Sundeep Kumar

We all know that Cement is an essential ingredient of any building, but did you know you can now use the material to even decorate your home? Thanks to visionaries like Mr Sundeep Kumar, CEO, Craft Béton, Dalmia Bharat Group, cement no more just remains a boring, dull and grey material; it has evolved into a material that helps in creating beautiful pieces of functional art.

Cement is a very versatile product with one of most wonderful properties-you can bind it with almost any product, hence the word ‘cementing.’ It’s actually a type of glue - a binding agent. Interestingly, the minute you mix it with other things; you can make use of its properties in a varied way. Such deep understanding of the properties of the material, enabled Mr Kumar to innovatively ideate products which can make cement appear ‘appealing.’ It’s a highly interesting journey to explore, and as Mr Kumar unveils the details through his interaction with the #SurfacesReporter team, we could not help but be in awe!

Please tell us about the brand,

‘Craft Béton.’ CraftBéton is truly a labour of love and innovation by Mr Dalmia Bharat that truly showcases the beauty and versatility of cement. Our Designers are craftsmen whose expression has given cement a truly distinct narrative.

With the intent to show how versatility of cement could be utilised in different ways, we launched this brand about 2 years ago to create functional art with cutting-edge, contemporary and global designs. Another reason for establishing this brand was that if you look at cement as a product, consumers rarely interact with it. Even as a home builder, they wouldn’t really have much to do with cement. So, the idea was to get more and more people to interact with cement, and that is how we started creating products for the home which you can buy even if you are not building a house, and in the process, change its image from a dull grey boring material into something beautiful. From accessories to light fittings, even small pieces of furniture. The idea was mainly to make cement as a product appear ‘appealing.’ Things got going as the initial response was phenomenal. We found this while. The range has now extended to include wall/ floor coverings and bathroom basins.

Since it's not usual to witness so much of innovation with cement, how did the idea come to you?

I can say with a degree of confidence that no other cement company is doing such research and innovation in the medium of cement in this manner. Though, in the past, people have made products out of cement, but only in a rudimentary way.