Carborundum Universal Ltd (CUMI) Scales New Heights

Carborundum Universal Ltd, India, (CUMI) is one of the flagship companies of the USD 2.4 billion. 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. CUMI is the largest company in the abrasives business in India.

Carborundum Universal Ltd. is a part of the US $ 1.2 billion Murugappa Group. A pioneer and market leader in several fields of business with manufacturing operations across 12 states in the country, the Group has a strong presence in Abrasives, Engineering, Bio-products, Sanitaryware, Sugar, Fertilizers, Pesticides, Finance, General Insurance, Plantations and Nutraceuticals.

CUMI 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 Fibres and Bonded Refractories) and Electrominerals. CUMI is the largest company in the Abrasives business in India. The organisation was founded in 1954 as a joint venture with The Carborundum Company, USA and Universal Grinding Wheel Co. Ltd. UK. To be increasingly recognized 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.

Over the recent years, CUMI has scaled heights by achieving new milestones thereby expanding their business plans all over the world which helps them to make their business venture a greater success in the abrasives and ceramics Industry.

Carborundum Universal Ltd, India, (CUMI), has entered into an Agreement with Foskor (Proprietary) Limited, South Africa on 03 July, 2008, to acquire 51per cent equity stake in Foskor Zirconia (Proprietary) Limited, Phalaborwa, South Africa, (FZL). This agreement is subject to regulatory approvals in South Africa. Foskor was seeking a strategic partner to take FZL to its next phase of expansion and growth. CUMI is one amongst the two companies globally with interests in Abrasives, Ceramics, Refractories and Minerals and hence a logical choice.

Carborundum Universal Limited acquired Volzhsky Abrasive Works, Volgograd in September last year. CUMI operates 18 plants in India and 6 overseas. With this addition CUMI would become one of the largest producers of Silicon Carbide and Bonded Abrasives in the World. CUMI has its major manufacturing units in India, Russia, China and South Africa and has operations in 9 countries including Australia, Canada, Middle East, US and Thailand.

On 28th November 2008, Carborundum Universal Limited (CUMI), a constituent of the Murugappa Group has entered into an MOU with the Administration of the Volgograd Region, Russia represented by its First Deputy Governor Y.I. Sizov for setting up a 100 thousand tonnes SiC Fusion Plant at a cost of about USD 50 million through its subsidiary Volzhsky Abrasive Works, Volgograd Region, Russia.

Mr. M M Murugappan, Chairman, CUMI, opines "Our vision is to place CUMI on the global map as an Indian company poised to redefine the scope and applications of material science. Being market leaders, we have to constantly innovate, especially in ceramics sciences. There is a huge potential in the post surgical market and the bio ceramics vertical offers a good opportunity to expand our product portfolio."

Touching on CUMI’s future plans, Mr. Ramesh Agarwal, Managing Director, CUMI said , "Some of the immediate focus areas would be leveraging global opportunities that emerge from China and Europe and an investment to the tune of Rs. 25-30 crore in future technologies". Further, the company plans to double its exports over the forth coming years.

CUMI is a fully vertically integrated company with operations in Australia, Canada, China, Russia, Middle East, US and in India. CUMI brings to FZL its mineral processing knowledge, its brands, market access, application engineering expertise and global management practices. This will help FZL to grow its range of products and business. CUMI expects to attain this growth through TQM (Total Quality Management) led operational excellence. Other areas of best practices are its commitment towards business excellence, commitment to environment and total employee involvement.

To know more about Carborundum Universal Ltd, India (CUMI), visit http://www.cumi-murugappa.com/

Headquartered in Chennai, the Rs.9582 Crore (USD 2.4 billion) Murugappa Group is India’s leading business conglomerate. Market leaders in diverse areas of business including Engineering, Abrasives, Finance, General Insurance, Cycles, Sugar, Farm Inputs, Fertilizers, Sanitaryware, Plantations, Bio-products and Nutraceuticals, its 29 registered companies have manufacturing facilities spread across 14 states in India. The organisation fosters an environment of professionalism and has a workforce of over 32,000 employees. The Group has forged strong joint venture alliances with leading international companies like DBS Bank, Mitsui Sumitomo, Cargill, Roca and Groupe Chimique Tunisien has consolidated its status as one of the fastest growing diversified business houses in India

Carborundum Universal India Limited (CUMI)
Chandrika Raman
Asst. General Manager
Group Corporate Communications
CUMI Murugappa Group
Tel: 044-25306535 / 098400-71172
Email: chandrikaR@corp.murugappa.com
Web: www.cumi-murugappa.com

This release was published on openPR.