At a time when white cement is finding it hard to find a niche in the urban market, JK White Cement Works — one of the two leading white cement manufacturers in India — has taken up the daunting task of exploring the rural segment.
 
The company held an exhibition of the various uses of white cement, wall putty and water proof cement in the rural households in Lucknow during the Lucknow Agri Expo held from 11-14 February, that had been designed specially to draw the interest of the rural consumers who flocked the Ambedkar Park during the 5-day Expo. Talking to Business Standard later, Benoy Kumar Dutta, manager (application and development), JK White Cement Works said the rural consumer was the hardest to satisfy as they required the maximum return for the money they invested in any new product and through this Expo, the company targeted to increase the use of white cement among the rural consumers.
 
He said JK White Cement was the only white cement company that had participated in this Expo during which consumers were informed that white cement could even be used in lieu of the ordinary lime-based whitewash, while walls could be made water-proof with the use of JK Waterproof, which was a water-repellent material in powder-form, specifically formulated and designed to prevent the passage of water through pores and capillaries.
 
According to Dutta, the rural consumer had shown tremendous interest in the use of white cement in his household, and hopefully, this interest would be converted into the opening of a new market segment.