Kajaria continues to grow

Kajaria, the largest Indian ceramic tile manufacturer, ended the year 2014 with a production capacity of 54 million sq.m and a real production of 50 million sq.m (10 million more than the previous year, +26%), but both figures have already changed in the first 9 months of 2015 following the start-up of new production sites in Rajasthan and Gujarat. Even more astonishing was the 37% increase in turnover registered in 2014, which reached approximately 327 million euros.

With the aim of reaching an output of 100 million sq.m/year by March 2018, the group is following apace its planned investment programme which started a couple of years ago. Among the latest investments there's the new floor tile line with a capacity of 3 million sq.m/year recently started up at the existing location in Gailpur in September/October this year.

"Our JV partner Taurus Tiles Private Limited commissioned a 5 million square metre polished vitrified tile facility in Morbi in June 2015." Ashok Kajaria, CEO of the group told us. "We will also start up a 6.5 million square metre polished vitrified tile greenfield facility in Rajasthan by December 2015.

"With this expansion we will reach a tile capacity of around 69 million sq.m/year by the end of this calendar year, registering growth of 28% over 2014. We have also entered into a new JV with Floera Ceramics Pvt Ltd involving the construction of a 5.7 million square metre polished vitrified tile facility in Andhra Pradesh, which will come on stream in 2016."

Regarding technologies in use, Kajaria told us that "There is nothing new as far as technology is concerned, but a few new machines have been installed to make bigger tiles including a 6500 PH press and a 273 metre kiln from Sacmi, one of the longest in India. We are also the first in India and the second in the world to have adopted the new Divario press feeding system from LB."

Read the full interview with Ashok Kajaria published on Ceramic World Review 113/2015