French firm establishes mfg facility near Vizag
More than 95% of employees are local hires from Andhra, which include 100 full-time and 100 contract workers
image for illustrative purpose
Visakhapatnam: Imerys, the world leader in mineral-based specialty solutions for industry, on Wednesday announced an expansion programme in India, with plans to step up production, R&D and sustainability efforts at its manufacturing plant near Visakhapatnam.
Imerys' Vizag plant reduces the import burden and associated costs and risks, such as forex volatility. While the company remains focused on serving Indian demand, 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.
The Vizag plant currently has a capacity to produce 30,000 tonnes of calcium illuminate binder for use in the Indian refractory and construction industries. Imerys plans to expand capacity to 50,000 tonnes by 2030 to serve rising demand from the domestic steel and cement sectors, which continue to add capacity across the country. This makes the Vizag facility, the single largest site and investment in India for Imerys' refractory, and construction businesses.
At a ceremony attended by Emmanuel Lenain, French Ambassador to India formally inaugurated the plant near here. Imerys said that more than 95 per cent of employees are local hires from Andhra Pradesh, which include 100 full-time employees and 100 contractors. As part of its strong focus on developing bespoke products for the local markets, Imerys is also in the process of setting up a regional R&D centre in 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.
Imerys also informed CEOs from several of its Indian customers that the company had enlarged its globally trusted Secar range of products for the market through its locally manufactured product calcium aluminate binders, ideally suited for refractory solutions and high end dry-mix mortars in infrastructure. The company is investing an additional Rs 12 crore in equipment to further increase operations to produce Secar 71.
Imerys said it is committed to growing its India business sustainability and has commenced work to create solar powered energy to power its plant in Vizag. This is in line with Imerys' global efforts to limit environmental impact across the value chain of its operations by carving out a measurable pathway called Sustain Agility, a scientific approach to decarbonization.
Commenting on Imerys' India investment plans, Philippe Bourg, Senior Vice President, Imerys said: "India is the second largest steel and cement manufacturer in the world and therefore, a key market for Imerys. We have been present in India for decades through imports. As an example in 2021, we generated sales of over Rs 160 crore. Thanks to our plant in Vizag, we are now becoming a local player able to even better serve the domestic market. Imerys has a strong willingness to keep on growing and reinforce our presence in the Indian refractory market but also in the infrastructure sector with sustainable solutions."
Segi Idicula, Managing Director of Imerys India, added: "Our Vizag facility will address the strong demand for refractories and other high temperature materials, essential to support the growing steel, cement and other metallurgical industries. Vizag is an important industrial hub in India with great port connectivity and a business-friendly environment, leading to efficient operations to meet the increasing demand not just within the country but exports too."
