In conversation with Editor Ankur Sharma, The News Strike, Navin Aswani, Managing Director of Aswani Industries Pvt. Ltd., said the construction industry must move beyond price-based procurement and focus on lifecycle value, execution quality, and long-term building performance. He noted that factors such as seepage, tile failures, structural damage, and recurring maintenance costs often have a greater financial impact than initial material expenses. Aswani emphasized that real influence in construction lies at the execution level, where applicators and contractors require technical support, training, and practical on-site guidance, making execution reliability and stakeholder alignment critical drivers of sustainable project outcomes.
1. Construction materials often compete on price—how do you shift the conversation to lifecycle value and performance?
In construction, upfront material cost is often prioritized, but the real financial impact emerges over the lifecycle of a building through maintenance, repairs, seepage, tile failures and structural damage. At Ascolite, we focus on shifting the conversation from short-term procurement cost to long-term performance and prevention. Our solutions are designed specifically for Indian site conditions with an emphasis on durability, application reliability, and reduced maintenance requirements. By combining material science with on-site technical support, applicator training, and standardized execution practices, we help developers, contractors, and infrastructure stakeholders improve building performance, reduce lifecycle costs, and minimize recurring repair interventions across residential, commercial, and infrastructure projects.
When construction conversations focus only on material costs, products easily become price-driven. However, customers ultimately value reliability, durability, reduced execution risk, and lower long-term maintenance costs. Today, value engineering is not just about lowering upfront expenses, but about improving performance, execution efficiency, and long-term asset protection while minimizing future repairs and liabilities.
2. What is your strategy to influence decision-makers—developers, contractors, or applicators—and where does real power lie?
A major gap in the industry is that many companies remain excessively product-oriented while the actual challenges exist at the execution level on site. We believe influence in construction is not concentrated with a single stakeholder because long-term building performance depends on alignment across developers, contractors, architects, engineers, and applicators. However, the real shift happens at the execution level, where material performance meets on-site application. A major gap in the industry is that many companies remain excessively product-oriented, while the actual challenges exist on the ground during execution. Applicators and contractors today are not just looking for materials; they need practical support, simplified application methods, troubleshooting assistance, and dependable technical guidance under real site conditions.
That is why our strategy goes beyond product supply to include technical support, applicator training, stakeholder education, and standardized execution practices. When a company becomes truly execution-friendly and helps simplify on-site work, influence is created organically across the ecosystem. This creates a strong bottom-up influence model where trust begins at the applicator level and gradually extends to contractors, consultants, and developers. As construction quality becomes increasingly linked to long-term asset performance, decision-making is steadily shifting toward integrated, performance-driven solutions backed by technical expertise and execution reliability.
3. How fragmented is the supply chain, and does that fragmentation help or hurt brand building?
The construction materials supply chain in India is highly fragmented because different product categories operate under fundamentally different logistical and commercial realities. Certain materials require direct-to-site delivery with minimal handling and stocking points in order to remain commercially viable and operationally efficient, while other products depend on multi-layered distribution networks to ensure accessibility, service support, and smaller quantity availability across diverse geographies. Additionally, every company develops its own channel structure based on its ecosystem, product behavior, regional strengths, and operational convenience, which further increases fragmentation across the industry.
From a brand-building perspective, fragmentation creates both opportunities and challenges. While wider distribution improves reach and accessibility, excessive channel layering can dilute technical positioning, reduce customer engagement, and create pricing inefficiencies. A visible trend that is currently developing within the sector includes the streamlining process, where there are fewer unnecessary intermediary layers with one or two channel levels depending on the geography and product. This trend is occurring due to several reasons such as better cost management, channel efficiency, technological interaction, fast services, and volume efficiencies among other partners.
4. Are we seeing a structural shift toward higher-quality materials in India, or is cost still the dominant driver?
India is gradually witnessing a structural shift toward higher-quality construction materials, especially in urban real estate and infrastructure, where durability, lifecycle performance, and reduced maintenance are becoming critical priorities. This shift is also reflected in the rapid growth of India’s construction chemicals market, which is projected to grow at a CAGR of 13.4% by 2035. Nevertheless, cost-sensitivity remains to be an issue for quite a considerable section of the industry. The introduction of regulation through initiatives like RERA has improved the level of responsibility and transparency, while today’s buyers are very aware of the issues of waterproofing, seepages, finishes, and overall maintenance costs. In addition, it has become increasingly apparent that no matter how good a material may be, it could fail when the standard of its execution is compromised.
5. How do you embed your products deeper into project specifications to create stickiness?
At Ascolite, creating stickiness begins with becoming part of the project specification stage rather than entering only at procurement. We work closely with architects, consultants, developers, contractors, and applicators at an early stage in the lifecycle of construction projects to deliver performance-based solutions. Our strategy includes technical education, on-site support, applicator training, and standardization of system recommendation specific to Indian construction sites. The focus on preventive measures, which result in savings against seepage, cracking, tile failure, and maintenance is aimed at moving the discussion from cost to performance. Our products are inevitably incorporated into project specifications when stakeholders appreciate their reliability and performance.
6. What role does technical education and on-ground training play in driving adoption?
Technical education and on-ground training are essential to driving adoption because even the best construction materials can fail if they are not applied correctly. At Ascolite, we believe industry awareness and application expertise must grow together. Applicator training programs, live site demonstrations, and contractor workshops are all part of what we do routinely. It will enable us to standardize the application procedure and also ensure that awareness is created regarding preventive solutions in construction. The increased confidence on the part of our partners will come because we will have proved to them that our products have resulted in better bonding and waterproofing among others.
7. Can sustainability become a true differentiator, or is it still largely compliance-driven in this sector?
Sustainability is steadily becoming a true differentiator in the construction sector, although compliance and certifications still remain important drivers. Green building frameworks such as IGBC and GreenPro encourage the adoption of environmentally responsible and performance-driven materials across projects, often contributing toward green building ratings, regulatory alignment, incentives, and stronger project positioning for developers. However, the industry is gradually moving beyond sustainability as a purely compliance-driven checklist. Developers and end users increasingly recognise that sustainable construction is fundamentally linked to durability, lower maintenance, reduced material wastage, improved efficiency, and longer asset life.
At Ascolite, we believe sustainability should ultimately be measured through long-term building performance. Our solutions have contributed to 4 million+ sq. ft. of waterproofing and 50 million+ sq. ft. of built-up area, helping reduce recurring repairs, resource wastage, and maintenance requirements. As a result, high-performance waterproofing, repair, and bonding systems are emerging as practical, long-term value drivers rather than just regulatory requirements.
