Bangalore: Carborundum Universal (CUMI), one of the leading players in the world in the area of Material Sciences and a part of the Murugappa Group, opened three new fusion plants at its Electromineral Complex at Cochin, today.
With the new facilities – a Zirconia Bubble Fusion Plant and two Alumina Fusion Plants – CUMI’s Complex here has become one of the most advanced and integrated electromineral complexes in the world.
The plants were inaugurated by Shri A Vellayan, Executive Chairman, Murugappa Group in the presence of the Chief Guest Dr. AN Safeena, IAS, Development Commissioner, Cochin SEZ.
The direct job creation from this project will be primarily in the technology and application side; it is also expected to create over 300 indirect jobs in the front and backend of the supply chain.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr A Vellayan, Executive Chairman, Murugappa Group, said, “I congratulate the Team at Electro Minerals Division in CUMI who have been in the forefront of technology and innovation, with several patents to their credit. Their commitment and technical strength has been instrumental in setting up this world class facilities and our continued investment in Cochin.”
“The new facilities—estimated at Rs 80 crores investment funded through internal accruals—will add, at full capacity, about 25,000 tons of fused minerals generation, with potential sales of about $30 million,” he added.
Building on the Group’s CSR focus in the three areas of Health, Education and Skill Development, Carborundum has been working on providing skill development for qualified youth from economically backward sections. One of the significant initiatives under this, the CUMI Skill Development Centre has recently won the Golden Peacock Award for Excellence in CSR Activities.
About the new facilities:
The Zirconia Bubble Fusion Plant is a modern tilt furnace that will blow Zirconia bubbles at nearly 3000 degree centigrade. Zirconia is extensively used in ceramics, refractories, pigments and in the nuclear industry. The company is also commissioning two Alumina Fusion Plants – a modern pot furnace and a tilt furnace of large capacity.
The hallmark of all these three furnaces is that they are highly energy-efficient with close loop feed and Scada control to ensure near zero emission. In line with the Electromineral division’s continued focus on Health, Environment and Safety across all its plants and locations (which has won it several awards / recognitions), safety and environmental protection have been given the highest priority in this new project, too.
The Electromineral complex of Carborundum consists of fusion and processing facilities at Edapally, a world-class Microgrit facility at Kakkanad, a Silicon Carbide complex at Volzhsky in Russia (one of the largest of its kind), a smaller unit at Koratty, bauxite mines and a calcining plant at Okha in Gujarat, Quartz mines at Orlof in the Volgorad Oblast in Russia, stabilised Zirconia fusion and processing facilities at Phalaborwa in South Africa, as well as a hydroelectric power plant at Maniyar in Kerala.
These facilities result in the company manufacturing a wide range of Aluminas, Silicon Carbide, Zirconias, Engineered grains like Azure S, mircoporus high temperature insulation- Nebulox, microgrits and treated grains.
The Electromineral division’s products address various applications in diverse industries including Engineering, Energy and Environment. Nearly 75% of the division’s revenue is from exports and overseas operations. The Cochin complex also has a DSIR-approved R&D centre that has been driving innovation, and creating a large number of IPs and has been recognised by CII as one of the Top 25 Innovative companies in India.