Hindalco to acquire refinery from Novelis

Hindalco Industries, the metals flagship of the Aditya Birla Group, today said it has finalised arrangement for acquiring alumina refinery and bauxite mines in Brazil from its wholly-owned subsidiary Novelis as part of corporate reorganisation plan. 

"Hindalco Industries has finalised its arrangement for acquiring alumina refinery and bauxite mines from Novelis Do Brasil, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Novelis. The agreement was executed between Novelis Do Brasil, Novelis andAV Minerals (Netherlands), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hindalco Industries," the company said in a statement. The Alumina Refinery, with a capacity of 145 KTPA, situated in the city of Ouro Preto, State of Minas Gerias, Brazil, has mining rights of over 50 million tonnes of bauxite reserves. 

"This transaction will be done by transferring the Alumina assets of Novelis Do Brasil into a new company to be formed in Brazil and acquisition of all the shares of the new company by AV Minerals," Hindalco said in a filing to theBombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The acquisition will take place after all necessary approvals and permits for restarting the idle facilities and operations of the company are obtained in Brazil, it said. In June 2009, Novelis Do Brasil had suspended the production of alumina at this refinery. The company said this corporate reorganisation will allow the new company, with its sole focus on Mining and Alumina business, to create value out of the moth-balled assets for all the stakeholders, while Novelis Do Brasil will continue to focus on its core downstream aluminium rolling business. 

In 2007, Novelis was acquired byHindalco Industries and following the merger, Novelis became a wholly owned subsidiary of Aditya Birla Group. With the addition of Novelis, Hindalco became the world's largest aluminum rolling company and one of the biggest producers of primary aluminum in Asia. 

Hindalco Industries shares were trading at Rs 123.40, up 0.94 per cent from previous close on the BSE in the afternoon. 

Dalmia Cement Plans Rs 1800 Cr Expansion

To strengthen its presence both nationally and in the North-East, cement maker Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd (DCBL) plans to invest Rs 1,800 crore for capacity expansion over the next two years.

While the company would invest Rs 1,300 crore for its upcoming 2.5-million tonnes greenfield project at Belgaum, Karnataka, its plants in North-East would entail an estimated investment of Rs 500 crore, Puneet Yadu Dalmia, Managing Director, told reporters here on Friday.

According to Dalmia, the company currently has a total capacity of 17 mt and wants to add nearly four mt by 2014-15.

The company has recently acquired Meghalaya-based Adhunik Cement with an investment of nearly Rs 560 crore and increased its stake in Calcom Cement in Assam.

Meanwhile, OCL India Ltd would invest nearly Rs 500 crore for a 1.5-mt grinding plant near Salboni in West Bengal. DCBL holds 45.4 per cent stake in OCL India.

According to Dalmia, the project should be commissioned by the end of 2013.

Uranium Corp Commissioned Product Packaging Plant

State-owned Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) has commissioned the final product packaging plant at its Tumallapalle mine and processing plant in Cuddapah district of Andhra Pradesh.

"We have achieved a milestone by launching the first unit in Andhra Pradesh and put it on trial run since last Wednesday," said UCIL Chairman-cum-Managing Director Diwakar Acharya.

Addressing a press conference today at Narwapahar project premises, about 20 km from here, Acharya expressed satisfaction over the progress of Tumallapalle project, which will be the largest plant of UCIL with a capacity of 3,000 tonnes ore production as well as processing per day.

The work is going on in full swing and the plant is expected to be fully operational soon, he said, adding that Uranium Corporation has invested around Rs 1,100 crore in the project, which was the first unit of the PSU beyond Jharkhand.

Having a vast reserve of uranium ore, Tumallapalle has enough scope for further expansion and would be one of the largest units of Uranium Corporation in the country, he said.

After the commissioning of the project, the company has plans to expand it in the vicinity and extract additional 1,500 tonnes ore per day.

"We will be investing another over Rs 800 crore for the expansion," he said, adding that UCIL has plans to take up another expansion in Kanampalle.

The Tumallapalle plant would reach a production capacity of 6,000 tonnes per day following the commissioning of all the three phases.

Asked about the protest against nuclear power world over, following the Fukosima Tsunami incident, Acharya said no country, barring Germany, has shelved their nuclear plant projects.

As far as Germany is concerned, Acharya said they were producing surplus power compared to their population whereas the scenario in India is just opposite.

Acharya said UCIL is also in the process of obtaining clearances for the construction of its mines as well as a processing plant in Lambapur/Peddagattu in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh.

Japanese-led JV wins EPC contract for Petrochemical Complex at Vietnam

 A joint venture of JGC Corporation (JGC), Chiyoda Corporation, Technip, and South Korean contractors GS Engineering & Construction and SK Engineering & Construction has been awarded a contract for the Nghi Son refinery and petrochemicals complex in the Nghi Son economic zone in northern Vietnam, as per JCN. The contract was awarded by the Nghi Son Refinery Petrochemical Limited Liability Company, a joint venture between Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd (35.1%), Kuwait Petroleum International (35.1%), Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation (25.0%), and Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (4.8%). The lump-sum turnkey contract is for the engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) and commissioning work for an oil refinery with production capacity of 200,000 bpd. 

The complex, scheduled for completion in late 2016, will be located in the Thanh Hoa Province in Vietnam, 200 km south of the capital city of Hanoi. The value of the contract was not disclosed.

This project, which is being promoted by Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd., Kuwait Petroleum International, Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation, and Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. is a grassroots oil refinery and petrochemical complex project in Vietnam. This project will be the second constructed in Vietnam, and is aimed at satisfying increasing demands for petroleum products to support the progress of Vietnam's motorization, as well as produce petrochemicals for export.

Gerresheimer AG acquires stake in Triveni Polymers

Gerresheimer AG, a leading German packaging company, has acquired 75% stake in Triveni Polymers Private Limited which is a producer of plastic containers and closures for the pharma industry. The amount for the deal is yet to be disclosed.

Triveni Polymers is a manufacturer of pharmaceutical plastic packaging in India with over 300 employees. The office is headquartered in New Delhi and with a plant in the nearby city of Kundli, Haryana. The firm has an installation capacity of 5700 MTPA and generates an annual revenue of approximately Rs 130 crore.

"This acquisition is well aligned to our strategy of enhancing our footprint in the emerging markets. Triveni is a leading and fast-growing company with excellent profitability that provides a high value for us. Our global expertise, combined with the excellent local manufacturing capabilities of Triveni, will speed up our growth in the emerging countries," said Hans-Jürgen Wiecha, CFO of Gerresheimer AG.



Gerresheimer AG was established in the year 1864 and it boasts of manufacturing specialty products that are made of glass and plastic for the global pharma and healthcare industry. The company operates in four divisions, Tubular Glass, Moulded Glass, Plastic Systems and Life Science Research. The global player is headquatered in Düsseldorf. It employs over 10,000 employees at 46 locations in Europe, North and South America and Asia.



Earlier this year, the German company had acquired 70% stake in Gujarat-based Neutral Glass & Allied Industries.

Rotary Peristaltic Pump

Vanton Pump and Equipment Corp.'s portable, nonmetallic Flex-I-Liner rotary peristaltic pump evacuates drums and totes containing acids, caustics, salts, chlorides, and reagent grade chemicals, without corrosion of the pump or contamination of the fluid. The self-priming design has no seals to leak or valves to clog, and the pump can run dry for extended periods without damage. Compact in size with integral handle, it fits on drum lids without protruding and has sufficient lift characteristics to operate from the floor, skid, or stand. Only two nonmetallic parts contact fluid: a thermoplastic body block and an elastomeric flexible liner that can be replaced in the field without special tools. A rotor mounted on an eccentric shaft oscillates within the flexible liner, imparting a progressive squeegee action on the fluid trapped in the channel between the liner and the body block. Flanges on the flexible liner are pressed to the side of the body block by concentric grooves on the bracket assembly and the cover plate, isolating the fluid to the channel. The pump is suitable for flows from 0.33 gallons per minute (gpm) to 40 gpm (1.25 to 151 liters/hour) and pressures to 45 psig (310 kPa) at temperatures to 250F (121C).

Meet your customers, don’t Google them

The biggest mistake plaguing most of corporate India, and many international companies, is the distance from customer base

December 27, 2012:  

With signs of depression all around and foreboding predictions of gloomy days in times to come, several corporate Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) have often asked me what's the best thing to do these days to just 'stay afloat'.

I have resolutely maintained that the singular prescription to keep business ticking and maintaining your brand's residual equity is to 'roll up your sleeves' and go 'back to basics. Personally interact with your customers every day. In more ways than one. Because your life depends on it.

Hit the markets

The biggest mistake — in my opinion — plaguing most of corporate India (and perhaps many other international companies as well), is the sheer distancing that marketers and CEOs have developed from their customer base.

Gone are the days when young management trainees, advertising agency representatives and even the odd product engineer spent time in the market, getting his/her hands dirty, interacting with customers in the first person, understanding their wants, expectations and experience from your products and services. The onset of technology seems to have given all corporate executives the license to browse through reams of data in the virtual world, all in the garb of 'consumer understanding'.

Primary research and field sales visits have been conveniently replaced by secondary data browsing and analytics. Today's youngsters in marketing even choose their job and employer based on the number of days they may be expected to physically travel away from the air-conditioned environs of their work-station and computers.

Technology: Not the solution

Trends indicate that world-wide the amount of money companies spend in primary research has seen a modest growth of 0.4 per cent in the last three years compared to 14 per cent + growth seen in the customer relationship management/business analytics area.

A recent article, which made the rounds among the business strategy populace was the death of the once-famous strategy consulting firm, Michael Porter's Monitor Group. Once touted as the hottest consulting firm, predicted to give even Boston Consulting Group (BCG) a run for their money, Monitor died an inglorious death last year. Experts have opined that the singular cause of Monitor's downfall is that its entire consulting model was based on optimising strategy vis-à-vis competition, rather than by understanding customers!

All these indicators sadly indicate a common truth that the age old adage adorning the walls of many a dusty kiranastores, 'THE CUSTOMER IS KING', is all but forgotten. That marketers and CEOs seem to believe that 'smart' decisions can be taken in the comfortable atmosphere of plush boardrooms using straight-jacketed consultants and analysts, who cleverly spew out charts and graphs and dazzle you with analytical tools using modern technology.

Nothing can be farther from the truth. It is my sincere belief that technology is no doubt important. But it is merely a means of documenting that most vital statistic — knowledge of the body, mind and and soul of your customer. And that knowledge will come only by interacting with the customer face-toface.

Heidelberg Cement Expands Capacity to 5MTPA

Expanding cement making capacity in India, Germany's HeidelbergCement today commissioned first phase of its Rs 1,400 crore expansion plans, taking its production to five million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

The leading global cement maker, which had entered into the Indian market by acquiring Mysore Cements in 2006, had 3.1 mtpa capacity before its Jhansi grinding unit in Uttar Pradesh went on stream.

The Jhansi unit's capacity has now gone up to 2.7 mtpa from 0.8 mtpa earlier.

"This is the first move towards our expansion plans in Central India. With the commissioning of the new mill that has been funded through mix of internal accruals and debts, the company has increased its all India cement capacity to five mtpa," Ashish Guha, CEO & Managing Director, HeidelbergCement India, said.

The company is also enhancing capacity in Damoh in Madhya Pradesh to raise the capacity to six mtpa, a company source said, adding that the date of commissioning of the project would be announced soon.

"Total investment in these two plants amounts to Rs 1,400 crore," the source said.

HeidelbergCement, which mainly caters to the Central market and now trying to position its 'mycem' brand in other parts of the country had achieved highest ever cement sales of 2.81 million tonnes in 2011.

"We expect cement consumption to grow at a relatively higher rate in Central region and stand committed towards bettering the prospects for our stakeholders," Guha said.

McNally bags order worth Rs 513 cr

McNally Bharat Engineering Co Ltd on Thursday said that it has obtained an order for design, engineering, manufacturing and erection balance of plant worth Rs 513.19 crore for the 300-MW power plant of Kaizen Power Ltd at Vizag. 

The contractual delivery has to be made within the next 22 months.  

With this order, the company's order book now stands at Rs 5,100 crore, the company said.