Dalmia Bharat Group's refractories business acquires GSB Group from Germany

Dalmia OCL, the refractories business of the Rs 10,000-crore Dalmia Bharat Group, marked its first-ever international acquisition with the takeover of GSB Group GmbH, a German-based speciality refractory maker and a global leader in lance production, which is essential for clean steel production.

According to the company, the takeover will provide Dalmia OCL access to customers in the heart of steel and refractory making belt in Europe and state-of-the-art technology to make cleaner steel. It will also provide an opportunity to work with newer talents trained in advanced steel-making processes.

“We are delighted as this acquisition marks our group’s first major step in Europe where consolidation in the market has opened new doors for a company like ours. Dalmia-OCL’s end-to-end refractory portfolio and GSB’s access to European steel customers will make this combination a strong competitor in Europe”, Sameer Nagpal, CEO, Dalmia OCL said.

“This acquisition will also make us one of the specialized manufacturers of refractories, for cleaner steel production, a focus area for Indian steel makers too. It will give us newer resources and talents in Europe which will help strengthen our capability in India, which is the fastest growing market for refractories in the world”, Nagpal added.

Dalmia OCL is India’s second-largest refractory company with a production capacity of 250,000 tonnes per annum. The company expects to close this financial year with a revenue of Rs 800 crore, of which, around 60 per cent is likely to be contributed by the steel segment.

Backed by four plants in India and one in China, Dalmia OCL offers end-to-end refractory products, solutions and services to customers in core manufacturing sectors such as iron & steel, cement, glass, non-ferrous metals and energy & petrochemicals. It is a leader and pioneer in several mission-critical refractory product categories including high alumina bricks for cement manufacturing.