The government’s fruit farm in Karumandurai in Salem district has received three stars in the agriculture ministry’s five-star rating system. Spread over 1,050 acres, the farm produces varieties of mango and other fruits.The National Horticulture Board, part of the agriculture ministry, gave the Karumandurai Tamil Nadu Government Fruit Farm the rating for its nursery maintenance and plant and fruit production.”This rating would be applicable for two years. We are growing more than two lakh saplings of alphonso, neelam, malgova and imam pasanth mangoes every year. We also raise one lakh guava plants, 20,000 sapota and 10,000 pomegranate plants. Apart from these, we grow other fruits such as banana and jackfruit. Every year, we grow more than 6 lakh fruit plants and made a profit of 17 lakh in the last financial year,” said A Mohan, horticulture officer at the farm.He said a farm should have consistently produced good quality fruit plants for at least three years before it is eligible for the rating. The volume of production should increase every year.
The horticulture department has 66 fruit farms across the state, of which Karumandurai farm is the biggest. The farm, started in 1981, is one of the largest in south Asia.
He said TNGFF has insect-proof screen houses, soil sterilisation yards and indexing against viral and virus-like diseases. Nursery plants are reared under the care of pathologists, entomologists and horticulturists.
The horticulture officer said this year they have planned to sell more than 6 lakh fruit plants to growers and nursery owners and that targets for coming years were also being fixed. The nursery plants of sound health ensure better life expectancy and performance in the orchards, he added.
(AM Shudhagar will send fruit farm photos)
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by B. Senthil Kumaran , TNN / June 25th, 2014
Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa launching the Amma Salt at secretariat in Chennai last month.
Chennai :
After Amma canteens, water and salt, plans are afoot to create infrastructure for Amma pharmacies across the state to provide cheap medicine for the poor. The AIADMK government will soon unveil 100 Amma Marunthagam (medical shops) across Tamil Nadu, a proposal that promises to win more goodwill for chief minister J Jayalalithaa. Reiterating her commitment towards creating a welfare state, these Amma pharmacies will sell medicines at a subsidised rate.
A senior official said the co-operative department has been working hard for the launch of the Amma medical shops across the state in 100 places. The shops are ready and staff is being recruited. “Finance minister O Panneerselvam announced the proposal in the state budget in February. We have almost completed the process of setting up the shops,” a senior official in the co-operative department said.
Officials said 10 shops will be opened in Chennai and 90 shops in the rest of the state. “A few co-operative shops in Tamil Nadu have been selling medicines without service tax. The idea of opening medical shops is to ensure sale of medicine at reasonable price to the public,” an official said. The state government had announced that Rs 20 crore will be used from the price distribution fund for opening the Amma pharmacies.
“Though the Amma pharmacies are limited and may not totally fulfill the demand of the people, the low price at which we sell medicines will force private shop owners to at least give some discount. The number of shops will be increased later,” sources said. The co-operative department is likely to recruit pharmacists through Medical Services Recruitment Board (MSRB).
The government recently introduced Amma salt in the market and packaged it as three varieties – low sodium, double fortified and refined free flow iodized salt, all cheaper than similar products available in the open market.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / TNN / June 24th, 2014
A farmer explaining the salient features of cultivating kuthiraivaali (Barnyard millet) during summer, in Watrap region of Virudhunagar district./ Photo: G. Moorthy / The Hindu
Virudhunagar district to produce 12.5 tonnes of seeds
Summer cultivation of ‘Kuthiraivaali’ (Barnyard Millet), introduced for the first time by the Department of Agriculture, has been a hit among farmers of Virudhunagar district.
While, initially, officials found it tough to convince farmers to come forward to cultivate the minor millet as a major alternative crop to cotton and paddy, the success tasted by a few farmers has helped more farmers evince interest in this crop.
Virudhunagar has been chosen to produce 12.5 tonnes of ‘Kuthiraivaali’ seeds as part of the State government’s ambitious project to increase the area under millet cultivation to ensure food, fodder and livelihood security.
“We have given 125 kg of CO (KV) 2 seeds provided by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University to 25 farmers. Cultivation of minor millets has been taken up on 50 acres,” Joint Director of Agriculture K. Subbiah said. The seeds are expected to be ready by August for sowing in September across the State.
Assured yield
Deputy Director P. Vanniyarajan said diversification to millet cultivation, especially during summer, would give assured yield with higher returns.
P. Poongavanam, a farmer in W. Pudupatti, said he had increased the extent of summer cultivation to eight acres because of ‘Kuthiraivaali’ that consumed less than 50 per cent of the water required for paddy or cotton.
S. Vijayakumar (54) of Maharajapuram is used to rain-fed irrigation of ‘Kuthiraivaali.’ He expected more than double the yield now, thanks to the improved variety of seeds and modern irrigation technique.
Another farmer, R. Gnanagurusamy (63), said that cultivation of the minor millet had the advantages of less water and fertilizer, no pesticide and free from crop damage by birds and animals.
Input cost less
“The input cost is less because of decreased need for weeding and farm preparation,” he said.
Stating that the plants grew taller (up to 6.25 feet) under irrigated condition, the Assistant Director (Seed Certification), S. Ramamoorthy, said farmers had the benefit of getting more quantity of fodder.
Besides getting higher yield and higher price, farmers who have taken up ‘Kuthiraivaali’ for seed production are given higher price. “While the market price is Rs. 25 to 30 a kg, we have promised to give them Rs. 50 a kg,” Muthaiah, an Agricultural Officer, said.
The officials are also planning to set up a unit to process the minor millet at a cost of Rs. 2.20 lakh after forming a cluster of ‘Kuthiraivaali’ farmers. “The farmers will get a better price for value addition,” Mr. Vanniyarajan said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by S. Sundar / Virudhunagar – June 21st, 2014
Dawood Khan Jawahar Ahamed, right, senior engineer (contracts), DEWA, making a presentation in Tiruchi on Tuesday on business opportunities for SMEs in Dubai. / Photo: A. Muralithara / The Hindu
DEWA to facilitate SMEs to register themselves as vendors in Dubai
With fabrication units of Tiruchi beginning to explore business opportunities in Dubai, the State-run Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has come forward to facilitate the small and medium enterprises to register themselves as vendors in Dubai and also provide match-making services for the SMEs.
Representatives of DEWA, who visited the city for an interaction with BHELSIA members in November last year, are here again to take forward the discussions. A delegation of BHEL Small Industries Association (BHELSIA) had also visited Dubai recently to explore opportunities .
Both the organisations are of the view that fabrication units could tap direct and indirect business opportunities in Dubai. Briefing reporters here on the discussions, Dawood Khan Jawahar Ahamed, senior engineer (contracts), DEWA, said fabrication units of Tiruchi could supply equipment for power generation, power and water transmission, renewable energy, oil and gas, desalination plants, and a host of other fields.
His organisation would support the fabrication units in not only registering themselves as vendors online but also provide match-making services to help them become sub-contractors for DEWA’s main vendors.
Dubai was now going in for a 2 x 600 MW clean coal technology power plant and 1 x 100 MW solar power plants. The country will also ramp up its power generation capacity ahead of Expo 2020. “We are looking at suppliers in Tiruchi for its cost competitiveness and quality in fabrication,” he said.
“Our vendor registration process is very simple and can be done online from here. We do not have a system of approved vendors and anybody with expertise to supply quality material can register themselves.
Unique codes will be assigned within two days and evaluation will be purely on merit,” Mr.Ahamed said. Mr.Ahamed said that DEWA would help BHELSIA in exploring opportunities in countries other than Dubai in West Asia and elsewhere. “We are here for a long-term association,” he affirmed.
M.Srinivasan, president, BHELSIA, said after long years of being dependent on the public sector major BHEL, fabrication units in Tiruchi are now ready to explore opportunities abroad. “We have built the capacity and expertise. We have learnt from our visit to Dubai that we can do business from here. Given our cheap and qualified labour, we can still be competitive by exporting,” he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Tiruchirapalli / by Special Correspondent / Tiruchi – June 11th, 2014
Valparai has been in festive mood since the Kodai Vizha opened in the tea town on May 30. Though meant to showcase the town as a tourist destination, the local population dominated the crowd that had gathered at the government high school. A host of events mirroring the summer fest in Ooty including dog show, flower show, gymnastics performances, music and magic kept the crowd entertained.
By Saturday noon the place was swarming with people as tea estates in the region and the district administration had declared a holiday. “There is not much opportunity for the estate employees to go out of Valparai and such events are the only mode of entertainment for them and their family,” said an official involved in organizing the event.
A tent was raised on the school’s playground and classrooms were converted into stalls with exhibits displayed by various departments of the state government. “The traffic exhibit has a mini theatre that screens short films on road safety with clips taken from CCTVs installed at the traffic signals. It is good way of helping youngsters understand traffic regulations,” said Sreenivasan M, 36, a tourist from Madurai, who was rushing to the playground to catch a glimpse of the gymnastic show.
The forest department showcased the wildlife of Anamalai Tiger Reserve and had put up charts about snakes in the Western Ghats. Stalls from the horticulture department, TANTEA (Tamil Nadu Tea Plantation Corporation Limited) and the health department were more about showcasing their activities.
Of course, food was available in plenty. From savouries to biriyani, everything was available at the more than 10 food stalls at the venue. “I earn nearly Rs500 on a normal day. But, yesterday (Friday) I earned 60% more than the regular,” said Chandrashekar B, a savoury lentils vendor.
The crowd-puller this year was the paragliding event. “We have got permission only for two days and the kind of enthusiasm among the tourists, especially small children, is amazing. I feel bad when I say no to a kid who weighs less than 40kg,” said Babu, a glider from Coimbatore, who was in-charge of the adventure sport. “We had planned for zorbing ball, parasailing and paragliding. But, we did not get permission from the forest department. Paragliding was organized after the district administration took responsibility for security,” said Babu.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by Adarsh Jain, TNN / June 01st, 2014
His modest workshop in the sleepy locality of KNG Pudur in Coimbatore stocks a few machines that spit out the revolutionary low-cost sanitary napkins. Menstrual man Arunachalam Muruganantham, perched on his chair, goes on with his business even as he sorts out his visa applications to the different countries he has been invited to deliver keynote seminars. “All these visits are by invitation only. I had never stepped out of the city before. Today, I rub shoulders with biggies across the world,” says Muruganantham, son of a poor handloom weaver.
A Muruganantham
The social entrepreneur has found a place in the list of 100 Most Influential People in the World by an international magazine, that too with the likes of Narendra Modi, Arvind Kejriwal and Arundhati Roy. “When I got the news, I didn’t realize it was a big achievement. It was my wife, who told me that it was a feat I should be proud of.”
The tryst with the production of low-cost sanitary napkin producing machines began when Muruganantham saw his wife using a rag cloth during those days of the month. “I wouldn’t even clean my scooter with that. That’s when it struck me that most of the women, especially in the rural areas are not aware of sanitary napkins and those who did, couldn’t afford it. I studied women across the country and I was shocked to find out that only 5 per cent of them (excluding the metros) were aware of sanitary napkins. Women in rural households used saw dust, dry leaves and ashes on those days. When I showed these slides abroad, the audience was stunned. I started working on the machines with utmost care. No one volunteered to be my subject and when I tested these pads on myself, I was called a pervert. It was journey where I had to battle many ordeals.”
Muruganantham’s hard work bore fruits when his work was approved by IIT Madras in 2009. “It was a strange ambiance there. Everyone out there was conversing in English and I didn’t understand a word of what they were saying. I thought I would never fit into the corporate set up. But when my design was finally approved, I was glad that I was not well- educated as I didn’t have learn about ‘unnecessary’ things. I then supplied the machine to women self help groups, who now not only make a living out of it, but also take care of their ‘monthly’ issues,” says Muruganantham, who strongly believe in the cause of women empowerment. “We keep discussing nuclear power and other issues but we should spare a thought to the basic needs of our women. Now that I am on a mission to spread awareness about menstrual hygiene and help women, I would be glad even if I am able to raise the awareness level to 10 per cent.”
He also emphasizes that entrepreneurship is the need of the hour. “Every year, in our country, we churn out more job seekers rather than job creators. We have to look at new business models, identify a problem and work on a solution for the same. Today, the machines I have created have provided employment to many women in the rural areas across the country. Why can’t youngsters follow suit?”
As the conversation veers to his future plans, Muruganantham says, “I am now working on a model of suspended agriculture that is growing plants without water and sand,” he says as shows us a plant hanging from the ceiling of his factory. “This is to help the landless farmers,” he says with a grin.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / by P. Sangeetha, TNN / june 07th, 2014
A shop in the region with Pennycuick’s face on its hoarding.
With a fan club, several memorials and induction into the local Hindu pantheon, the legend of John Pennycuick, British engineer and chief architect of the disputed Periyar waterworks, lives on in southern Tamil Nadu
The fabled rice paddies of the Cumbum valley in Theni district, one of the most fertile belts in south India lying west of Madurai in southern Tamil Nadu, are girded by dense canopies of banana, grape and coconut. Here and there, Jersey cows look up from patches of serrated foliage, and rows of onion and beet saplings dance like so many chiffon-clad starlets before them in these bucolic uplands beloved of Tamil filmmakers. The road to Kumili, on the Kerala border, is a ribbon unspooling atop this parcel of green and surging towards the Cardamom Hills, wherein lies the fount of all this bounty: the 119-year-old Mullaperiyar dam, the source of a long-standing conflict between Tamil Nadu, which wants more of its water, and Kerala, which is concerned about the dam’s safety.
Last month, in a major victory for Tamil Nadu, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court upheld a 2006 judgment on the height and safety of the dam and allowed the water level to be raised to 142 ft. The move could mean that farmers in the state, who had settled into a bi-annual cropping pattern and suffered crop losses after the reduction in the height of the dam to 136 ft in 1979, may go back to raising three crops a year. It was amid this wave of hope that we visited Theni, one of five districts — including Madurai, Sivaganga, Ramanathapuram and Dindigul — in the barren rain shadow region of Tamil Nadu that sprang to life with the opening of the 155 ft-high masonry dam in Kerala’s Idukki district in 1895. The spirit of the ruddy, mustachioed Colonel John Pennycuick (January 15, 1841 to March 9, 1911), the British chief engineer of the Periyar Waterworks, bestrides the low hills of Cumbum, which he is said to have surveyed on horseback over a century ago with his local aides, Aanaiviratti (tamer of elephants) Aanaithevar and Kaduvetti (clearer of forests) Karuputhevar. Over the years, legend of his largesse has snowballed and he has been assimilated into the local Hindu pantheon, with farming families offering the first harvest of the year in the form of pongal to a kumkum-anointed portrait of Pennycuick — a balding man in a white collared shirt and a dark jacket, his white-flecked moustache carelessly framing thin lips.
The legacy of a man who changed the course of the Periyar river, and the lives of millions of people, with the gravity of his actions and his sheer strength of purpose looms large over Theni. “If it wasn’t for Pennycuick, our fields would be fallow. Over 2.17 lakh acres of paddy, cultivated by 32,000 small farmers, are impacted by the dam. Every day, a crore or more people drink from its waters,” says KM Abbas, president of a farmers’ forum in Cumbum and author of a book on Pennycuick. In Cumbum, says Abbas, children know him as Pennycuick thatha (Tamil for grandfather) and are often named after his associates, a popular name being Logandurai, for ER Logan, who oversaw tunnelling works for the Periyar project.
For most of its 300-km length, the Periyar, literally, the Big River, flows through Kerala before emptying — wastefully, according to Tamil Nadu — into the Arabian Sea. Pennycuick’s great ingenuity was that he dammed the river at its confluence with the smaller Mullaiyar river, and diverted the water from the reservoir through a 1.6-km-long tunnel to Tamil Nadu, where it goes on to feed the Suruliyar river and the Vaigai dam. This water then passes through a grid of canals to irrigate vast tracts of land in the state. It would seem that the man who diverted a river from west to east for the first time in India’s history, charted a similar course for himself as he settled down to work at his modest cottage on the dam site at Idukki. Locals say he spoke fluent Tamil, relished biryani and made sure his workers never wanted for food or liquor. When torrents of rain washed away his labour of love three years into its construction, around the year 1890, he is said to have wept and struggled to gather funds for rebuilding the masonry dam in the face of scepticism from the British government.
In Palani Chettipatti, a small town near Theni through which a canal of the Mullaiyar flows, a legend reverberates with variations: the Chettiars from the area, locals say, donated liberally to the cause and Pennycuick gave them free access to the waters as a token of his gratitude. In yet another elision between fact and fable, solid gold offerings are said to have been consigned to the river at the behest of Pennycuick ahead of the opening of the sluice gates. We find a scant bit of history in Cumbum at the house of the descendants of Angur Rawther, Pennycuick’s contractor and supplier of labour and provisions. Rawther’s grandson, silver-haired Jafferulla, has preserved records of his family’s association with Pennycuick, including a note of thanks from the Government of Travancore for hosting dignitaries on their visits to the Periyar project.
In Thekkady, on the inter-state border, where the language changes abruptly to Malayalam as though we flicked a switch, the Rawthers still grow cardamom on lush slopes dotted with resorts. This side of the border, Pennycuick’s bust is the centrepiece of a well-tended garden facing the PWD bungalow at the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, where the artificial lake formed by the damming of the river is an important habitat for elephants and other wildlife. The 777-sq-km area was declared a sanctuary in 1934 and by 1978, it had become Kerala’s only tiger reserve. “All this tourism here is because of Pennycuick and the dam. But Kerala will never acknowledge him,” says a PWD worker, on condition of anonymity.
In Tamil Nadu, Pennycuick is both hero and victim. His face has became a trope for the troubled history of Mullaperiyar and a receptacle for political interests after the two states came to a head in the late 1970s. Photoshopped posters of chief minister Jayalalithaa and MDMK’s Vaiko sharing the stage with Pennycuick’s likeness are now plastered on public walls across the Cumbum valley. The Colonel even has his own fanclub, the Pennycuick Rejuvenation Forum led by O Andi of Palarpatti, a village near Thevaram in the Cumbum valley that hosted Pennycuick’s grandson in 2003. In December 2011, Andi led an agitation by over 1,200 farmers against Kerala’s stance on the dam. “We used Pennycuick’s posters to communicate our point of view — that the dam, after it has been strengthened, poses no threat to Kerala,” says Andi, in his dimly-lit home where a wall with a large, garlanded poster of the Englishman is the first thing that meets the eye. “We have been working for a decade to raise awareness about the great man,” says Andi, who began printing and distributing pamphlets on Pennycuick while still in college. “Not many people had heard of him before the Mullaperiyar issue became a movement in these parts. Now he is the face of the movement,” he says.
The largest and the latest of memorials to Pennycuick, with a giant bronze statue and black-and-white photographs of the dam, was inaugurated at Lower Camp near Gudalur in Theni last year by Jayalalithaa. It is here that Sanjeevi, 65, and her cousin Maragadham, 57, have come to pay their respects to a man who, they say, “did more than anyone ever could for Tamil Nadu”. “When we heard about the Supreme Court verdict, we set out on this pilgrimage,” says Sanjeevi, who spent her youth gathering forest produce near Gudalur before moving to Coimbatore to find work as a cook. In two days, Sanjeevi will leave for the city, but not before casting a final glance at Pennycuick at the Theni bus stand, which bears his name like so many restaurants, salons and cabs do in the region. “It is believed that his picture brings good luck,” says Rafiq Raja, of Hotel Mullai, a restaurant on the Theni-Kollam highway near Chinnamannur. “He gave us life. This is the least we can do to remember him,” Raja says.
Upon retiring from the PWD, Pennycuick returned to England to serve as president of the Royal Indian Engineering College, an institution on Cooper’s Hill near Egham, Surrey, that trained civil engineers to work in India. But for the people of the Cumbum-Theni region, Pennycuick is forever sutured into their consciousness, a flame of aspiration glowing through their darkest and driest years.
source: http://www.financialexpress.com / The Financial Express / Home> Economy / by V. Shoba / June 15th, 2014
K. Manoj Kumar (right) at work with his team members in his mushroom farm near Kadachanenthal in Madurai./ Photo: R. Ashok / The Hindu
Besides running mushroom farms, Manoj imparts training too
K. Manoj Kumar, who was born with hearing and speech impairment, never let his disability deter his dreams and success.
A B.Com graduate with gold medal from St. Louis College for Hearing Impaired in Chennai, Mr. Manoj’s entry into the league of achievers is motivating.
Seven years ago, Mr. Manoj and his wife M. Krishna Kumari, a microbiology graduate, started a small scale mushroom farm at Pudhupatti.
Ever since, there is no looking back for the couple, who run ‘Udayan Mushroom Farm,’ which now exports oyster and milky mushroom to Kerala, Hyderabad and Maharashtra.
“We had to shift our farm to Kadachanenthal because the environment at Pudhupatti was not conducive. Initially, when we started farming, we found it difficult to sell even one kilogram of mushroom,” says Mrs. Krishna Kumari.
Today, Mr. Manoj’s enterprise has 25 small scale mushroom farms functioning under it and he has trained around 500 persons in the past two years on mushroom cultivation.
His team of support staff in the farm include three hearing impaired persons and four persons who underwent rehabilitation for mental disabilities.
“I started my own mushroom farm inspired by their success and with the help of their encouragement. The business is quite profitable,” says Shantha Devi Akilan Davis, an elderly neighbour of the couple. She is also involved in the training activities undertaken by Udayan Farm.
J. S. Gopinath, who underwent rehabilitation at M.S. Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation, says he enjoys working under Mr. Manoj.
“He has taught me how to cultivate mushrooms. I also learned to rear ornamental fish,” he says. Mr. Manoj also rears “fighter fish” for his father’s farm.
According to P. Moorthy, co-ordinator of the training programme, a large number of differently abled people have benefitted from the training.
“There is a high demand for mushrooms in the market. Most of the people who underwent training here had physical disabilities or were from an economically backward background. This has helped them sustain their livelihood,” Mr. Moorthy says.
The simple person that he is, Mr. Manoj attributes his success to his wife, who has been his major support all along.
“People with hearing impairment generally tend to depend on others for income. We wanted to be self-reliant. We are also happy to support others in need,” signs off Mrs. Krishna Kumari.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by M. Vandhana / Madurai – June 17th, 2014
A 100-member delegation visits America to study business opportunities and improve bilateral trade
If the delegation of Young Entrepreneur School (YES), a youth development programme of the Tamil Nadu Chamber Foundation, signs a trade contract during their visit to the popular brand’s Visitors’ Centre in San Francisco, Madurai can expect a Levi’s jeans manufacturing unit.
“It is part of our plan,” says V. Neethi Mohan, Chairman, YES. “The Visitors’ Centre is a permanent installation in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Levi Strauss and Co. showcasing the company’s history and business. We will be visiting the Levi’s facility on June 23.”
The 17-day trip is titled as ‘Bizcover America’. Members drawn from various YES centres such as Chennai, Dindigul, Ramanathapuram, Karur and Sivakasi leave on June 8. The delegation will also visit US India Business Council, a premier business organisation representing America’s top companies investing in India. They have planned to visit New York, Washington, Niagara, Orlando, Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
“We have also planned to visit ZAPPOS.com, a popular online store for shoes and clothes based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The store is presently owned by Amazon.com. We will be there to study their business culture and understand their core values,” he says. The team’s prime focus is to improve trade links in food processing and garment industries.
According to Neethi Mohan, e-commerce is a rapidly growing business in the country as the total business done through online shops in the country at present stands at around one billion dollars and it is expected to grow up to 76 billion dollars by 2020. “Already showrooms are being converted into warehouses and businessmen are showing keen interest in e-commerce,” he says.
“The team will study the business models, tools for business development and their best practices. The key objective is to increase volume of bilateral trade and promote industrial investments,” says S. Rethinavelu, chairman of the foundation.
The group will also be at the Infocomm 2014, one of the largest professional AV shows in the world with more than 950 exhibitors from over 110 countries attending.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by T. Saravanan / Madurai – June 05th, 2014
Carborundum Universal Ltd (CUMI), part of the Murugappa Group , is expecting its South African plant to increase its sales by $10-million sales with the addition of new capacity.
The group had invested around 115 million Rand (Rs 63.6 crore at current currency rates) to hike capacity at the Bubble Zirconia plant to 5,000-tonne from last year’s 500-tonne. The plant produces electro minerals used in various applications in refractories for possessing thermal shock resistance.
K Srinivasan , managing director of Carborundum Universal Ltd, recently told analysts the Bubble Zirconia plant had been a big challenge for them as the production remained less than 500 tonne for the entire last year despite seeing an investment of 115 million Rand. “It took far more effort and time than what we thought it would be,” he said.
source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Companies> News / by BS Reporter / Chennai – June 06th, 2014
