Perma Construction Aids Pvt. Ltd

Permanent Solutions for Construction Chemical Industry

Perma Construction Aids Pvt. Ltd offers the most modern construction chemicals to cater to all critical applications in the civil engineering industry. The Company manufactures and markets various construction chemicals of international standards, all over India and neighbouring countries under the brand name of 'PERMA'.

The company is an ISO 9001-2008 certified company with rating of ‘SE 1A’ by CRISIL. It has been awarded with an ISI certification for some of its products. The list of customers includes prestigious Government, Semi -Government, Private Institutions, Builders, Contractors who have found both their products and services fruit full.

Perma the name has been coined to signify PERMANENCE. The objective of the group is to offer PERMANENT SOLUTIONS to the construction industry through state of the art construction chemicals.

Perma by virtue of offering ‘Quality Products’ has made a name for themselves with leading government, Semi government & Private organizations. The Company’s R&D and quality assurance systems allow for tailor made products to suit the project market. It has an All India presence effectively catered by trained Distributors and Applicators. The Company has also to their credit user-friendly products for the retail market. Such products are made available from hardware, cement and Tile outlets through our authorized distributors. The Company is constantly increasing its distribution network to cover all the major towns with their product range to service a large base of customers.

Products Manufactured

The product range consists of Polymer based tile fixing adhesives and Coloured joint fillers, Range of waterproofing chemicals, Integral waterproofing compounds for concrete and mortars, Water repellent coatings, Structural and non structural bonding agents, Repair additives for structural rehabilitation based on SBR & Acrylics, Range of admixtures for concrete, Non–shrink grouts for machine foundations, Floor hardeners and sealers, Epoxy floor self levellers, toppings and coatings and many others.

To have a broader perspective on the current scenario in the Construction Chemical industry, Built Expressions spoke to Mr. M A Waheed, Chairman - Perma Construction Aids Pvt.Ltd

Recent Trends and Growth of Waterproofing Industry

The demand for new buildings has always been there in India, it is still there and likely to grow in future. Speaking on the latest trends in waterproofing Mr. Waheed says, "To cater to the growing demands of bigger and taller buildings, latest construction techniques and technology has been adopted in India. But the construction chemicals and the waterproofing techniques, which assist in converting these advanced technologies into tangible realities, were a bit slow in entering our country. The process of educating the end users on the efficacy of preventive measures in water proofing and the method of selecting the right treatment for the given situation is still going on. In short, this market is still in its infancy."

Observing the growth of the industry for over the years, Mr. Waheed says, "Waterproofing industry has seen a steady growth of 20% to 25% over the last couple of decades, irrespective of fluctuations in the building industry itself. The amount of construction chemicals used in any construction in India is taken as a percentage of the overall cost of construction and is very low when compared with the developed nations."

He further adds, "Building requirements do not remain the same; they are modified according to time, need and demands. The present construction process, demands building with large spans to accommodate software development firms, malls, sports complexes and so on. It also demands basements to accommodate cars, which breathe out huge amount of carbon dioxide and monoxide. With these changes, water proofing and corrosion prevention coatings also need to be upgraded or new ones need to be formulated keeping in mind the current requirement. Thus, the industry needs to develop new products to take care of such demands from the construction industry."

Marketing Strategies

Mr. Waheed feels that in waterproofing, there are a lot of out dated methods and practices adopted even today. For him, in marketing waterproofing, one needs to adopt a simple strategy which is to educate the end user in the selection of the right product and technology, and advocate the right application practice. In the present scenario, the competition is not with a real competitor but with the outdated products and practices which are selected on the basis of cost and not on feasibility or long term utility.

Explaining about the range of products used in waterproofing, he says, "Bituminous membranes, acrylic membranes, crystalline waterproofing systems, integral water-proofers, epoxy products, products based on Polyurethanes, cementitious injection systems, resin based injection systems and so on. All these systems work brilliantly, if they are applied in the recommended situation following good application practices. Often failures of waterproofing treatments result from using a right product in a wrong situation or following a wrong application practice."

Technology to check Leak Detection in Waterproofing

According to Mr. Waheed, there are no such technologies applied in leak detection through waterproofing membranes as is employed in leak detection through pipelines, reservoirs or dams. Any wetness observed on the other side of the treatment is considered as a waterproofing failure. Though the waterproofing products and membranes can be tested in the laboratories against the claims made in the product literature, by creating water-heads on the membranes for a standard period of time, but in India no one does it. This could come into practice if a consultant on site or a PMC insists on such a certificate.

Status of Awareness on Waterproofing Industry

Mr. Waheed strongly feels that, there is lack of awareness about the use of construction chemicals and waterproofing systems as it is bit fundamental. The science of construction chemicals and modern construction practices are neither taught in architectural courses nor in engineering colleges. As a result the architects and structural engineers are not well versed in this subject.

Expressing his opinion on the issue, he says, “A water proofing system is neither indicated on an architectural drawing nor on a structural drawing. Use of admixture in concrete is not specified and hence does not reflect in the bill of quantity. As a result, the contractor is not quoted for these items while tendering. Often the realization of its need comes during work execution as an unavoidable necessity which is not quoted for and may not get reimbursed.” Further he says, "The contractor normally settles for some most economical solution which just functions till the release of his security deposit, or goes in for an admixture which barely satisfies the site requirement. Site consultants and PMCs are often not in a position to give guidelines to the engineers of the contractors  on simple subjects like the concreting practice in hot weather or on the control joints in large spans, because guidelines and specifications are missing."

Recommending few guidelines he suggests, "BIS should introduce new codes and codes of practice incorporating the present day construction needs.  Boards of technical education should overhaul their old syllabus in Engineering and Architectural courses to make the education more relevant in present day scenario."

New Products

At Perma, they have constantly been launching new products and new technologies, in the field of waterproofing and structural rehabilitation which are more relevant to the environmental conditions and to the type of workmanship. They introduced single component acrylic waterproofing membranes, and polyurethane injection grouting systems which received a very warm welcome from the construction industry. They have also successfully introduced a full range of products for the paver tile and lightweight block industry.

Mr. Waheed concludes with his plans for the coming years, he says, "We aspire to grow Perma into a one stop solution provider for waterproofing and structural rehabilitation in India and in the neighboring countries through dissemination of information by organizing architects', engineers' and  applicators' meet and by appointing good channel partners."

Website: www.permaindia.com / www.permaindia.net

Tel: +91 22 2591 8911 / 2567 4690