Schwing Stetter set to popularise dry mortar concept in India

Venkatachari Jagannathan
26 October 2002

It was then that he decided to look for faster alternatives. He soon found one: dry mortar, which is a ready-mix of cement, sand and addictives for plastering walls, with water mixed at the construction site. The product is sold in bulk mixtures as well as in bags, like cement.

Credited for popularising the RMC (ready-mix concrete) concept in India with its truck mixers criss-crossing the city roads, Schwing Stetter has now tied up with another German company, M-tec Mathis Technick Gmbh, part of the euro 70-million Maxit group, to supply machinery for making dry mortar, wall plastering and mortar pumping equipment in India and South Asia.

Apart from masonry mortar, the other kinds of mixtures are external and internal renders, including decorative renders, conventional floor screeds, insulating mortars, grouts, tile adhesives, joint fillers, sound proofing and renovation mortars.

“In India we will first target cement companies and later construction companies,“ says Sundaresan. The company has already bagged a contract from a Chennai-based cement manufacturer, and discussions are on with eight other cement players.

Making dry mortar is not just mixing sand, cement and other aggregates. The process begins with the study of sand variety available for construction in a chosen area. “That determines the additives to be used in preparing the dry mortar,“ says M-tec Mathis Technik business manager (India) Michael Monz. Apart from selling the machinery, the German company will also sell the know-how for making the additives.

But the success of the dry mortar and plastering equipment largely depends on the value it offers in terms of reduction in construction time and labour costs for construction companies. As a matter of fact, RMC gained market acceptance only after the withdrawal of excise duty on it, resulting in reduction of prices.