CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Overview of the Industry:

Construction Industry is the second main economic activity in India, after agriculture. The
Indian construction industry is an essential part of the economy. The construction industry
contributes more than 8% share of the Indian GDP. It generates employment to more than 35
million people. Indian market of construction records 8% CAGR consistently over the past few
years due to FDI and favourable economic environment. Due to high urbanisation process in
the country, construction industry enjoys annual growth of 10% over 2007-12.

Indian market of real estate activities records 14% CAGR consistently over the past few years
due to rising living standards and expanding middle class. The Indian construction industry has
boomed since the government liberalised the industry in March 2005. This led to massive
investment in the sector creating an unprecedented rise in real estate prices. Since the global
economic crisis of 2008-2009, growth in the sector has slowed with the consequent slowdown
in Indian real economy. However, growth in the sector remains strong and as a result, real estate
prices remain elevated, presenting challenges for the sector

Moreover, the Aluminium Composite Panels usage for building facades, ceiling walls, column
covers, cladding etc., had been always in demand because of its beautiful looking outlook and
also aluminium is such a metal which can be recycled later and can be used as business. Hence,
there is an immense scope in developing this market at a new level in India. Hence, in building
infrastructure, real estate, housing and construction of projects it has ACP panels have immense
scope to deeply penetrate in the industry.

Company Overview:
Aludecor Lamination Pvt. Ltd. the Flagship Company of the HMB group incorporated in 2004.
Aludecor provides the opportunity to embellish the building’s exterior and interior. It can be
used in the design and development of wide range of building facades, individual signage,
building interior, column cover, ceiling, furniture, elevators, escalators etc.
Resting on the rich credentials of its parent organisation, Aludecor has set new parameters in
the national market of Aluminium Composite Panels (ACP) and coated coils. Aludecor has set

1
new standards of quality. Aludecor’s ACP panels consist of six different brands which are built
according to different environment conditions and its requirements.
BRAND NAME DESCRIPTION

MASTERWORK It is manufactured from 100% virgin extrusion grade polyethylene. It has a

property for better adherence with paint and high flexibility

FIREWALL It has pvdf/Lumiflon resin based coating which has superior resistance to
fading ad weathering. It is Aludecor’s new range of fire retardant panels.

SELECT This brand gives the value for money to the customer having the superior
quality material yet at a reasonable price

REACH It is made from a combination of virgin first grade recycled polyethylene

which provide high strength

COPPER It is produced with copper at the top, aluminium coil at the bottom and a low
density polyethylene core in the middle. It is used in health sector

ZINC It absorbs all the pollution from outside as it has the anti pollution property

SWOT Analysis:
Strength
• Very reputed brand for its product quality at a considerable price
• Wide variety of brands available according to the requirement of the clients
• Rated as one of the bet brands in terms of performance committed
Weakness
• Logistic cost might have to add up because the plant location
• Doesn’t have diversity in the product portfolio i.e. only manufacture ACP
Opportunity
• Rising investment and FDI inflows in construction sector
• Change in the perception of the customer to make classic architectural building
Threat
• It’s a complete red ocean situation i.e., lot of competitors existing in the market
• Some clients have shifted to brands like fundermax, sherabond etc.,

2
 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

Objective and Scope of Study:

Objective of Study:

• To understand the purchasing decision criteria or the purchasing behaviour of customer

of Aluminium composite panel

• To understand the customer preference of the attribute of the product while purchasing
or choosing a brand

• To know the detail study of factors affecting the consumer behaviour

• To know about the competitors involved in the market and strategies which can be used
for better positioning of the product

• To understand the customer perspective regarding any additional feature which can be
added to the product

Scope of Study:

• The buying behavior of the customers while purchasing the Aluminum Composite
Panels could be understood by this report

• Various factors could be found out which affect the purchasing decision
• This report provides an understanding about the mindset of people, what are the
expectations of the consumer and up to how much level these expectations met

• This Report will be helpful for Companies to understand the consumer behavior and
could be helpful in satisfying the customers in a better manner

• Customization of the product could be done based on the customer response and the
mistakes could be identified

3
Research Methodology:

The research methodology is to gain an insight into consumer behavior. In order to

understand this I have chosen exploratory research with a small and non-representative
sample.
Both Quantitative and Qualitative research have been used to achieve the objective. Some
open ended question were also part of my questioners to understand in selecting a brand
for purchase.

• The sources of the data used in this project are both primary and secondary
• A questionnaire was prepared to record the response of the client while choosing an
ACP brand.

• The survey has been done to collect primary data from Architects, Project Management
Consultant, Façade Consultants, and fabricators from various companies.

• To understand the facade building industry and competition secondary data has been
collected.

• Microsoft Excel has been used to analyse the primary data collected through
questionnaire.

Sample Design

A definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given population is sample design. It refers to
the technique to the procedure adopted in selecting items for the sampling designs are as
below:

Sample Size:
The sample size is relatively small as I had to book appointment and meet in personal which
would consume time and effort. The list of companies and the contact persons for interview
have been gathered by secondary research.
I have taken a total of 17 interviews in this survey in the Hyderabad city.

4
Sampling Frame:
The decision makers in each of the companies in my survey were identified who were directly
involved/influence the purchase of ACP.
I visited each of those companies and met the concerned person in their offices or at any
meeting points either through prior appointment or on the spot request.

Data Collection Method

I employed both primary and secondary data collection required for further analysis.
Primary Data:

• After taking the appointment, one to one interview would be carried out at their
offices with the help of questionnaire and also further insights are noted down if any
and if time permits

• Information was gathered based on various parameters as listed in the questionnaire.

Secondary Data:

• It is gathered for understanding the variety of brands offered by Aludecor. Its price
and quality is compared with the competitors. Market size of the product is also
calculated from secondary data.

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 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

3.1 Purchase Decision Based Analysis

A total of 17 responses were collected from the interviews taken of the architects, fabricators,
management consultants, builders, etc., who are directly involved in making the purchasing
decision. The fabricators are categorized in the grade of A, B and C based on the project in the
hand and the use of Aluminium Composite Panel.

6% 25%
19%
A
B
C
50%
NA

Graph 1.a Fabricators based on their grades

Interpretation
• Majority of the fabricators belong to “B Grade” which comprise of 50% and “A Grade”
fabricator are 25% and “C Grade” are 19%.

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Product Quality

16
14
12
10
yes
8
6 no
4 na
2
0
Paint qualityAluminium Smooth Bending Flatness Diagonal
alloy grade cutting flexibility Dimension

Graph 2.a Features assessment of the product

Percentage Influence on product quality

7
6
5
4
3 no of respondents
2
1
0
100 75 50 30 20 10 NA

Graph 2.b Percentage of quality influence to select ACP

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Interpretation
• The preferences of the customer while purchasing decision is done for the product
attribute are shown in the graph. While all the features are equally important, customer
mostly prefers very good product flatness. Customer prefer good paint quality and
aluminium alloy grade but they are of the perspective they can’t judge it just by merely
looking at it. Some alternative method must be implemented.

• Second graph shows the percentage influence of the features of the first graph in which
6 respondents consider 100%, 3 respondents consider 75% and 50% each and
30% influence have only 1 respondent while buying Aluminium composite panel

Risk Factor Analysis

16
14
12
Non performance of
10 quality
8 delivery date
6
4 Shade variance of
batches
2
0
yes no

Graph 3.a Risk Factor Assessment

Interpretation

• Risk assessment could be done by considering three main factors. They are non
performance of quality, failure of committed delivery date and shade variances of the
batches. From the graph, we could see that non performance of the quality and shade
variance of batches are considered as very high risk by the fabricators and failure in
committed delivery date is something very usual and can cope up with it.

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RISK CONSIDERATION IN SUPPLY OF MATERIAL

supply of material

12%
44%
7 days
14 days
44%
21 days

Graph 3.b Supply of Material (in days)

Interpretation
• 44% of the customers prefer the delivery to be done within 7 days and another 44 % of
the customers think that it is okay even if it is 14 days and only 12% of the customers
are okay with the delivery period of the supply material to be 21 days.

• Hence, from the above graphs , we could conclude that the supply material could be
delivered on an average of 14 days maximum

Product Price Analysis

60 80%
70%
50
60%
40
50%
30 Importance to 40% Willingness
75%
50% price to pay high
43% 30%
20
20%
10 25%
10%
7%
0 0%
yes no na yes no

Graph 4.a Level of importance Graph 4.b Willingness to pay high

to price

9
 8

4 percentage of Influence of price

7 on buying behaviour
3

2 4
3
1 2
0 0 0
100% 75% 50% 30% 20% 10%

Graph 4.c Percentage of influence of price on buying behaviour

Interpretation
• Graph 4.a shows that 43% of the customers believe that price is the only factor while
deciding to purchase the product

• Graph 4.b shows that 75% of the people are willing to pay higher price if the product
quality is better and supply is at par

• Graph 4.c shows that price is a very important factor for purchasing decision to be made
because the client’s influence on the price of the product is 50% and above

Sales Representative Analysis

75%
80%
70%
56%
60%
43%
50%
yes
40%
25% no
30%
20%
10%
0%
Influence of sales trust on sales representative
representative

Graph 5.a Sales Representative Influence

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Interpretation
• From the graph, we can see 56% of the clients believe that the sales representative
will not influence their decision on buying Aluminium Composite Panel
• 75% of the clients say that they can’t trust the sales representative about the promise
that they make to deliver on behalf of the company

Rating of the Brands

10

7 5
6 4

5 3
2
4
1
3
NA
2

0
Alucobond Aludecor Timex Bond Eurobond Alstrong Alstone

Graph 5.b Performance Ratings of Brands

Interpretation
• It can be clearly understood that Alucobond is consistently rated as the best brand
and Aludecor is the next best brand among these brands by the clients

3.2 Application Based Analysis

0

12% 100
75
25% 50
57%
30
N.A
6.25%

Graph 6.a Packing influence

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Interpretation
• 57% of the clients believe that the packing of the sheets do not help the application
process of ACP much.

Diagonal Dimension Ascertainment Problem

Diagonal dimension of an ACP gives an idea of ascertainment of the material after installing it
in the desired position. We can understand how stable and rigidly an ACP fixed to it course
without bending downward

Reasons of Diagonal Dimension

12%
19%
ACP Quality
Wrong Fabrication
Both

69%

Interpretation:
• 69% of the clients believe that diagonal dimension ascertainment problem happens due
to wrong fabrication only and 12 % believe that it happens due to the quality of ACP
and 19% believe that it happens because of both

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 3
3

2.5
2 2 22
5
2
4
1.5 3
1 1 11 111
2
1
1
0.5
0
0
Alucobond Aludecor Timex Bond Eurobond Alstrong Alstone

Graph 6.c Rating of brands on basis of Diagonal Dimension

Interpretation

• Alucobond, Aludecor have received good ratings than the other brands. (rating of 5
represents excellent and 1 represents poor)

Routing of ACP
Routing of an ACP is nothing but having a smooth surface after cutting an ACP by a blade.
ACP sheet can be rated on the basis of number of sheets a blade can cut. Quality of ACP is
proportional to the number of sheets routed through a single blade

Routing of ACP

20% 20% 10 sheets

15 sheets
20% 25sheets
40% 40 sheets

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Interpretation

• 40% of the clients believe that 15 sheets can be routed with a single blade, 20% believe
that only 10 sheets can be routed with a single blade

• Rest of them believe that we can route 25 or more sheets with the help of a single blade

Effects of cracking of Paints

Cracking of Paints Affect on

workmanship

Poor Quality
13% 6%
of Paint
37%
Poor Quality Partly
44%
of Alloy grade very Badly
50% NA 50% not at all

Interpretation

• 50% of the clients believe that cracking of paint happens due to poor quality of alloy
grade while 37% believe that the cracking of paint happens due to poor quality of paint

• 50% of the clients have said that the paint cracking affects workmanship very badly
while 44% of them have said that it affects workmanship partly. Rest of them said that
it does not affect workmanship at all

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3.3 Manufacturing Initiative Based Analysis

Interpretation of Open Ended Questions

I have included few open ended questions in the questionnaire in order to know the perspective
of the customer in improving ACP brand so that it could save cost, time, reduce wastage,
improve the quality of workmanship etc., Some of their view points were:

• To improve the quality of workmanship, international standards of training the

manpower and certifying them on those basis could be helpful

• Many fabricators were asking for free site delivery would be motivate them to go for
that particular ACP.

• There was a viewpoint from a fabricator that Aludecor and Eurobond maintain fake
thickness promises. That could be checked once

• To save time many recommended that the alloy thickness must be maintained properly
and LDPE core must be smooth and lighter. It must be gum free after the sticker being
removed

• To save cost, as it purely depends on aluminium price but still we could consider set
up manufacturing units at different locations as the logistics cost is also high

• To reduce wastage, different and appropriate sizes of the panels must be

manufactured like sizes 6,7,8,9.

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 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND LIMITATIONS

After the thorough inspection survey of the market in the Hyderabad, the purchasing behaviour
of the customer could be known. This will tell us exactly if there is any dearth or any
improvement required in the consumption and features of the product.

4.1 Findings
• The people who were interviewed for my survey were mostly the fabricators. There
were only one or two who were consultants or architects. So, the buying behaviour
pattern is gathered from the data collected accurately of the core sales team

• Customers think failure of committed delivery date could be managed if there is proper
batch to batch shade variances and the performance of the quality of the sheet is good

• Lead time should be properly maintained as per the contractual basis

• Many viewpoints of the respondents were that the people in the city like Hyderabad are
very much price sensitive. Though the willingness to pay a higher price if the quality is
good exists among them, many of them were very hesitant saying that it purely depends
on the consumer’s budget allocation

• Many of the respondents were well aware and experts in the field of ACP so they do
not require a sales person nor they trust on the sales person much

• Alucobond is the current market leader right now. Also, Aludecor and Timex bond
are well received

• Many of them agree to the point that sheets sent loosely is perfectly fine unless and
until there is no damage occurred to the corners
• Diagonal dimension problem is occurred mostly because of wrong fabrication. Very
few view points were that it may occur even because of the poor quality of the ACP
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 • Almost Half of them have agreed that the cracking of paint happens because of the poor
quality of the alloy grade

4.2 Limitations

• It was difficult to conduct taking more appointments and interviews within the
stipulated time span of 60 days

• Few respondents were not fully aware of the functional knowledge of ACP or have not
used all the brands mentioned in the questionnaire. So they could not answer few of the
questions

• Interviews were taken only in the Hyderabad city and only with those who were willing
to be interviewed

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 CHAPTER 5: RECOMMENDATION

In the market survey that i have conducted there are many players in the market right now in
the field of ACP along with the other brands like Reno Bond (U.S), Alu Bond (U.S), Alco Panel
(South Korea), Alpolic (Japan) etc., who are also leading in the market . It’s completely a red
ocean scenario out there. But, according to the survey and the given brands Alucobond and
Alstrong are widely used by the customers as one is for the quality factor and the other is for
the price factor respectively. Aludecor is treated as a very good quality product but it has not
penetrated into the market so much as it could be the market leader. To become the market
leader and reach its target, it can address the view points and concerns raised by the respondents
and thus, beating the competition and stand tall. Few points:

• Batch to batch shade variance is very important on the basis of which customer rejects
an ACP brand. So, this has be highly taken care of by Aludecor

• Availing different sizes of the panels could be helpful to them

• Marketing of the product and its USP(Unique selling proposition) must be done
extensively as per the viewpoint of the respondents

• Personal consultation, building relationships and maintaining them is very crucial in

this type of business. Because, the greater the bonding between the buyer and the seller,
higher is the probability that he will get the business from the same dealer again

• As the market for the ACP is growing at a rapid pace, it could set up manufacturing
units at different locations so that they could save up on logistics a lot

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 CHAPTER 6: REFERENCE AND APPENDIX

6.1 References:

• Marketing Management, Kotler Philip, Eleventh Edition

• Euromonitor International

• www.aludecor.com
• www.slideshare.net

6.2 Appendix: Questionnaires used for interviewing customer

QUESTIONAIRE (PART I)

Subject: Purchase Decision

Relevant Input: Product Quality Related

What are the features in the product you look at to select an ACP brand
finally?

1. Paint Quality Yes/No

2. Aluminium Alloy Grade Yes/No
3. Smooth Routing on ACP Sheet Yes/No
4. Bending Flexibility Yes/No
5. Product Flatness Yes/No 6. Product Diagonal
Dimension Yes/No

What % of above quality Influence you to select a brand of ACP

100% 75% 50% 30% 20% 10%

When you buy ACP sheet what are the risk factors you consider?
1. Non Performance of Quality Yes/No
2. Failure of committed delivery date Yes/No
3. Batch to batch shade variance of ACP sheet Yes/No

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Supply of Material:
For a minimum quantity of 1000 sqm & above what would be the minimum
acceptable delivery period

7 Days 14 Days 21 Days

Product Price:

1. Do you assume/believe price is the only factor to select an ACP brand? Yes/No

2. If the product quality is better and supply is at par, will that influence you to pay higher
price? Yes/No

3. Any other factor that influence to decide your purchase price of ACP brand

What % of product price influence you to select a brand of ACP

100% 75% 50% 30% 20% 10%

Trust on company sales representative/ Person:

1. Do you require a sales personnel to help you decide/ select an ACP brand?
Yes/No

2. Do you trust sales personnel what he promise on behalf of the company? Yes/No

3. Does the Performance committed by a particular ACP brand honour their promises made to
customers (Please Rate the brand)

Alucobond _ Aludecor__ Timex bond__ Eurobond__ Alstrong__ Alstone__

What % of role played by Sales representative influence you to decide on

selecting an ACP Brand?

100% 75% 50% 30% 20% 10%

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 (PART II) QUESTIONNAIRE

Does Packing influence you to selecting an ACP brand? What kind of packing
do you recommend?

1. 3-5 sheet in one bundle wrapped with Strip? Yes/No

2. Loose sheet sent through local Van/ Tempo/Other Vehicle Yes/No

3. Small bundle with corner cap wrapped with plastic Yes/No
4. 3-5 sheet wrapped with polyethylene cover and stitched all around Yes/No

What % of packing of sheet help you in application process of ACP?

100% 75% 50% 30% 20% 10%

Dimension of ACP sheet:

1. Is diagonal dimension of ACP are ascertained post installation? Yes/No

2. What may be the reason of above problem in ACP

Wrong fabrication __ ACP Quality__

3. How does this above problem affect your fabrication workmanship?

Partly__ Very badly__ Not at all__

4. What are the ACP brand you had come across with such problem during fabrication work at
site?

Aludecor__ Alucobond__ Timex Bond__ Eurobond__ Alstrong__ Alstone__

Routing of ACP sheet:

How do you judge the Quality of ACP Sheet while routing the same?
1. Smooth cutting of LDPE of the ACP Sheets? Yes/No

2. Rough surface of Aluminium Skin after router is used on the sheet? Yes/No
3. What is the number of Blade used for routing Hard LDPE?

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 5 Sheet__ 10 Sheets__ 15 Sheets__ 25 sheets__ 30 Sheets__ 40 Sheets__

Please rate an ACP Brand where you have faced Routing Problems?

Alucobond__ Aludecor__ Timex Bond__ Eurobond__ Alstrong__ Alstone__

How this above problem affect your fabrication workmanship?

Partly__ Very badly__ Not at all__

What action do you take when Routing problem arise at site, while installing
ACP Sheets? Does this affect your Installation process and time?

Cracking of Paints:

Have you noticed Paint Cracking while bending the ACP Sheets? Does this
happen due to

Poor quality of paint used__ Poor quality of alloy grade__

Does the above problem affect your application workmanship?

Partly__ Very Badly__ Not at all__

Please rate an ACP Brand where you have come across with such Problem?

Alucobond__ Aludecor__ Timex Bond__ Eurobond__ Alstrong__ Alstone__

Aluminium Skin Cracking:

• Have you ever experienced a hare crack on the Aluminium surface while bending ACP
Sheet? Yes/No

• What may be the reason of this problem in ACP Sheets?

Quality of Aluminium Alloy__ Quality of LDPE___

• Please rate an ACP Brand where you have faced such Problems?

22
Alucobond__ Aludecor__ Timex Bond__ Eurobond__ Alstrong__ Alstone__ •
Does the above problem affect your application workmanship?

Partly__ Very Badly__ Not at all__

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