Refractories have huge Potential in India
Refractories play a key role in the steel and construction Industry and are said to perform a salient role in their production.
With the demand for steel & cement set to surge and with the Indian government having set an ambitious steel production target of 300 MTPA by 2030 refractories therefore have a significant role to play, thereby also presenting a lucrative business opportunity for them. One such company that has been playing a substantial role in this sector is Imerys, a world leader in mineral-based specialty solutions for industry.
Having been in India for 30 years with 17 plants across the country the company has been ramping up its capacity so as to gear up for the huge opportunity that the market presents.
‘India is a very important market for us. High quality and high performing steel needs high performing solutions. This is where Imerys has been playing a significant role in India and we intend to cater to the needs of our customers here’ said Imerys’s senior Vice president, Mr Philippe Bourg speaking exclusively to Vizag Industrial Scan.
Mr Bourg was recently in Vizag to celebrate the 1 year completion of its state of the art greenfield manufacturing facility in Visakhapatnam. The Vizag facility armed with a capacity to produce 30 thousand tonnes of calcium aluminate binder is for use in the Indian refractory and construction industries.
‘Imerys’s growth story is intertwined with India’s growth story’ said Imerys India, Managing Director, Mr Segi Idicula.
Adding that the growth of their business is very closely related to the growth in the steel and cement industry Mr Idicula highlighted India’s 300 MTPA steel production target by 2030.
‘Even if the country did 200 MTPA that itself presents a huge opportunity’ opined Imery’s India Managing director. Concurred Mr Philippe and said that the company has huge plans for India and wants their India business to substantially grow from their present numbers.
Imerys’ Indian business currently contributes a mere Euros 25 million to the group’s overall refractory revenues of Euros 600 million. ‘We want this number to remarkably grow from the present’ said Mr Philippe.
Its thus no surprise that Imerys plans to expand the Vizag plant’s capacity to 50 thousand tonnes by 2030 to serve the rising demand from the domestic steel and cement sectors, and continue to add capacities across the country.
This makes the Vizag facility, the single largest site and investment in India for Imerys’ refractory, and construction businesses. The company is investing an additional Rs. 12 Crore in equipment to further increase operations to produce Secar 71.
Imerys is also in the process of setting up a regional Research & Development Centre at Vizag.
The centre will support local product development and innovation for specific customer mandates in India, and Imerys expects that it will also contribute to augmenting the company’s global technical and manufacturing standards.
Domestic & Export Markets
Although the company is currently focusing on catering to the needs of its domestic clients, the Vizag manufacturing facility is well equipped for servicing overseas markets such as Asia Pacific and the Middle East, contributing to India’s efforts to strengthen its position in the global manufacturing supply chain.
Sustainability
Mr Philippe cited sustainability to be an area of focus and informed that Imerys is committed to growing its India business sustainabily and thus has commenced work to create solar powered energy to power its plant in Vizag.
He stated that Imerys is committed to reducing scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 36% relative to revenue by 2030, in alignment with the COP21 climate change agreement.
