Kerala Ceramics Limited, a public sector company under the Department of Industries, has been selected for the FACT M.K.K. Nair Award, instituted by the Kerala State Productivity Council.
“The company won the second best productivity performance award in the group four category, which includes companies with a turnover of less than ₹50 crore. This year, 22 companies were shortlisted in the preliminary round for the award,” said the company officials at a press meet here on Wednesday. The detailed performance report was reviewed by a panel of experts chaired by the FACT chairman to select the institutions eligible for the award.
Industries Minister P. Rajeeve handed over the award to company chairman Vayoli Mohammad Master and MD P. Sathish Kumar at a function held at Kalamassery.
Crisis in 2016
Established in 1937, Kerala Ceramics Limited was in severe crisis in early 2016 due to heavy losses and shortage of raw material. “After the new governing body took measures to reduce losses, increase production and extend marketing, the company recorded profit in the 2018-19 fiscal. Production increased by 201.53% and turnover by 233.19%,” they said.
The company’s plant that manufactures spray dried kaolin for paper coating was the first of its kind in India. However, for more than 40 years the plant did not undergo periodic upgrades leading to a dip in production and quality. With the plant renovation in 2018, the company was able to increase production from 150 tonnes a month in 2016 to 1,220 tonnes.
Reducing fuel costs
Apart from this, technological changes such as thermal insulation and automatic power factor control were adopted to reduce fuel costs. The master plan prepared by the company in line with the government policy includes diversification of products, manufacturing of value-added products and manufacturing of by-products.
