The Hindu Business Line : Vesuvius setting up unit at Vizag

Kolkata, Oct 9 Work on doubling of the capacity at Vesuvius India’s manufacturing facility in Kolkata will be taken up in January 2008. Estimated to cost Rs 50 crore, the expansion project will be completed by 2009, according to Mr Tanmay Ganguly, Managing Director of Vesuvius India Ltd.

Speaking to newspersons here today, Mr Ganguly said the Kolkata plant was equipped to manufacture 800 pieces of refractories daily. Post-expansion, this would go up to 1,600 pieces per day.

The company is also setting up another 40,000 tonnes per annum capacity refractory manufacturing unit in Vizag at an estimated investment of around Rs 12 crore.

According to Mr Ganguly, while the steel industry contributes to around 70 per cent of Vesuvius India’s revenue, the company would now focus on the power sector as well. While one major order has been bagged, it was hoped that orders for supply of boiler linings would be received in the months ahead.

Upbeat on growth

While the company was upbeat on the continuing growth in the steel sector, the “steep increase” in the prices of raw materials required by the refractory manufacturer was a matter of serious concern. “We are looking at a combination of internal efficiencies and an increase in the prices of our product offerings,” he said, when asked if prices of the company’s products would be hiked in view of the rise in input costs.

Mr Ganguly declined to make any forward-looking statement pertaining to the company’s performance in the 2007 calendar year.

He, however, said the company had posted a growth of 20 per cent in the six months ended June 30,2007 and expressed the hope that the rate of growth would be maintained during the rest of the year.