October 4, 2006: Carborundum Universal Ltd, makers of abrasives and ceramics and part of the $1.6 billion Murugappa group, has set up a new coated abrasives plant at Sriperumbudur near Chennai with an investment of Rs 50 crore.

The new plant is expected give the company an edge in the international arena by turning out world-class coated abrasive products.

In a communique to the Bombay Stock Exchange today, the company has said that the new plant, which was inaugurated on October 2, will have a capacity to manufacture 15 million square metres of coated abrasive products per annum.

The plant, which has commenced trial production, has a state-of-the-art 1650 mm wide width maker and is one of the largest plants in Asia, it added.

With this new facility, Carborumdum has ramped up its total coated abrasives manufacturing capacity from about 11 million square metres to 26 million square metres per annum.

In June, Carborundum Universal signed a joint venture agreement with Jingri Industrial Diamond Company, Yanjiao in China and China Engineering and Exploration Bureau (CEEB).

This venture is expected to help Carborundum manufacture cost-competitive abrasive products in China for foreign markets, including India. In addition, Jingri will market Carborundum's products in China.

For fiscal 2005-06, the company registered 18 per cent growth in total turnover to Rs 434 crore compared to Rs 357 crore the last year.