Birla White Cement completes 25 yeaRs. of operations
Birla White, UltraTech Cement’s brand that is synonymous with white cement, celebrated its 25th anniveRs.ary at its Kharia Khangar (Rajasthan) plant on 11 April 2013. The day-long event was attended by all channel partneRs., stockists, and supplieRs. for Birla White. MRs.. Rajashree Birla, ChairpeRs.on of the Birla Centre for Community Initiatives & Rural Development, was the chief guest, while Mr. O.P. Puranmalka, Whole Time Director, Cement Business, was the guest of honour. Mr. Rajiv Dube, Director , Group Corporate Services, and Dr. Pragnya Ram, Group Executive President, Corporate Communications and CSR, were the other distinguished guests gracing the occasion.
Over the yeaRs., Birla White has consistently expanded its product portfolio and strengthened quality. Today, it makes and markets several surface finishing options such as WallCare Putty, Textura, Glass Reinforced Concrete and Levelplast. Looking ahead, its aim is to become a globally benchmarked organisation in white cement through value-added products, continued focus on quality and customer delight. The brand also plans to reach projected revenues of Rs. 3,000 crore by 2015-16.
Birla White has one of the largest white cement plants in South East Asia, with an installed capacity of 560,000 TPA, and among the most technologically-advanced in the world. Commissioned in 1988 with a capacity of 80,000 TPA, the plant has expanded over a period of time by the debottlenecking of existing equipment, technology upgradation, modernisation and the commissioning of Line-II in 1997.
UltraTech Cement has a strong global presence in the developed European and fast-growing Asian markets with exports to 26 countries. To cater to the growing market, Birla White recently commissioned a manufacturing facility for WallCare Putty at Katni, Madhya Pradesh, with a production capacity of 4 lakh MTPA. With this unit, Birla White will be able to efficiently service the markets in central, west and south India, improve product availability, and create a dominant position in the market.
Talking about future plans, Mr. Rahul Mohnot, Birla White Unit Head, says, “The Company’s journey from inception to becoming India’s largest, and the world’s 7th largest white cement manufacturer has been remarkable. Birla White cement has been growing at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of eight per cent during the past five yeaRs.. Now, we are on the path to aggressive expansion, with plans already in place to add a third line adjacent to the existing facility to augment existing capacity by two-and-a-half times.”
This expansion will make Birla White the largest single location white cement manufacturer in the world.