Century Textiles bets big on cement

Century Textiles and Industries is in the process of acquiring 150 acres of land in Murshidabad in West Bengal to set up a cement plant. The 1.2 million tonne per annum (mtpa) facility will jack up the company's cement production capacity to 7.8 mtpa.

According to Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla group and director of Century Textilles, the proposed facility will start commercial production by March 2007.

Though he did not specify the required investment for the project, industry sources said the company would have to chip in around Rs 200 crore for the new facility.

CenturyTextiles owns three cement plants: Century Cement (Chhattisgarh), Maihar Cement (MP) and Manickgarh Cement (Maharashtra).

Kumar Mangalam Birla, while presiding over the AGM on Wednesday, had dropped enough hints that he was planning to take over of the company. Century Textiles chairman BK Birla has already made it clear that Kumar Mangalam will take charge of the company "as and when he finds time."

The announcement of the new cement facility is important for the Aditya Birla group, which is engaged in a fierce battle with the world's largest cement maker, Holcim, to protect its numero uno slot in the Indian market. Holcim is also setting up a 1-million tonne cement grinding plant at Farakka in West Bengal.

As of now, the group has no plan to shift the textiles mills in Mumbai to Baruch in Gujarat.

However, the company will downsize the capacity in Mumbai Nearly 1,200 looms and 77,000 spindles are in operation in the Mumbai unit.

The company plans to bring down the number of looms to 500.

R K Dalmia, president of the group, said the company would introduce a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) as early as possible for the Mumbai unit.

"We are in talk with the unions and things are moving in a positive direction," he added.

Replying to a shareholder's query on the group's plan to stave off any takeover attempt, Birla said: "We have no apprehension of any hostile take over. We have a comfortable stake in the company. We don't plans to hive off any group company. " The Birla group, along with others, holds 50 per cent stake in Century Textiles.

Birla also said: "We have no plans as of now or in near future to sell or develop the mill land in Mumbai."