ProCitius Research’s new research facilities at Ticel Park, Taramani, Chennai, was inaugurated on 24 January 2007 by N Sankar. The state-of-the-art facility has phase I up and running.
Phase II is expected to be completed by the close of the year. Speaking at the inaugural, Vijay Sankar, Deputy Chairman said, “Opportunities are huge, we are committed to making this grow and will invest a lot more in this area.”
Murli Ramachandran, Managing Director, Sanmar Speciality Chemicals Ltd said, “Within five years, we have added this new facility. I would call this a take off point. We are readily positioned to take off in contract research services and we also look forward to growth in the area with the help of Ticel.”
Dr Y Koteshwar Rao, Murli Ramachandran, Vijay Sankar and N Sankar at the inauguration.
L to R: N S Raghavan, Regie Paul, Vijay Sankar, P Natarajan and K Mohan.
Sanmar Engineering Corporation (SEC) is gearing itself to capitalise on the high demand wave that the foundry business is riding on. Roughly about 30-40 % of SEC’s total revenue is expected in the foundry segment and a good majority of it in new product categories like off-the-road vehicles (mining, earth moving and locomotive) and for the transportation and mining industry.
The foundation stone for the new foundry was laid on 22 January 2007. The facility is expected to be ready by December 2007. At an investment of about Rs 90 crore, the facility plans are on the lines of a fully automated modern foundry built to global standards. The new foundry is expected to raise the current output of about 10,000 tons to 30,000 tons per annum.
Vijay Sankar, Regie Paul and M N Radhakrishnan receiving the “arti” while others look on. On the extreme right is G K Pillai.
Fisher Sanmar Limited, a JV constituent of the Sanmar Engineering Corporation Limited, expanded facilities and shifted its large valve manufacturing operations to the new facilities. The facility was inaugurated by Terry D Buzbee, President, Fisher Controls International LLC, USA, on 29 January 2007.
The new plant was set up with an investment of about Rs 22 crores and capacity of about 800 valves per annum. Rapidly expanding order booking spurred by the growth in refineries, petrochemicals and power sectors has increased demand and the need for expansion.
R to L: M N Radhakrishnan, Vijay Sankar and Terry Buzbee.
The Sanmar Engineering team with the
visiting Fisher Controls International team.
Sanmar Shipping re-enters the bulk carrier segment with the inclusion of a Panamax bulk carrier, to its existing fleet.
The world economy and weather pattern impact the demand of trade by sea. Economies of India and China have gained momentum in areas of infrastructure development, thereby resulting in a greater volume of trade across nations. Driven by high demand, the support levels have risen significantly over the past four years. The rise in support levels has injected plenty of optimism in the market. The volatility in the dry bulk sector has doubled from 23% in the period 1992-2002 to 46% in the period 2003-2006 increasing the prospects of high return in the market upturn. Taking a cue from the challenging environment, Sanmar Shipping has negotiated successfully for a modern Panamax bulk carrier, Avalon.
Re-christened ‘Paragon’, the bulk beauty (96-built), is the youngest in the Sanmar fleet and is 225 m long and 73,080 dwt. The carrier is geared for long hauls of bulk cargo and boasts of a high-calibre engine which provides the advantage of greater fuel efficiency. This new addition will operate in the Torvald Klaveness Group’s Baumarine pool for Panamax carriers.With the shipyards busy with orders for tankers and container ships, there has been a shortfall of modern Panamax vessels in the market. This has accentuated the decision of entering this segment, with demand outstripping supply.
In a wider scheme, the sea freight futures of dry commodities are seen to grow to USD 150 billion in 5 years from the existing USD 20 billion. Such a market perspective adds confidence to the dry bulk market. There are opportunities in every market and it appears that Sanmar Shipping’s re-entry into the dry bulk market has been timely and crucial to the business’s growth.