Sunny Surlaker, Head Admixtures Division, MC-Bauchemie (India) Pvt Ltd talks about the factors buyer should consider before making a decision of buying construction chemicals.

Create awareness regarding benefits
Commenting on the current trends in procurement of construction chemicals Sunny Surlaker said, “Procurement-wise construction chemicals are often a misunderstood segment in construction. Construction chemicals are a bridge between the construction industry and the chemical industry. Although our systems are gaining popularity for use in construction projects especially admixtures, these systems cannot be procured as simple commodities.”

Many times there is unlink between the technical department and the commercial or procurement department and this may lead to an incorrect solution being adopted simply on the basis of cost, he observed. “Customers are not willing to spend much on construction chemicals as they are still not fully aware of the benefits and hence tend to use low-cost substitutes. Decisions are taken based on immediate cost and not on overall benefits achieved from the usage of these materials. These procurement systems and mind-sets need to evolve and consider a cost-to-benefit, in the interest of durable and sustainable construction,” Sunny Surlaker suggests.
Major buying factors
Procurement of construction chemicals is as technical a field as commercial. According to Sunny Surlaker some of the factors to be considered in purchase of construction chemicals should include:
• Experience of the company providing the solutions
• Experience of applicators applying systems
• Quality of the system
• Does it meet the performance requirements?
• Bonafide references
• International affiliations of the company
• Life cycle of product system in question, under applied conditions
• Eco-friendliness of the system
• Durability of the system
• Cost of the system per unit work as opposed to benefit it provides.

Innovation is the key
Construction chemicals industry is keeping up with the latest technology available world-wide and are localising the technologies to suit Indian conditions. The materials and application technologies too are evolving in the market place and Sunny Surlaker estimates this trend will only get stronger to provide end-users with a truly durable and sustainable construction. He further adds, “Innovations are happening across the board in admixtures, waterproofing, repair and flooring solutions, with newer material technologies, application methodologies and systems, and the upcoming years would be an interesting time for development of Indian industry, technologically speaking.”

Leading constructors lead the way with optimal use of construction chemicals
Commenting on if the industry is ready to use advanced construction materials optimally, Sunny Surlaker says, “We believe the industry is mature enough to use advanced construction chemicals optimally. Awareness of our field is low despite the industry being over 25 years old. However, leading constructors are leading the way with optimal use of construction chemicals, we are sure the general industry will follow.”

MC-Bauchemie’s USP
Commenting on the USP of MC-Bauchemie, Sunny Surlaker said, “Today construction demands the mantra of durability. The focus is very high on doing things once and doing it right. MC-Bauchemie’s systems have over time, proven this effectively. Customers should and do go for our systems solely based on trust, quality and service.”

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Customers are not willing to spend much on construction chemicals as they are still not fully aware of the benefits and hence tend to use low-cost substitutes.

Sunny Surlaker, Head Admixtures Division, MC-Bauchemie (India) Pvt Ltd