In the business world it is inevitable for two brands of the same product to compete against themselves. This is especially so in cases where both brands are highly successful and have made a name in the market. Competition is healthy for both brands but might leave the customers torn between the two. The case is much the same when it comes to Dangote Cement and Elephant Cement, both held in high esteem in the Nigeria. The battle is on.
Recently a study was held to appraise the engineering properties of Dangote cement (DC) and Elephant cement (EPC) alike. To ensure equal representation, a sampling fraction of 0.1 was used for both samples. Here’s what was found after the study.
- Both Dangote Cement and Elephant Cement were found to conform to ASTTM150-92, BS&EN197-1:2000, and SON standards (all relating to the minimum allowable engineering qualities of Portland cement.
- while Dangote Cement has an average finesse of 12.08%, Elephant Cement was found to have finesse of 7.02%
- Elephant Cement has a higher setting time of 3 hours as compared to Dangote Cement’s setting time of 2 hours, 40 minutes. (this might indicate that EPC sets better than DC)
- DC’s variation in 10mm diameter plunger penetration is 25%-25.4% while that of EPC stand at 28%-26.8%.
- EPC has an average CS of 22.931N/mm2 while DC has an average CS of 21.852N (for the 7 days curing period)
Regardless of the claims of this study, competition between these two brands is rock solid. Dangote Cement is neither worried nor scared as two global rating companies, Moody’s investors Service and Global Credit Ratings (GCR), recently in rating reports, rated the brand high for its financial strength and corporate outlook.
Douglas Rowlings, assistant vice president for Dangote Cement at Moody’s said “the ratings reflect Dangote Cement’s strong standalone credit profile and track record of demonstrated financial support from a larger and more diversified parent, Dangote Industries Limited”. Note that Dangote Cement Plc as of their last trade, traded at 227.00, -7.41% below its 52-week high of 245.17 set on 26th July, 2017.