National Cement Centre

National Cement Centre is located at 8-2-197, right at the Panjagutta X Road. This is one of the busiest intersections in the city, so there is always a lot of noise and traffic. We have been running this cement business from this spot for quite a long time. The shop is basically a large storage area with a small desk at the front for taking orders. There is always a thin layer of grey dust on everything, which is just what happens when you move cement bags all day. Trucks come in at odd hours to drop off new stock, and we have to get it all stacked up. It is very physical work. We don't have any decorations or comfortable chairs for customers. People usually just pull up, tell us how many bags they need, and we help load them. We deal with various local builders and people doing small repairs on their homes. We don't do any advertising. Most people just see our sign while they are waiting for the light to change at the crossroads. It’s a simple, honest business. We don't have a computer system; we just write everything down in our big ledger books. We start early in the morning before the traffic gets too bad. By the time we close up, we are usually pretty worn out. It’s a solid way to make a living.