Kerneos Vizag plant to begin operations in a year

Kerneos India Aluminate Technologies on Wednesday performed bhoomi pooja for its plant at Pudi village in the Atchutapuram Industrial Park. The company is setting up a Rs 120-crore calcium aluminate binder unit in Visakhapatnam district.

The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) has allotted 20.55 acres to the company. It expects to complete the construction work in 24 months and start commercial production, according to Segi P Iducula, managing director, Kerneos India.

This is its first unit of in India. It has 11 manufacturing units in France, UK, US and South Africa. Stating that India currently consumed 50,000 tonnes of calcium aluminate annually, Iducula said their plant capacity was only 30,000 tonnes per year, and, therefore, they would not have any market problem. The company was importing 10,000 tonnes of calcium aluminate and was selling it to refractory manufacturers, he said.