The Hindu Business Line : Vesuvius setting up refractory unit in Vizag

Kolkata April 18 Vesuvius India Ltd is setting up a 2,000-tonnes per month (tpm) capacity alumina silicate monolithic refractory manufacturing unit in Vizag at an estimated investment of Rs 11-12 crore, according to Mr Biswadip Gupta, Managing Director of the company.

Addressing shareholders at the company's 16th annual general meeting held here on Tuesday, Mr Gupta said 6.5 acres of land required for the proposed project had already been acquired. The plant site was barely one-and-a-half km from Vesuvius' other refractory manufacturing facility located in Vizag. The existing Vizag plant had been bought over from Carborundum Universal some time back. When the new plant in Vizag becomes operational in the next 8-10 months, Vesuvius' refractory production from its two plants there would be 5,000 tpm.

Production capacity

According to him, refractory production capacity at Vesuvius' plant in Salem was being augmented to 3,000 tpm even as capacity at the Mehsana plant had already been augmented to 200 tpm. Production capacity at the company's Kolkata unit was being augmented from the existing level of 875 pieces per month, at an estimated capital investment of around Rs 70 crore. This was part of the company's plans — announced earlier — to invest Rs 100 crore on capacity expansion and installation of balancing equipment.

Mr Gupta said growth opportunities for the refractory industry were "enormous" in view of the expected growth of the domestic steel industry from 44 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 70 mtpa within the next four years.

During the year ended December 31, 2006, Vesuvius India notched a turnover of Rs 275.84 crore, against Rs 221.62 crore recorded in the previous year.

The profit after tax during the year under review was Rs 21.18 crore compared with Rs 28.64 crore during the 12 months ended December 31, 2005.

A dividend of Rs 3.50 per equity share of the face value of Rs 10 was declared for the year gone by.