Carborundum Universal Ltd (CUMI) has entered into techno-commercial agreement with U.K. firms Sheffield Refractories and Anderman Ceramics to manufacture, supply and install a range of high-end refractory solutions for the steel and glass industries and for aerospace component manufacture.
The manufacturing of these products would be done at Carborundum's plant in Ranipet, Tamil Nadu, and also at a new location, the company, which is part of the Murugappa group, informed the stock exchanges on Wednesday.
“We have already started working… initially most of the activity would be at Ranipet as we have land there,” said K. Srinivasan, Managing Director of CUMI. For the new plant, “we are looking at western India, including Gujarat. It will be a greenfield location, of 25-50 acres,” he added.
The company had narrowed down to a couple of locations, he said, pointing out that various aspects, including energy cost, proximity to gas pipeline and port, besides land acquisition were being evaluated.
On the proposed investment, he said it would be a modest Rs.30 crore and be part of Rs.200 crore capital expenditure planned by CUMI this fiscal. The company's turnover last fiscal was Rs.2,057 crore.
The techno-commercial agreements, Mr. Srinivasan said, would add value to CUMI as both the U.K. firms specialise in their fields. The collaborations, he explained, would make customers feel confident as both Sheffield Refractories and Anderman Ceramics were world leaders in their areas. There was a huge opportunity for these products in India, he said, adding that there was good market for aerospace components in the U.S.
CUMI announcement on the agreements said Sheffield Refractories was a leading producer of specialised refractories for integrated steel plants, CFBC boilers in power projects and cements plants.
Anderman Ceramics is a leading international distributor of technical ceramic parts and components with operations in the U.K., the U.S. and France.
