Mr. N. Ananthaseshan, President - Abrasives, Carborundum Universal Limited

Carborundum Universal Ltd., popularly known as CUMI, headquartered in Chennai, is a Rs.2,200 crore Abrasives major. A part of the business conglomerate, Murugappa, CUMI is a pioneer and trendsetter in abrasive technology. The company makes a whopping 20,000 type of grinding wheels and allied products for a plethora of applications in a cross-section of the industry. Cutfast, Ajax, Sand Master, Concord, Hi-Cut, CUMI Sleek, Samurai, Chamak and Speed are some of its best selling brands the world over. With eight manufacturing plants and a nationwide marketing and dealer network and operations in five continents, CUMI is truly spreading it wings to reach out to the world with its cutting edge technology. Mr. P.K. Balasubbramaniian speaks to Mr. N. Ananthaseshan, President-Abrasives to get more insights in to the capabilities, commitments and achievements of this trailblazer with a standing and reputation spanning over five decades. Excerpts:

Q. Could you give a overview of the Murugappa Group?

Founded in 1900, the Rs.24,000 crore Murugappa Group is one of India's leading business conglomerates. The Group has 29 businesses including eight listed companies actively traded in NSE & BSE. Heaquartered in Chennai, the major companies of the Group include Carborundum Universal Ltd, Coromandel International Ltd., EID Parry (India) Ltd., Parry Agro Industries Ltd., TI India Ltd., and Wendt (India) Ltd. Market leaders in served segments, the Group has wide geographical presence in India and 5 continents.

Q. What is the standing of Carborundum Universal?

Carborundum Universal Ltd or CUMI is the flagship company of the Murugappa Group. CUMI's own business includes Abrasives, Refractories, Electrominerals, Industrial Ceramics and Bio -Ceramics. CUMI was formed in April 1954 as a tripartite venture with three well-known companies coming together: Carborundum of the USA, Universal Grinding Wheel Co. of UK and the Murugappa Group. In mid-80's it became Murugappa's wholly owned company.

Q. You are a well-known name in Abrasives. What precisely is your niche?

Well, we make the widest range of Abrasives for industries for multifarious applications. We have bonded and coated abrasives. Bonded abrasives are bonded to glass, rubber or metal or vitrified. Non-woven abrasives and super abrasives are also available. We make abrasives in 10 mm diameter in the smallest rage to 1200 mm dia. The thickness also varies from 1 mm to 350 mm. Among the 20,999 types of abrasives we make, about 8,000 are regular ones. Grinding wheels re used for heavy material removal, coated abrasives are used for less material removal, non-woven types are used for no removal but better finish, and super finish products re used for mirror finish. Besides abrasives for grinding and cutting, we also make coolants, power tools and super abrasives. The uniqueness of the product design allows for the most optimum grinding performance i.e. good cutting action coupled with excellent tool life. The core strength of CUMI has been the ability to customize products for specific applications.

Q. How do you infuse quality in your products?

Everything starts with raw materials. By virtue of our backward integration, we use the best of raw materials manufactured by us. When we have to source from outside, we order them from our approved vendors who are ISO certified and who have a rigid quality control regimen. All our grinding and cutting discs are manufactured in our state-of-the art manufacturing facilities which re IO-9001, ISO-14000 and ISO 18000 certified. We have stringent process control and final product quality checks. By this not only the best grinding performances are achieved, but also the highest levels of product safety is maintained in accordance with EN-12413 standards. In our plants we have been practicing TQM since 1994 and TPM since last 2 ½ years. Our plants have also won the GIPM Excellence Awards.

Q. Where are your manufacturing facilities located and what' your staff strength?

We have eight manufacturing plants three in Chennai (Thiruvottiyur, Maramalai Nagar and Sriperumpudur), one in Hosur, one in Bangalore, one in Uttaranchal, one in Kolkata and one in China. We also have a joint venture company in Ahmedabad known as Sterling Abrasives. We have 700 employees on our pay roll and equal number on contract.

Q. How well equipped are your production facilities?

Our production process involves mixing of different raw materials, compressing, drying, firing, finishing and so on. We have sophisticated production equipment to take care of all these processes, including mixers, hydraulic presses, drying houses, furnaces and finishing/shaping equipment.

Q. You also offer materials handling equipment?

As a precursor to e-commerce, we are also into trading of engineering product. These include materials handling equipment like pallet trucks and stackers. The idea is to provide the customer with a full basket of products which are cost-effective and at the same time of proven quality.

Q. Would you say you are a diversified company?

We are diversified in the sense we make our own raw materials required for manufacturing our end products. We make Minerals, Abrasives, Ceramics & Refractories.

Q. Which are your market segments?

We cater to industries as diverse as automotive, automobile ancillaries, fabrication, steel , cement, petrochemicals, general engineering, metalworking, interior, furniture, wood, painting and even retail. We have customer in auto component manufacturers, bearing companies, carpenters and even welders – a wide spectrum. We have a nationwide distribution network and have 550 plus dealers across the country. Ten percent of our sales goes to exports. Our export markets include USA, Europe and Far East.

Q. What are the pioneering efforts you had to make to perfect your manufacturing process?

There has not been any significant change in the manufacturing process. The changes are in the deign of wheels for specific applications. The technological breakthroughs are in the design and the way wheels are formed. For instance ball grinding wheels. The formulations plus the manufacturing process make them unique. We are the only company making ball grinding wheels in the country.

Q. What are the new developments in the abrasive technology and how do you keep yourselves in step with them?

In abrasives, the trend today is to focus on forming and final finishing. This is to be achieved with less material removal and adding value. We are in step with this trend.

Q. What is your role in customer education?

We have regular training programs on 'Right selection and safe operation of grinding wheels. We often do these programs at customer ends. Our program on 'Smart Grinding Technology' helps the end users to improve their knowledge of latest technology, products and applications. We also have a training program named 'Cumi Ustad Program' specially designed for our dealers who in turn can guide our customers in the right selection and use of abrasives.

Q. What are your growth plans?

Last year we achieved a turnover of Rs.2,200 crores. In 2014-15, we are targeting an increase of 15% in the turnover. We are yearning to be a part of the 'Making India' Campaign. Our focus will now be more on the 'finish' side of the business.

Q. Finally, what is your most significant contribution to the industry?

We believe and work towards sustainable development. CUMI tagline now is 'Making Materials Matter'. In line with this we make and offer our products to help improve productivity, quality ad sustainability in the industry. As a matter of fact, our contribution, performance, beliefs & values and pursuit of excellence have been recognized at different levels by different institutions. Just to give some recent examples, our Managing Director, Mr. K. Srinivasan has been adjudged as the 'Best MD' from among mid-size companies. The same way, our Chief Finance Officer has been chosen as the 'Best CFO' by Business Standard. Recently, we have also received an Award from CII for 'HR Excellence'.