CEMENTING TIES
GRASIM | ESTABLISHED IN 1947
STAGE ONE
The journey of Grasim Industries, a building materials and manufacturing company, is as old as that of independent India. The company was incorporated in 1947 as a textile manufacturer. Since then, Grasim has diversified into various new sectors and industries, including the production of viscose staple fibre (VSF), cement, sponge iron and chemicals.
WHERE WE STAND
A flagship of the Aditya Birla Group, Grasim is the world’s largest producer and exporter of viscose rayon fibre, with a market share of about 24 per cent. Textiles and related products comprise about 15 per cent of the group’s turnover. Other major businesses include cement and chemicals; its subsidiary, UltraTech Cement, is the largest producer of cement in India, and Grasim itself is the largest producer of caustic soda in the country. Recently, Aditya Birla Nuvo was merged into Grasim, paving the way for the creation of a $9.2 billion manufacturing and service business.
THE JOURNEY
In 1950, the production of fabric began at its Gwalior unit, followed by VSF four years later at Nagda in Madhya Pradesh. In 1963, a composite textile mill was set up at Bhiwani in Haryana. It was in 1985 that Vikram Cement, Grasim’s first cement plant, went on stream at Jawad in Madhya Pradesh. One of Grasim’s major acquisitions has been of a controlling stake in UltraTech Cement from Larsen & Toubro in 2004.