Dalmia-OCL, the refractory business of the Dalmia Bharat Group, will merge its domestic arms into a single consolidated entity called Dalmia Bharat Refractories Ltd (DRBL), the company has said.

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The merger will help the group offer a wider portfolio of products and “become an alternate source of supply to China for steel, cement and non-ferrous manufacturers” across the globe, a senior official of the company said.

At present, DRBL has five manufacturing units in India and one each in China and Germany. The company also has two quartzite mines for its silica refractory, a bauxite mine for its alumina refractory, and dolomite mines.

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As part of the merger, three units of Dalmia-OCL -- Dalmia Refractories Ltd, Dalmia Cement Bharat Ltd and Refractory Unit and GSB India -- will be merged to make Dalmia Bharat Refractories Ltd with immediate effect.

With the consolidation, Dalmia Bharat Refractories Ltd will strengthen its financial standing, increase investment capabilities and expand its talent base.

The company plans to accelerate digital transformation and capex and also allocate larger resources to R&D after the consolidation.

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Separate companies resulted in the division of financial, managerial and technical resources. Consolidation of separate businesses will result in a “more centralised, efficient and a robust management system,” Sameer Nagpal, MD & CEO, Dalmia Bharat Refractories Ltd, said in a statement.

“The formation of DBRL will allow us to offer a wider portfolio of products,” Nagpal said.

The refractory industry in India is estimated to be worth Rs 9,000 crore annually with production output at over two million tonnes per year, The Hindu reported. The cement and steel industries are the largest consumers of refractory products. The global average specific consumption of refractory for steel is 15 kg per metric tonne, while for cement it is 0.5 kg per milligram tonne.

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)