also contributed to building modern IT and infrastructure projects like the Infosys Building in Bengaluru and Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad,” said a former company employee.
Raasi came into the company’s fold in late 1990s through one of the first high-profile hostile takeovers under the new Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) regime through which ICL acquired Raasi Cements.
After completing the acquisition in December 2024, UltraTech came out with plans to achieve a strategic turnaround of the company. It focused on performance improvements through measures such as debottlenecking at key plants, expanding operations at select locations, and setting a goal of making the company profitable.
It also reportedly lined up ₹4,400 crore investment plan to expand production capacity and modernise operations.
Concrete plans
UltraTech Cement to phase out the brands Sankar, Coromandel, and Raasi starting in April
Move part of a larger strategy, to unify the marketing process and improve cement quality
Consolidation key to help firm become the largest cement brand in the world, outside China
Conkrete Super King may also be integrated into the UltraTech fold as part of the larger brand integration
