Malabar Cements Limited

Malabar Cements Limited is an Indian cement company. It is among the largest public sector cement production undertakings. It is fully owned by the Government of Kerala and is the only major integrated cement plant in the State.[1] The total installed capacity of MCL is 6.2 lakh tons. This ISO 9001:2000[2] company is responsible for about 10% of total cement production in Kerala.

Malabar Cements Ltd.
TypePublic Sector
IndustryProduction and Sales
Founded11 April 1978 (1978-04-11) in Walayar
Headquarters
Walayar, Palakkad district, Kerala - 678 624
,
India
Key people
ProductsMalabar Super, Malabar Aiswarya & Malabar Classic Cements
Total equity26crore
OwnerGovernment of Kerala
Websitewww.malabarcements.com

History

In 1961–62, the Geological Survey of India located a limestone deposit in the Pandarethu valley of the Walayar region on the northern side of the Palakkad gap. Located in a dense forest, the hilly terrain required heavy investment. The state government was interested in building a cement factory. In 1975 a feasibility study was completed. In 1976 an industrial license for the manufacture of cement was obtained.

Palakkad Malabar Cement factory

The company was incorporated on 11 April 1978 and commenced cement production at its Walayar plant in April 1984.[3]

An expansion program added a 2.0 lakh ton clinker-grinding unit at Cherthala in Alappuzha district in August 2003.[4]

A 2.5MW multi-fuel power plant for Walayar was commissioned in June 1998.

Development of the Cherthala plant began in August 2003 as part of an expansion plan by the company that included commissioning a 600 tpd Grinding Unit.

Plant

The total installed capacity of MCL is 8.6 lakh tons.

Walayar plant

With a production capacity of 6.6 lakh tonnes of cement per annum, this unit is its largest one.[5]

Cherthala plant

This plant includes a 600 tpd Grinding Unit. A two lakhs tonnes clinker grinding unit is there.[5]

Corruption case

ARK Woods and Metals Ltd., entered into a contract with MCL, for fly ash for a period of nine years. MCL chose to cancel the contract. As a result, MCL incurred a loss of 52.5 lakh.[6] Company managing director K. Padmakumar and marketing manager G. Venugopal were arrested by the VACB on charges of corruption and malpractice.[7]

In 2007, the Comptroller and Auditor General unearthed a scam of Rs 400 crore. Saseendran was the prime witness. Two years later, he wrote to the Chief Minister and Vigilance department head informing them about the corruption. Following intimidation he resigned and two days after a charge sheet was filed in the case, Saseendran was found dead. The accused in his death were then Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem and then Managing Director Sundara Moorthy and his secretary Sooryanarayanan, VM Radhakrishnan, a private contractor with MCL.[8]

References
  1. "MCL - Government of kerala PSU". Kerala.Gov.in. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  2. "Certifications and Achievements".
  3. "Malabar Cements Ltd". zaubacorp.com. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  4. "India: Malabar Cements to resume Cherthala operations". cemnet.com. 20 February 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  5. "Malabar Cements to set up bulk cement handling unit in Kochi". Times of India. 25 December 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  6. "Malabar Cements Corruption Case: Delhi HC Stays Further Proceedings In Attachment Of Businessman V.M. Radhakrishnan's Assets". 22 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  7. "Malabar Cements legal officer arrested". The Hindu. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  8. "How the death of a whistle blower and two sons in 2011 has come back to haunt the CPI(M)". The News Minute. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
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