Jun. 24, 2021 - French industrial minerals producer Imerys has invested Rs 350 crore, (€40million) in India to set up a 30,000-tonne calcium aluminate plant, an important raw material for making refractories, in Vizag, Andhra Pradesh.
“The group invested €40million in this new facility, which expands the group’s presence in the country and enables it to serve domestic customers with solutions adapted to their local needs,” said Segi Idicula, managing director of Imerys Refractory India.
Calcium aluminates are obtained by heating calcium and aluminium oxides at high temperatures. They are used in the manufacture of refractories and cements. Imerys procures alumina, which is used in the making of calcium aluminate, from top players like Hindalco and Nalco in India.
The French multinational is looking to further expand capacity to at least 50,000 tonnes a year through inorganic growth.
“Currently our capacity is around 30,000 tonnes a year, but we can stretch it to 50,000 tonnes any time with some minor additions. When demand also grows, we grow accordingly,” said Idicula.
This comes at a time when top steelmakers are moving away from China to procure refractories and raw materials for making refractories in India.
“The rationale of investing in India is purely based on the potential growth from the markets and not relating to the diplomatic or the trade tensions going on in the world,” said Vincent Couty, Imerys' vice president - refractory producers.
The company said that the strategy is to create a network of plants to address global demand for refractory products.
“We have plants in the US, in Europe, in China, in India. So, we have a very strong network of assets to serve the global demand, and to be close to our customers,” Couty said.
Several refractory makers in India are dependent on countries like China, Vietnam and South Africa for raw material as procuring it India is not cost effective. Imerys, being a global player, can play a major role in supplying those raw materials in India, Idicula said.
“We produce andalusite, we have a plant in Bahrain, where we produce white fused alumina, We have a zirconia plant In the US as well as in China. So, depending on the requirements. We can supply these products in India,” Idicula said.
As a long-term plan, Imerys is looking to further invest in India either through greenfield projects or through acquisitions.
“The group will continue to invest in India when the time comes. It can be an acquisition. We have made acquisitions in the past as a group. It can be a greenfield project,” Couty said.
The company plans to achieve full capacity by 2025 and targets Rs 200 crore of turnover annually.
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