Third-generation Puneet Dalmia earned the go-ahead to expand in a consolidating Indian sector.
![Cementing A Legacy](https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/2092/329838/5c5d95d46b8d6/Cementing-A-Legacy.jpg)
In 1999—two years after joining his family cement business in Delhi, Puneet Dalmia proposed a $140 million expansion plan—with all the gusto of a management grad with a gold medal from the premier Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore.
His father, Yadu Hari Dalmia, who was running the cement outfit, didn’t mince words. “He told me, ‘You have no credibility. I cannot put so much money behind you,’ ” recalls Puneet, who also has an engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi.
Instead, Papa Dalmia gave his son $500,000 of his own money and asked him to prove his mettle. Puneet cofounded a startup with a friend from IIT—getting funding from domestic private equity major ChrysCapital. The startup was a job search site, which he ran for a few years and then sold to global jobs outfit Monster.com for $9 million.
In 2004, Puneet rejoined the Dalmia Bharat Group—with interests in cement, sugar, power and refractories—and revived the proposal for cement expansion. “We had to build scale,” says Puneet, now 46. “We were not even relevant in our businesses.”
This time around, his father backed him, and he spearheaded two rounds of expansions for $500 million. Over the course of the next 14 years, the cement company grew from 1.2 million tons’ capacity to 25 million tons—both through expansions and acquisitions—even as revenues rose from $60 million to $1.3 billion. This catapulted it to the No. 4 spot in the Indian cement industry.
In 2010 he roped in private equity giant KKR to invest in the business. Under KKR’s tutelage the cement business went in for rapid expansion—taking over companies in eastern and northeastern India. (KKR exited in 2017 after nearly quadrupling its investment.)
This story is from the February 2019 edition of Forbes Indonesia.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 2019 edition of Forbes Indonesia.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
![BACK ON TRACK](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2092/816258/61c1ce54862f5/crp_BACK-ON-TRACK.jpg)
BACK ON TRACK
Collective wealth gets a 21% boost to a record $162 billion amid an economic uptick.
![Championing Locals](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2092/816258/61c1c46d6dbee/crp_Championing-Locals.jpg)
Championing Locals
The wave of social commerce is enabling inclusive digital economies beyond urban areas.
![Boys in the Bubble](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2092/816258/61c1bf7deed8d/crp_Boys-in-the-Bubble.jpg)
Boys in the Bubble
Startups are supposed to specialize, but OPENSEA’s founders thrived by building a wide-open market for creating and trading all manner of NFTs, whether art, music or gaming. Now that they’re centimillionaires and poised to become billionaires, they have other worries: competitors, fraudsters and the next crypto crash.
![Enduring Relations](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2092/816258/61c1d03a14f59/crp_Enduring-Relations.jpg)
Enduring Relations
The implementation of IA-CEPA amid the pandemic signifies the Indonesia-Australia’s commitment to recover and counter future challenges together.
![Sweet Success](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2092/816258/61c1c736f2ac9/crp_Sweet-Success.jpg)
Sweet Success
Steven Erwin envisions Unifam to become a major global player in the confectionery and F&B industry.
![Marathon Man](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2092/816258/61c1bce00f559/crp_Marathon-Man.jpg)
Marathon Man
Across America, scores of municipal pension funds remain scandalously underfunded. But not the pension fund of Tampa’s police and firemen, thanks in large part to JAY BOWEN, whose no-frills approach to stock picking has protected and served them for more than 45 years.
![Gold Rallies on Inflation Fears](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2092/816258/61c1d105cc0ea/crp_Gold-Rallies-on-Inflation-Fears.jpg)
Gold Rallies on Inflation Fears
During September the price of gold rallied to $1,868 per ounce following the release of figures on US inflation by the Bureau of Labor Statistics which indicated that, as of September, CPI inflation had rocketed to 6.2%, above the 5.8% which economists had been predicting.
![Set Off to A New Start](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2092/816258/61c1c8ea3c5ef/crp_Set-Off-to-A-New-Start.jpg)
Set Off to A New Start
Bank Aladin has two main ingredients for success: establish trust and offer better customer experiences.
![The Daily Intake](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2092/816258/61c1c328b008e/crp_The-Daily-Intake.jpg)
The Daily Intake
YOUVIT plans to invest further into marketing and grow into one of the leading vitamin brands in Indonesia.
![THE CROESUS OF CRYPTO](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/2092/788693/618e17ec437f8/crp_THE-CROESUS-OF-CRYPTO.jpg)
THE CROESUS OF CRYPTO
FTX COFOUNDER SAM BANKMAN-FRIED BUILT A $22.5 BILLION FORTUNE BEFORE HIS 30TH BIRTHDAY BY PROFITING OFF THE CRYPTOCURRENCY FRENZY—BUT HE’S NOT A TRUE BELIEVER. HE JUST WANTS HIS WEALTH TO SURVIVE LONG ENOUGH TO GIVE IT ALL AWAY.