CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday launched a new brand of cement -- Valimai (Mighty) -- manufactured by the Tamil Nadu Cements Corporation Limited (TANCEM), which commenced sales at a function held at the secretariat.
Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu told reporters that the Valimai brand cement will be available in the open market too. The two varieties of this brand of cement are available at Rs 350 (Portland Pozzolana Cement) and Rs 365 (Ordinary Portland Cement) per bag. A transportation charge of Rs 30-35 may be added to the price of these varieties.
As of now, 30,000 metric tonnes of Valimai brand cement will be manufactured every month. The minister exuded confidence that this new brand would fulfill the expectations of the people of the state in construction work.
The minister said the quality of Valimai is on par with other brands of cement available in the market.
The minister said the Valimai brand is manufactured using new technology and this product has a unique strength in terms of heat resistance, quick setting, greater compression strength etc.
Responding to a question, the minister said, "A significant portion of the cement produced by TANCEM has been used for construction work by government departments like public works, rural development, highways, etc. The basic reason for launching this brand of cement is to make available quality cement at an affordable cost to all sections of society.”
Asked about the Amma brand of cement introduced during the previous AIADMK regime that was sold at Rs 190 per bag compared to which the price of Valimai cement has gone up significantly, the minister said, "The price has been fixed considering the prices of ingredients used for manufacturing Valimai brand, using modern technology.”
Asked whether the Amma brand of cement has been rebranded as Valimai, the minister replied in the negative, saying, "Arasu cement was named as Amma cement and it will be there. Already, the cement produced by TANCEM was predominantly used by government departments. Now, the Valimai brand is made for all public use also and this brand can compete with all available brands of cement."
"TANCEM will take all steps for this brand of cement to reach the people. Already, stockists are there for TANCEM cement varieties. If there is more demand in the coming days, TANCEM will make appropriate arrangements to make it available for all," he added.