Carborundum Universal Ltd (CUMI) is an Indian company which manufactures and develops

abrasive An abrasive is a material, often a mineral, that is used to shape or finish a workpiece through rubbing which leads to part of the workpiece being worn away by friction. While finishing a material often means polishing it to gain a smooth, reflec ...

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

refractories In materials science, a refractory (or refractory material) is a material that is resistant to decomposition by heat or chemical attack and that retains its strength and rigidity at high temperatures. They are inorganic, non-metallic compound ...

, aluminium oxide grains,

machine tools A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, boring, grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some sort of tool that does the cutting or shaping. All ...

polymers A polymer () is a substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, b ...

adhesives Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation. The use of adhesives offers certain advantage ...

and electro minerals in India. It is a part of the

Murugappa Group Murugappa Group is an Indian conglomerate founded in 1900 by A. M. Murugappa Chettiar. The Group has 29 businesses including 10 companies listed on the NSE and the BSE. Headquartered in Chennai, the major companies of the Group include Carbo ...

. The company has subsidiaries in India, Russia, South Africa, Australia, China, Thailand and Canada.

History

CUMI was established as a result of diversification from banking business through cycle manufacturing with the intent to manufacture abrasive materials. CUMI's

parent company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

, the

, made a tie up with the Carborundum, UK, a subsidiary of American abrasive manufacturer, Carborundum, USA and the Universal Grinding Co. Ltd., UK in 1950. The result was the Carborundum Universal of Madras. Then it was renamed and incorporated in 1954 as Carborundum Universal Ltd (CUMI).

Establishments

Initially CUMI was founded to manufacture the core products for the collaborating companies. Later the company established its first bonded abrasive plant at

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

with the facility acquired from Ajax Products and began its manufacturing in the abrasives platform. With the intention of producing technical ceramics for high temperature insulation products CUMI has made joint venture with

Morgan Crucible Morgan Advanced Materials plc is a company which manufactures specialist products, using carbon, advanced ceramics and composites. The group is headquartered in Windsor, United Kingdom, and has 60 sites worldwide. It is listed as public limit ...

Plc. UK resulted in the establishment of Murugappa Morgan Thermal Ceramics Ltd in 1982. The company has laid a strong foundation in engineered ceramics through number of joint ventures. In 1991 Wendt (India) Ltd, a joint ventured company of Wendt GmbH, Germany and The House of Khataus, was merged with the CUMI. CUMI's first industrial ceramics division was established in

Hosur Hosur is an industrial city located in the Tamil Nadu state of India. Hosur is one of the 21 municipal corporations in Tamil Nadu. It is located on the bank of the river River Ponnaiyar, southeast of Bengaluru and west of Chennai, the state ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

as a technical partnership with Coors Ceramics, USA in 1991. Later it was expanded with the unique Metallized Cylinders Plant. As a part of expanding their presence, in 2005 the company started CUMI Middle East FZE in Ras Al Khaimah. In order to strengthen their global presence CUMI bought Abrasive Enterprises Inc., Canada, for $2.24 Million by 2006. After a year CUMI established CUMI International Ltd in Cyprus.

Acquisitions

Within a decade, after the withdrawal of the collaborators, CUMI acquired Ajax Products Pvt Ltd. CUMI stepped up its investment in abrasive industries by acquiring the Eastern Abrasives Ltd.,

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

in 1978. In 1997, Cutfast Abrasive Tools Ltd., Eastern Abrasives Ltd., Cutfast Polymers Ltd. and Carborundum Universal Investment merged with Carborundum Universal Ltd. Within a year of acquisition of Sterling Abrasives Ltd. and SEDCO in 2003, CUMI acquired CUMI Australia Pty Ltd. In 2007 the company took over the Chinese firm, Sanhe Yanjiao Jingri Diamond Industrial Company Ltd., and the Russian Volzhsky Abrasive Works. Further acquisitions followed in 2008, including Foskor Zirconia Ltd., South Africa which became a subsidiary of CUMI.

Diversification

Besides manufacturing, marketing and distribution, CUMI is also involved in diversified works like

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

power generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery ( transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its stora ...

and TOT agreements with various organizations. CUMI acquired

Bauxite Bauxite () is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH) ...

mines at Bhatia and Okha in Gujarat, a Silicon Carbide plant in Koratty, Kerala and a brown Aluminium Oxide grains plant at

Edapally Edappally or Idappalli is a region in the city of Kochi, Kerala, India. It is a major commercial centre as well as a prominent residential region. Edappally junction is one of the busiest junctions in the city. History Edappally in English l ...

, Kerala. CUMI established a 12MW

hydroelectric power plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

at Maniyar, Kerala in 1994. and a 5.5MW Wind mill at Nallur. CUMI made a

technology transfer Technology transfer (TT), also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform invent ...

with Answer Technology Inc., USA for advanced monolithics and a technical collaboration with National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology of India,

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is India's premier nuclear research facility, headquartered in Trombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was founded by Homi Jehangir Bhabha as the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET) in January 1954 ...

of India and

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

of USA for the development of advanced ceramic technology. CUMI Direct CUMI Direct is an online e-commerce platform that was started in 2005 and sells: * Warehouse Equipment - Pallet Trucks, Stackers, Table Lifts, Movable Dock Ramps, Stationary Dock Levelers, Tail Lifts, Fork Lifts, Plastic Pallets, Caster Wheels *

Material Handling Equipment Material handling equipment (MHE) is mechanical equipment used for the movement, storage, control, and protection of materials, goods and products throughout the process of manufacturing, distribution, consumption, and disposal. The different types ...

- Shopping Trolleys, Hand Carts *

Power Tools A power tool is a tool that is actuated by an additional power source and mechanism other than the solely manual labor used with hand tools. The most common types of power tools use electric motors. Internal combustion engines and compressed air ...

- CUMI Power Tools, METABO Power Tools * Industrial Ceramics * Electro Minerals * Abrasives - Thin Wheels, Rolls, Grinding Wheels, Non Woven Wheels, Coated Abrasives, Porous Tiles, Super Abrasives, Resonoid and Rubber, Vitrified Ranges * Metal Working Fluids - Cleaner, Forming Fluids, Neat Oils, Rust Preventives, Water Solubles * Strapping Tools - Tensioners, Sealers * Super Refractories products - Fired Refractories, Monolithic Products Most of the products are granted CE and GS certificates.

Major divisions

The major divisions are: * Abrasives ** Coated Abrasives ** Bonded Abrasives * Electrominerals *

Ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

** Industrial Ceramics ** Super Refractories * CUMI Direct (Online E-Commerce Platform) ** Warehouse Equipment **

** Power-tools ** Industrial Ceramics ** Electro Minerals ** Abrasives ** Metal Working Fluids ** Strapping Tools ** Super Refractories products

Product applications and materials

Different divisions create products with a range of applications, such as material removal, rough surface

polishing Polishing is the process of creating a smooth and shiny surface by rubbing it or by applying a chemical treatment, leaving a clean surface with a significant specular reflection (still limited by the index of refraction of the material accordi ...

and fine finishing by the Abrasives division; wear-resistant and heat-resistant liners and metallized ceramics by the Ceramics division; heat-resistant containment products from the Super Refractories division; and raw materials for abrasives and refractories by the Electrominerals division. *Abrasives ** Coated Abrasives ** Bonded Abrasives ** Processed Cloth ** Polymer Resin **

Metal Working Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals in order to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term, it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on e ...

Fluids *Ceramics ** High Alumina ** Reaction bonded Silicon Carbide (RbSiC) ** Yttria partially stabilized Zirconia (YPSZ) ** Sintered Silicon Carbide **

Zirconia Zirconium dioxide (), sometimes known as zirconia (not to be confused with zirconium silicate or zircon), is a white crystalline oxide of zirconium. Its most naturally occurring form, with a monoclinic crystalline structure, is the mineral ba ...

** Al-Titanate ** MgO-Partially stabilized Zirconia (MgPSZ) *Electrominerals ** Brown Fused Aluminum Oxide ** White Fused Aluminum Oxide ** Calcia Stabilized Zirconia ** Ziconia Mullite ** Alumina Bubble **

Silicon Carbide Silicon carbide (SiC), also known as carborundum (), is a hard chemical compound containing silicon and carbon. A wide bandgap semiconductor, it occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral moissanite, but has been mass-produced as a powder a ...

Calcined Calcination is thermal treatment of a solid chemical compound (e.g. mixed carbonate ores) whereby the compound is raised to high temperature without melting under restricted supply of ambient oxygen (i.e. gaseous O2 fraction of air), generally fo ...

*Agri Input products ** CUMIjal

Joint ventures

* Wendt (India) Limited * Murugappa Morgan Thermal Ceramics Ltd. * Ciria India Limited

Subsidiaries

* CUMI Abrasives and Ceramics China Limited (CACCL) * CUMI America Inc. * CUMI Australia Pty. Ltd. (CAPL) * CUMI Canada Inc. * CUMI International Limited, Cyprus * CUMI Middle East FZE * Cellaris Refractories India Limited * Foskor Zirconia Pty Ltd-South Africa * Net Access India Limited * Southern Energy Development Corporation Limited (SEDCO) * Sterling Abrasives Limited-Ahmedabad * Pluss Advanced Technologies * Volzhsky Abrasive Works-Russia