Prasad Chandran, Chairman,
BASF Companies in India & Head South Asia
 
“Currently with the market size of about 2000 crores and limited penetration, the construction chemicals industry has the potential to grow at over 20% p.a. in the future.”
 
Indian Construction Industry: Construction industry has been a major growth driver for the Indian Economy in the recent years. It is not only a major contributor to the GDP but, also the second largest employment generating industry in India.
Increased focus of Central and State Government on infrastructural development viz. construction of roads, bridges, ports, metros, power projects, urban drinking water and sanitation projects would provide major impetus to the growth of construction industry. In addition, growing demand from a fast-expanding population (forecast to reach 1.34bn by 2018) will continue the need for increased capacity in the country’s housing, transport and utilities sectors. Service sectors such as IT, ITES would keep growing in the long term and provide additional demand for commercial space. The growth of construction industry has direct linkage to growth of construction chemicals market. Construction chemicals are one of the growth enablers for the construction industry.
 
Construction Chemicals – The enablers to success: Construction Chemicals came into existence almost 100 years ago. They progressed from being used as an additional measure to enhance performance to becoming an essential component of every construction project by end of 20th century. For instance: Today, we are able to carry concrete to long distances and pump it into tall structures, which was unthinkable without the use of concrete admixtures in the past. A high-performance waterproofing membrane allows construction of deeper basements for vehicle parking thus, reducing the traffic/vehicular congestion in cities like Mumbai. High-end, Expansion Control System enables longer spans of bridge girders and smooth riding comforts. Sealant enables water-tight seals in buildings. The repair and protection products enable retrofitting of the existing structures and minimize the need for new construction. The credit for all these advancements in construction goes to the construction chemicals industry, which has evolved over a period of time.
Besides, construction chemicals enable faster, safer and durable construction. They are essential for the safety of the workmen and conserving/minimizing the usage of our national resources. Environment-friendly and energy saving development, which is the future mega-trend, will be greatly supported by the construction chemicals industry.
•     For instance, one MT of clinker production emits one MT of the carbon dioxide. Usage of construction chemicals can effectively help in minimizing the cement consumption for same performance, thereby reducing carbon dioxide emission.
•     Current dwellings consume significant amount of energy. The challenge for construction and construction chemical industry will be to innovate and devise a mechanism to construct buildings which generate energy instead of consuming it!
•     Rising temperatures: In India, as per statistics confirmed by the Indian Meteorological Dept (IMD), the annual mean temp for 2009 was 25.55 Celsius, 0.913 Celsius higher than the long-term average of 24.64 Celsius. Combination of construction chemicals and insulating materials will not only reduces inside temperature but also helps user to secure Green status. BASF’s ITG Construction has a developed Insulation+water proofing solution to meet challenges such as these.
Though construction chemicals are a very small proportion of the construction industry, they have a big impact on performance of the structures. Currently with the market size of about 2000 crores and limited penetration, the industry has the potential to grow at over 20% p.a. in the future.
 
Innovations in Construction Chemicals Industry: Innovations have always remained at the forefront to enhance growth of construction chemicals industry. Today, we look forward to solutions to future challenges faced by construction industry and work towards development of the same.
We are able to conceive taller, longer, larger and long-lasting structures with the help of construction chemicals. And this is exactly where constru  ction and chemistry complement each other. Because it is chemistry that repeatedly makes possible new and outstanding achievements in the world of construction. In a nutshell: Chemistry is building the future.  We, at BASF study many of the mega-trends and challenges for construction industry and use them as basis for our development/innovation projects. Some the mega-trends and challenges we all should focus and develop solutions are:
•      Energy efficient buildings
•      Alternative cementing materials (greener than OPC)
•      Alternative to steel in construction
•      How to increase the speed of construction
•      How to re-use building waste
•      Green building construction
•      Low-cost housing for masses
Thus, innovations offered by the construction chemicals industry have enabled change of construction practices from time-to-time and bolstered the construction process.
 
Sustainable Construction: Another worldwide mega-trend spotted is: increasing urbanization and the formation of megacities. Half of the world’s population already lives in cities. And this trend is gathering pace especially in India. Urbanization and growth dynamics in the rising economies are also pushing up demand for raw materials and energy. This, together with other global trends such as rising living standards or aging population, is having a direct impact on the way in which we build houses and live in it. By opting for energy efficient construction processes, we can make a significant contribution in preventing climate change.
 
‘Sustainability’ in construction is increasingly becoming important, as construction, maintenance and use of building materials substantially impact the environment. Construction Chemicals industry can play a very important partner role with the construction industry by enabling green construction solutions like External Insulation and finishing, Composite roof insulation cum waterproofing built-ups, VOC free sealants, and self-compacting concrete for complex/thin concrete members.
 
Way Forward: India is a growing and learning economy. On one hand, we have construction projects where treatment ratio is as high as some of the developed countries; while many projects are still at a very low treatment ratio. The construction chemicals fraternity must therefore come together and use the recently formed Construction Chemicals Manufacturer’s Association (CCMA) as a platform to address these issues. The CCMA must focus on popularizing the usage of construction chemicals in India by conducting knowledge workshops for designers, builders and end-users. CCMA can work together with Green Building Institutes and Ministry of Power to enable developers and end-users, interested in greener and energy-efficient building solutions to opt for it. Besides, imparting knowledge to the beginners by closely working with technical institutes will help accelerate the usage and importance of construction chemicals. And definitely conferences like one organized by FICCI, make their own contribution in getting the industry together and sharing best practices.
 
Conclusion: Construction chemical industry is in its infancy at this moment. The practices established at this stage may become the trends in the long-run and hence it will be appropriate to remain careful at this stage on various counts.
•      Improving quality standards in manufacturing of the products. Many good technologies may die an early death if the
·         products supplied do not meet requirements of sustainable development
•      Application expertise is crucial to the success of specialty construction chemicals. The industry should invest in training of the applicators and raising the standards in application techniques.
•      Follow ethics, exhibit high moral conduct 
To summarize, sustainable development is a choice at the moment but soon enough, this choice will turn into a mandatory obligation. Reviewing our current business activities with a more sustainable perspective, construction businesses could go beyond reducing detrimental environmental impacts.
 
We should remember that; “We don’t inherit the world from our ancestors…We just borrow it from our children”.