Carborundum kicks off new line for abrasives

Carborundum Universal, part of the $1.6 billion Murugappa Group and a leader in the abrasives and ceramics market recently inaugurated its fourth coated abrasives manufacturing facility at Sriperumbudur.

Spread over 22.5 acres, the facility has been established at an investment of Rs 50 crore. This facility will enable the CUMI to more than double its manufacturing capacity for coated abrasive products - from 11 million square metres to 25 million square metres. This state-of-the-art facility will help it deliver significant improvement in product consistency and yield giving the company the capability to produce the next-generation coated products.

While speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration of the new plant, MM Murugappan, Chairman, CUMI said, 'The launch of this factory is yet another testimony to CUMI making its mark in the global arena. With international acceptance of our coated products in places like Australia, Europe and North America, there is an increasing demand of newer requirements and designs. With this facility, we are equipped to deliver quality coated abrasives to markets worldwide'.

Peter Schwabe maker

'The commencement of this facility further strengthens our leadership position in the abrasives market. Engineered with latest technology, the facility will enhance our supply capability to deliver within 24 hours and manufacture a wide range of products with leadership in select applications. The plant will support the supply of products to markets all over the country and also meet our export targets of 30 percent of total sales', K Srinivasan, Managing Director, CUMI said.

The facility houses the sophisticated abrasives maker and a full conversion line. The 'Peter Schwabe Maker' installed at the facility has the capacity to process fabrics and paper used for coated abrasives up to 1650 mm width compared with the existing capacity of 940 mm. The new facility will enable the company to build a range of high performance products through next generation input materials and consistency in product performance and geometry through high-degree of process controls. To the customers, the facility offers wide belts, waterproof cloth backing and power tool abrasives. The Sriperumbudur facility is in keeping with the company's environmental principles of adopting environmentally acceptable production methods and materials.

Since its establishment in 1954, CUMI has been a pioneer in coated and bonded abrasives. Its products have been benchmarked as one of the best in the industry for their performance. The company manufactures over 20,000 varieties of abrasives that range from rupees five to Rs 50,000.

With a strong distribution network, 80 percent of the abrasive products reach the end-users through 400 dealers and five-lakh retail outlets across the country. During 2005-06, the company's abrasives and ceramics businesses grew by about 20 percent on account of a stronger demand-pull from the user industries and the development of better products. Similarly, in 2005-06, the company achieved an income of Rs 530.7 crore and a post-tax profit of Rs 86.5 crore.

The firm is one of the flagship companies of the Murugappa Group. The company has pioneered the manufacture of coated and bonded abrasives in India and has made forays into other material science areas such as ceramics (industrial ceramics, ceramic fibre refractory and bonded refractories) and electrominerals. It is the largest company in the abrasives business in the country. To be increasingly recognised as a technology and innovation-driven organisation in India and internationally, CUMI has placed greater emphasis on in-house research and development, product design and application engineering. The Murugappa Group has workforce of 28,000 employees.