Chennai, 5 October, 2006: Carborundum Universal Limited (CUMI), a leader in the abrasives and ceramics market and part of the $1.6 billion Murugappa Group announced the inauguration of their fourth coated abrasives manufacturing facility in India at Sriperumbudur today. Spread over 22.5 acres, the facility has been established at an investment of Rs 50 crore. This facility will enable CUMI to more than double its manufacturing capacity for coated abrasive products - from 11 million square meters to 25 million square meters. This world-class facility will offer significant improvement in product consistency and yield giving CUMI the capability to produce the next-generation coated products.

Present at the inauguration, Mr. M M Murugappan, Chairman, Carborundum Universal Limited said, "It is proud moment for all of us at Carborundum Universal as the launch of this factory is yet another testimony to CUMI making its mark in the global arena. With international acceptance of our coated products in places like Australia, Europe and North America, there is an increasing demand of newer requirements and designs. With this facility, CUMI is equipped to deliver inimitable quality coated abrasives to markets worldwide".

"The commencement of this facility further strengthens our leadership position in the abrasives market" said Mr. K Srinivasan, Managing Director, Carborundum Universal Limited. "Engineered with unparalleled technology, the facility will enhance our supply capability to deliver within 24 hours and manufacture a wide range of products with leadership in select applications. The plant will support the supply of products to markets all over India and also our meet our export targets of 30 per cent of total sales", he added

The facility houses the state-of-the-art abrasives maker and a full conversion line. The 'Peter Schwabe Maker' installed at the facility has the capacity to process fabrics and paper used for coated abrasives upto 1650 MM width vis-à-vis the existing capacity of 940 MM. The new facility will enable CUMI to build a range of high performance products through next generation input materials and consistency in product performance and geometry through high degree of process controls. To the customers, the facility offers wide belts, waterproof cloth backing and power tool abrasives. The Sriperumbudur facility is in keeping with CUMI's environmental principles of adopting environmentally acceptable production methods and materials.

Since its establishment in 1954, CUMI has been a pioneer in coated and bonded abrasives. Its products today are benchmarked as one of the best in the industry for their performance. CUMI manufactures over 20,000 varieties of abrasives that range from Rs.5 to Rs.50, 000. With a robust distribution network, 80 per cent of the abrasive products reach the end-users through 400 dealers and five lakh retail outlets across India. During 2005-06, CUMI's abrasives and ceramics businesses grew by about 20 per cent on account of a stronger demand-pull from the user industries and the development of better products. In 2005-06, CUMI consolidated achieved an income of Rs. 530.7 crore and a post-tax profit of Rs 86.5 crore.

About CUMI
CUMI is one of the flagship companies of the $1.6 billion Murugappa Group. 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. 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.

About the Murugappa Group
Headquartered in Chennai, the $1.6 billion Murugappa Group is India's leading business conglomerate, which fosters an environment of professionalism for its strong workforce of 28,000 employees. The group has 29 registered companies, which are market leaders in diverse areas on business viz. engineering, abrasives, finance, general insurance, sanitaryware, cycles, sugar, farm inputs, fertilizers, plantations, bio products and nutraceuticals. The Group has manufacturing units in 12 states.

The Group has forged strong joint venture alliances with leading international companies like Roca of Spain, Cargill of Geneva, Cerdak of South Africa, DBS Bank of Singapore, Mitsui Sumitomo of Japan and Groupe Chimique Tunisien of Tunisia and has consolidated its status as one of the fastest growing diversified business house in India.

Contact Information

N Kishore
Executive Vice President,
Abrasives Division
CUMI
Tel: 044 42211101
Mobile: 98400 61473
Email: KishoreN@cumi.murugappa.com

Anu Lakshman
IPAN
Tel: 044 28217284
Mobile: 98410 39574
Email: anu.lakshman@ipan.com