India Cements Plans To Expand Rmc Business

The Chennai-based India Cements has doubled its ready mix concrete (RMC) capacity from 35,198 cubic metres (cu.M) per annum to 72,000 cu.M per annum and is planning to further expand its RMC business in phases across the southern states.

The company is also weighing the option of converting its wet-process plant at Sankari in Tamil Nadu to a dry-process unit.

During 2000-2001, the company has stepped up its RMC capacity to 35,198 cu.M against 10,206 cu.M in the previous year.

According to the company, it has undertaken the installation of equipment to increase the capacity to 6000 cu.m per month.

 

The turnover of India Cement's RMC business increased to Rs 6.46 crore during 2000-2001 from Rs 1.84 crore in the previous year. The estimated (unaudited) profit from the company's RMC division is around Rs 17 lakh against a loss of Rs 29 lakh in the previous year.

The company's plan to convert its wet-process unit is in line with its efforts to reduce production cost. According to analysts, the power consumption in a wet-process plant is much more compared with dry-process unit. The proposed conversion will contribute towards savings in the power cost.

Meanwhile, as a part of its cost-cutting strategy, India Cements has also enhanced its captive power capacity at its plants and has invested in a collective captive power plant, Andhra Pradesh Gas Power Corporation, as a result of which it is able to obtain 13 mw of gas power at Rs 1.95 per kwh against grid power supply at a cost of over Rs 4 per kwh.

India Cement is also looking at installing a 15 mw gas power plant in Tamil Nadu by around July 2002 which would further reduce its power costs.

The company has reduced its manpower by over 2,100 employees in the last few years and it intends to prune it further by around 500-600 over two years through a voluntary retirement scheme. The employee strength on the company's rolls for the year ended 2000-2001 is 4,594.

Subsidiary's carbide plant up for sale

Industrial Chemicals & Monomers, a subsidiary of India Cements, has put its carbide plant on the block.

According to the company, the operations of the carbide plant have been suspended and all its employees have been relieved.

The company plans to dispose of the plant or find alternative uses for the land and building of the factory which is situated adjacent to the company's Sankarnagar factory at Talaiyuth in Tamil Nadu.