One of India’s largest cement producers has seen its growth undermined by a gradual shift in consumers’ preference to galvanized steel sheets.

The company is working at reshaping itself and risen to the challenge head on by transforming itself from a pure-play cement and asbestos fiber roofing sheet manufacturer into a comprehensive metal building solutions provider - including engineering and contracting.

This is likely to be a huge driver of growth for Everest Industries as the market for metal building solutions is much bigger than that for the roofing business.

Everest is able to manufacture approximately 4.5 tons of cement asbestos roofing sheets annually. However, its traditional business, which accounts for around 70 percent of its revenues, is facing dual challenges in excess capacity and a shift in consumer preference.

The result has been slow growth and conflict over steel building prices, ultimately leading to a slowdown in profitability.

In the past, commercial metal building structures were typically built primarily by using of asbestos cement roofs. No longer.

Many such structures are now built using galvanized steel. Building this kind of project in the past saw steel sheets used mainly for roofing. Now the entire structure (except the foundation) is made of steel, thanks to advances in steel manufacturing.

This has opened up an enormous prefabricated metal building market, which can be assembled on site in a matter of weeks.

Rather than fret over the loss of its core customers, the company has decided to enter the pre-engineered steel building market.

As it tries to gain traction in the steel building market, Everest is also trying to consolidate its position in its traditional markets by launching new products like cement boards and prefabricated wall panels.

The company is setting up a new plant to manufacture new product lines that feature the galvanized steel building materials it has long produced.

The new plant will more than double its capacity for cement boards and wall panels, while the capacity of cement roofing will rise by over 30 percent.

The plant is scheduled to commence its commercial production in the first week of July. Everest is also studying the option to invest in a steel forming and galvanizing unit as part of its backward integration plans for the steel-housing business.