Acc Revamps Refractories, Shuts Mp Unit

The Associated Cement Companies (ACC) has restructured its refractories business, which is the country's largest, in a bid to streamline the cement-related products business.

The company has suspended operations at its Kymore refractories unit in Madhya Pradesh. Besides, the company has decided to produce core products in its refractories business and focus on further market penetration of existing products instead of diversification. The other two units of the refractories division are at Katni in Madhya Pradesh and at Nagpur in Maharashtra.

A K Jain, executive director, said, "We have increased our focus on the product in terms of quality and we are now offering services related to the product. We have shut down the Kymore unit as it was unremunarative. We would be utilising the factory in some other way. However, a final decision on how the factory would be utilised is yet to be taken."

 

"We have also decided to increase exports which has been growing at 30 per cent," Jain added. The company's refractories division employs around 700 employees which is expected to be reduced substantially. Jain, however, refused to comment on the downsizing in this business.

The company's refractory unit at Nagpur is a modern monolithic plant with an installed capacity of over 60,000 tonne. The Rs 1,200 crore Indian refractory industry has an installed capacity of 15 lakh tonne while the capacity utilisation is less than 50 per cent.

The iron and steel industry is the major consumer of refractory products which account for 75 per cent of the total consumption. The other users include cement, glass and non-ferrous metals industry. The main problem faced by the refractory industry is the slump in the demand for the products of the steel industry which is its principal customer.