Abinash Rath is a seasoned manufacturing and business leader with extensive experience in cement manufacturing, operational strategy, process excellence, safety management and industrial transformation. Currently serving as Assistant Vice President, Strategy & Planning (Unit Head) at UltraTech Cement Ltd., Odisha.
He has built a distinguished career spanning India, Bangladesh and Qatar with a strong combination of technical expertise, strategic thinking, people leadership and he has consistently delivered measurable improvements in productivity, cost efficiency, safety and business performance.
In his current role, he has led initiatives that have significantly strengthened plant performance. He increased production from 1.8 lakh MT to 2.10 lakh MT through improvements in Overall Equipment Effectiveness, reliability, capacity utilization and sales collaboration. His interventions also reduced variable costs by Rs 2.4 crore and fixed costs by Rs 1 crore annually, while production-cost optimization generated substantial monthly savings.
He further improved Mean Time Between Failures from 590 to 1,556 through preventive maintenance, condition monitoring and AI-enabled implementation. His contributions earned recognition including the Manufacturing Excellence and Industrial Transformation Leader of the Year Award and a Best Cost Management Plant Award . Previously, he served as Plant Head at Seven Rings Cement in Bangladesh. He progressed to the level of 2nd CTO within a year significantly ahead of industry average.
He played a key role in establishing manufacturing excellence programmes across three plants and developed structured pillars covering clinker factor, specific power, quality assurance, MTBF and cost optimization. He also led the commissioning of a 9,600 TPD Loesche VRM, completing the project 15 days ahead of schedule, while improving cement-mill output from 400 tph to 450 tph.
His earlier tenure with Emami Cement further demonstrated his capabilities in commissioning, quality management, digital transformation and cost optimization. He commissioned a 335 tph VRM five days ahead of schedule, increased output to 400 tph and achieved energy consumption of 32 KWH/MT in PSC.
He also led the implementation of ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 standards and spearheaded SAP-PP implementation across three plants. His cost-pipeline initiatives generated savings of Rs 4.9 crore in FY 2019–20 and Rs 6.3 crore in FY 2020–21.
His professional journey also includes leadership responsibilities at Best Cement, Holcim Qatar and ACC Limited. Across these assignments, he contributed to production enhancement, energy efficiency, safety systems, commissioning projects, quality improvement and SAP implementation. At ACC, he achieved 19 KWH/MT energy consumption for PPC and increased production capacity from 250 tph to 300 tph.
Beyond corporate leadership, he contributes as a manufacturing consultant, cement industry consultant and Chapter Director at Startup Lanes. He has supported startups with due diligence and funding processes and has helped generate new industry business.
Academically, he has completed the Senior Management Program at IIM Calcutta, along with an Executive MBA in Safety Management, an MBA in Production and qualifications in Chemical Engineering. His academic record includes state-level recognition as a topper in Chemical Engineering.
His career reflects a sustained commitment to operational excellence, innovation, safety and strategic growth. Through measurable business outcomes and cross-functional leadership, he continues to contribute to the evolution of modern manufacturing.
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