We are pushing the application of aluminium in various sectors

In an exclusive interaction, Pragun Jindal Khaitan, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director at Jindal Aluminium, discusses the importance of environmentally friendly and sustainable products.

Please talk about the changing landscape of materials used in construction?

 As it evolved, the construction industry was influenced by the changing landscape of materials used and the need for faster execution of projects. Developers always try to ensure that their projects meet sustainability targets, are cost-effective, aesthetic in design, and durable; they are constantly on the lookout for a reliable resource for construction that makes the project stand out. Being much more environmentally friendly than competing metals, aluminium can play a significant role in creating sustainable products that the construction sector will seek.

Across the globe, India is the fifth-largest producer of aluminium. Globally, as smart cities are being created, traditional metal poles and street fixtures are replaced by aluminium as the preferred material. It has been executed in Australia, where these poles make cities smarter with their longevity, reduced installation and maintenance costs, and the environmental sustainability benefits of aluminium over traditional steel poles.

With a greater emphasis on the renewable energy and construction and industrial sectors, the aluminium extrusion industry is poised to play a significant role in the growth of the Indian economy and propel it to the forefront of the global stage as a leader of a sustainable world.

What distinguishing features of your product line give you a competitive advantage?

 With 50 years of legacy, Jindal Aluminium is India’s largest aluminium extrusion company, with a core business in aluminium extrusions and flat-rolled aluminium products. We have the largest installed production capacity of 150,000 MT per year of aluminium extruded products. It has a very modern tool shop capable of producing high quality and intricate dies backed up by an international quality billet casting facility that manufactures a wide range of aluminium alloys, including AA 1XXX, 2XXX, 3XXX, 5XXX, 6XXX, 7XXX, and 8XXX, etc.

 With a capacity of 50,000 MTPA through the continuous casting manufacturing process, we are India’s second-largest producer of aluminium flat-rolled products. The unit has its captive foundry, holding furnaces and casters for making quality products ranging from 0.009 mm to 5.00 mm in thickness. We have installed a 1650-mm-wide cold rolling mill (CRM) in our state-of-the-art plant. This is a very modern high-speed mill manufactured in Zhuoshen, China. We have also installed an X-ray gauge checking system from Mesacon, Germany, and an Automatic Flatness Controller system (AFC) from Achenbach, Germany, due to which the products exceed any international standards required by the most demanding applications. 

How well is your organisation innovating to offer maximum efficiency and durability?

 As part of our business strategy and embracing innovation in this digital age, we launched our order management system called “UDAY: Rise with Aluminum,” allowing dealers to send their orders conveniently. It enables entire digital interaction with our dealers, catering to their specific needs and allowing us to perform the production at a lower cost, encompassing customers of all sizes. The purpose is to leverage technology to benefit everyone involved in our business ecosystem—people, planet, and community. Thus, innovating with digital and integrating it with manufacturing allows us to have a competitive edge and race towards a sustainable future. 

What are your views on recycling and reusing aluminium waste for various applications?

 The world is quickly moving towards reducing its carbon footprint by cutting emissions and saving the environment from further degradation. On this path that leads us to a sustainable future, one metal has proven itself to be better than the rest when it comes to being environmentally friendly.

In any argument over the most sustainable building material in the world, aluminium is an easy winner. It is because of its highly recyclable attributes and the fact that it does not lose any of its properties in the process. Once put in use, it can be recycled again and again without an iota of quality compromise. One cannot ignore the fact that 75 percent of all aluminium ever produced is still in use.

Aluminium-in-use stands as a better choice among metals to be an ambassador for sustainability also because of its intrinsic qualities. From being soft and malleable to being low-weight, aluminium has varied applications in today’s world. Today, aluminium alloys are used across varied applications where strength and durability are needed.

Can you brief us about your company’s key focus and future business plans?

We have a manufacturing capacity of 1,50,000 metric tonnes per annum at the two manufacturing facilities in Karnataka. We have added another 14,000 metric tonnes per annum after acquiring and operationalising the Indo Alusys Bhiwadi (Rajasthan) plant. With the acquisition of Indo Alusys, we feel privileged to contribute to reviving a unit in the industry and thereby supporting its stakeholders. Currently, the focus is more on the Bhiwadi plant and other technological upgrades on a broader scale. A part of the capital expenditure will go towards debottlenecking the existing units, and the rest will go towards increasing capacities at the Bhiwadi plant. We intend to increase the manufacturing capacity of the Bhiwadi plant to 50,000 metric tonnes per year shortly.

In the flat-rolled division, our current production capacity is 50,000 metric tonnes per annum. We are about to commission two new casters, increasing capacity by 50% and increasing capacity to 75,000 metric tonnes per year beginning with the next fiscal year.

We are pushing the application of aluminium in various sectors by investing in R&D for newer aluminium applications. We are also aligning ourselves closely with the growing segments of packaging, EVs, and batteries in these spaces to offer solutions to them that can enable them to grow faster in India.

For more info visit :  https://jindalaluminium.com/

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