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Kolkata, May 14: Vesuvius India Ltd, the Indian unit of Belgian refractories maker Vesuvius Group, is planning to double production capacity at its Kolkata and Visakhapatnam plants to ride the boom in steelmaking. The decision follows a preparedness study done last month.
Vesuvius India managing director Biswadip Gupta said the study was conducted to figure out where the company should position itself to capitalise on the decisions by most Indian steelmakers to increase capacity.
“According to estimates, steel production will touch 50 million tonne by end-2006 from 35 million tonne, as of now. We were trying to figure out our preparedness. Not only do we need to double our existing capacities but we also have to acquire new units,” Mr Gupta said.
Refractories are corrosion- and heat-resistant products that go into the inner lining of blast furnaces, which would otherwise melt in the heat of the steelmaking process.
Mr Gupta, a highly-qualified metallurgist, said the expansion would be limited to its oldest plant, in Kolkata, which makes slide gate refractories and porous plugs, and to the Visakhapatnam unit which makes monolithic products.
The third plant, at Mehsana in Gujarat, will not see any change since it makes crucibles, sleeves and stoppers, which are consumed by the non-ferrous industry, especially the foundries. Currently, non-steel business accounts for about 24 per cent of Vesuvius India’s turnover of Rs 137 crore. Mr Gupta, however, did not specify the amount that it plans to spend on the expansion. He said Vesuvius was trying to move up the value chain by introducing high-technology products aimed at a ‘niche’ market. He pointed out that parent Vesuvius Group was the leader in the refractories business worldwide. The Vesuvius Group currently holds a 56 per cent equity stake in Vesuvius India. Vesuvius Group in turn is owned by Cookson Plc. According to Mr Gupta, Vesuvius is gradually shifting its focus from ‘piece selling’ to ‘solutions selling’, catering to total refractory management. Vesuvius entered the solutions selling business about three years back.
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