Dalmia-OCL, the refractories business of Dalmia Bharat Group, announced its first ever overseas acquisition of GSB Group GmbH – a German specialty refractory maker. The acquisition also marked the company’s expansion into Europe, an official statement said. The German company is a global leader in lance production, essential producing clean steel of good quality. The company, however, did not disclose the size of the deal.
The takeover will give Dalmia-OCL access to customers in the heart of steel and refractory making belt in Europe and state-of-the-art technology to produce cleaner steel, apart from strengthening its market share in India.
Dalmia-OCL is India’s second-largest refractory company with a production capacity of 250,000 tonne a year. The company expects a revenue of Rs 800 crore this year, 60% of which is likely to be contributed by the steel segment.
Speaking on the development, Sameer Nagpal, CEO, Dalmia-OCL said: “We are delighted as this acquisition marks our group’s first major step in Europe where consolidation in the market has opened new doors for a company like ours. Dalmia-OCL’s end-to-end refractory portfolio and GSB’s access to European steel customers will make this combination a strong competitor in Europe.”
The acquisition will also make us one of the specialized manufacturers of refractories, for cleaner steel production, a focus area for Indian steel makers too, he added. “It will give us newer resources and talents in Europe which will help strengthen our capability in India, which is the fastest growing market for refractories in the world,” Nagpal said.
