Kesoram Industries Ltd, the diversified company of the BK Birla Group, has decided to hive off its refractory division and close down its oil extraction unit. The refractory division is based at Asansol, West Bengal, with an installed capacity of 36,000/tpa. The oil and extraction division is situated at Malkapur in Maharashtra. It has a crushing capacity of 92,200/tpa of seeds and cotton seeds, 95,000/tpa of oil cakes and expeller oil cakes, and 7,300/tpa or rice bran and refined cottonseed oil. Commercial production at both the units have been closed for quite some time. Chairman said at the company's 84th AGM that the proposed move of hiving off and closing down of units was part of the plan to pull out of small and non-viable businesses and the company would continue to focus on its core businesses, namely, cement, rayon, spun pipes and tyres.
