Grasim ventured into cement production in the mid 1980s, setting up its first cement plant at Jawad in Madhya Pradesh and since then it has grown to become a leading cement player in India.

As a part of the restructuring process, the cement business has been consolidated with its subsidiary UltraTech Cement Limited. In the first phase, Grasim's cement business was demerged into Samruddhi Cement Limited, a subsidiary of Grasim. In the second phase, Samruddhi Cement Limited has been amalgamated with UltraTech Cement Limited w.e.f. 1 July 2010. The merger has created the largest cement company in India and has provided a platform for pursuing aggressive growth going forward.

Grasim’s cement operations, through its subsidiary UltraTech, span the length and breadth of India, with 11 composite plants, 11 split grinding units, five bulk terminals and 74 ready-mix concrete plants.

All the plants are located close to sizeable limestone mines and are fully automated to ensure consistent quality. All units use state-of-the-art equipment and technology and are certified with ISO 9001 for quality systems and ISO 14001 for environment management systems.

Leveraging the strong equity and goodwill of the house mark, the company has a strong national brand UltraTech Cement under the Aditya Birla Group logo.

To meet the growing demand for cement, the cement capacity which was augmented from 35 million tpa in March 2008 to 48.8 million tpa in March 2010, stands further enhanced to 51.9 million tpa (including 3.0 million tpa for overseas capacity). Further, captive power plants have been set up across cement units. With a combined capacity of around 504 MW, the power generated from these plants caters to over 80 per cent of the power requirements.

UltraTech is a leading ready mix concrete (RMC) player in India. RMC business is in a rapid growth phase. With a view to widen reach, UltraTech has expanded its network of RMC plants in various cities across India.

UltraTech is also the largest producer of white cement in India, with a capacity of 560,000 tpa as on 30 June 2009. Branded as "Birla White", the white cement division manufactures world-class white cement in a variety of textures and finishes. It has applications in floorings and exterior wall finishes, apart from other innovative uses. The division also manufactures value added products like putty, GRC etc. which are used in wall finishing and various architectural applications.

UltraTech is a voluntary member of the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI), which is the apex for the cement industry globally to establish common measures, share best practices and exchange data relating to environmental impact.