French industrial minerals producer Imerys is expanding its Indian manufacturing base to ramp up production of calcium aluminates, a key high temperature material in the production of refractories, a company statement said on Tuesday, October 18.
The company said that it will be investing an estimated $43 million at its existing plant at Vishakhapatnam to increase production of calcium aluminates to 50,000 mt per year from 30,000 mt per year, in line with India’s steel production target of 300 million mt per year.
“With the capacity expansion in India, the potential of growth is huge for us. Imerys’ plant was commissioned last year, seeking to ensure domestic supplies and reduce dependence on imports,” Imerys’ senior vice president Phillipe Bourge said.
“In the long run and specifically in India, there is an expected growth in the range of six percent every year for the next 10 years. Even if there are ups and downs in the cycle affecting production and demand, growth is there. We are here for the medium and long term,” he said.
Calcium aluminate is the key binder for monolithic refractories and much of the current demand in India is understood to be met through imports.