Birla White Tracing the Roots Birla White, a key brand in white cement industry, in the beginning was

a part of Indian Rayon and Industries Limited. It acquired the technology required for white cement production from Onoda (Japan) the world leader in white cement. Birla White had the capacity of production doubled in just one year, an accomplishment considered astounding in the sector at that time. It has restated the definition of use of white cement as the solution to construction-related problems as well as in design-oriented campaign. The cement business of Indian Rayon including Birla White was merged with Grasim industries later on. White cement was initially used by small scale tile manufacturers and applicators, which beame a cause for stagnation of white cement as a category. Birla White through creating awareness about the brand constantly followed up with paint dealers and imparted education to them to lead to enhanced knowledge about the applications by extensive site demonstrations. Birla White repositioned itself by moving to the dcor area including whole range of surface finishes. Sustaining and increasing customers through planned customer engagement programmes, CRM being implemented and building active, pro-active and alliance relationships was the business strategy used by Birla White. Assistance was provided to industrial buyers to win businesses from their customers and a key customer account management team was appointed. As a result of all this, the Birla White market share saw a gradual increase to 60 per cent in 2006-2007 a major improvement considering that the market share was below 50 per cent in 1999. The Winning Chemistry Birla White remained sensitive to the customers' needs, demands and preferences from time to time which paved the way for Birla White's success in construction industry. Catchy and impactful advertisements were used to promote the various products of Birla White. An advertisement on Birla White putty with the punchline Papdi ki Chhutti made a good association of the brand with the consumers, engineers, distributors/promoters and end customers (individual house builders). Birla White cement wash advertisement highlighted the superior anti-transfer property of cement washes against the commonly used lime. It lead to sale of the application without diverting attention from the main product white cement. To build a bond with tomorrows influences the company has instituted the Biral White Yuva Ratna Awards, a design competition for budding architects, which will be a good way for familiarisation of future architects with the brand. The aim of this initiative is to encourage young architects to use white cement creatively. Birla White is more advantageous than paints because it has products which are cement-based making them last longer than other finishing alternatives like paint. Significant efforts have also been made to diversify its product portfolio. The company has a strong global presence in the developed European and fast-growing Asian markets. The Indian Power House Showcase Birla White continues to maintain a global benchmark in White Cement category through valueadded products with continued efforts on upgrading quality and customer delight/confidence delivering superior value to a broad range of customers, shareholders, employees and society at large with increased focus on living by values. Technological innovations provide unbeatable results in products using its applications owing to its high refractive index and high opacity, which impart brilliant lustre and a smooth finish to surfaces, even when blended with pigments. Birla

White was the first to introduce sealed valve bags for Wallcare Putty packaging to curb adulteration. IMC-Ramakrishna Bajaj National Quality Award, Golden Peacock Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Award 2009, National Energy Conservation Awards 2009, The Economic Times and Frost and Sullivan IMEA Platinum Award 2009, 10th Annual Greentech Environment Excellence Award 2008, etc. are the numerous awards being awarded to Birla White. The company has been using the distribution channel very well which has been useful for both the consumer and the company. Birla White has helped artistic expression in architectural design to reach zenith of perfection in short duration of time, making it feasible to offer an immaculate white canvas for crafting architectural elegance. Birla White in the course of growth kept attaining technologies from world leaders in their domains like Vertical Roller Mills and Roller Presses, sourced from Pfeiffer and Koppern respectively and used for raw material and cement grinding. Its manufacturing process is entirely automated and controlled by systems from ABB and Leeds & Northrup, USA. Birla White has received numerous awards under different catgories, namely IMC-Ramakrishna Bajaj National Quality Award, Golden Peacock Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Award 2009, National Energy Conservation Awards 2009, The Economic Times and Frost and Sullivan IMEA Platinum Award 2009, 10th Annual Greentech Environment Excellence Award 2008, etc. to name a few. Birla White has been proactively working to take care of the envoronment very well utilising eco-friendly technologies for manufacturing products effecting the environment to minimum level. Gearing up for the Future The company will spend over Rs 11,000 crore in the next three years on expanding capacity of its various plans to meet the growing demand of the cement industries. So Birla White is all set to expand globally in a time period less than five years, setting target to increase the turnover by 2015.