Century Extrusions plans to invest Rs 20cr for second plant

lkata-based Century Extrusions Limited plans to invest Rs 20 crore in the company’s second plant, specially dedicated value-added products of aluminium extrusions for catering to the growing demand of power sector.

“We see a huge potential in the value-added aluminium extrusions especially in the power sector. The company has identified 10 acres for the new plant near its existing plant at Kharagpur. We have applied for land. The proposed investment will be close to Rs 20 crore. We will take a decision on the investment within the next six months,” said M P Jhunjhunwala, chairman and managing director, CEL.

The company announced commercial production of its new 2,700 million tonnes aluminiun extrusion line put up at the company’s existing facility at Kharagpur. The company at present has two aluminium extrusion line producing a 7,500 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).

The new aluminium extrusion line with a tonnage force of 2,700 MTPA would double CEL’s current capacity from 7,500 MTPA to 15,000 MTPA, said Kailash Baheti, chief executive officer, CEL.

The total capital investment on the new extrusion line was Rs 40 crore, of which 13.2 crore was raised through a rights issue, Rs 15 crore through a term loan and the rest through internal accruals. With a user base of more than 400, the company achieved a sales turnover of Rs 99 crore last fiscal. The company expects to touch Rs 135 crore this fiscal and Rs 190 crore turnover next year with the increased capacity in place, pointed out Baheti.

“The aluminium extrusions industry in India is at its infancy. We expect to see double digit growth,” added Jhunjhunwala. The Indian aluminium extrusions industry at present is 3,50,000 MTPA.

CEL at present holds 3 per cent market share in terms of volume, which increase to 5 per cent with the capacity addition this year. The company is betting big on power sector for both its value-added and extrusions business.