Top 10 Aluminium Companies in India

The aluminium industry in India is on the verge of witnessing a major leap in consumption over the next five years. Major producers are adding significant capacities and investing in new technologies to add more value to their downstream product portfolios. This, they are doing, in order to cash in on the increasing demand primarily in the building and construction sector followed by transportation (metro and high-speed railway coaches), electricals, electronic consumer durables, packaging (aerosol cans and pharmaceutical foils), and next-gen applications like solar reflectors. Defence is another sector where aluminium is being used for making naval ships and surveillance drones.

Experts opine Indian aluminium companies with downstream operations should further consolidate their R&D strategies to remain low-cost yet sustainable over the long term. Here are the top ten aluminium product manufacturing companies in India who are remoulding their R&D strategies to find a bigger consumption pie in the domestic market and abroad:

(Please note, the ranking has been done taking market capitalization by NSE and BSE as one of the key basis factors).

1. Hindalco Industries: The most profitable of all aluminium manufacturing companies in India, Hindalco’s strength as a downstream products maker grew when it acquired Novelis in 2007. In India, Hindalco manufactures aluminium rolled products at plants located in Odisha, West Bengal, Nagpur in Maharashtra, Renukoot in Uttar Pradesh, and Taloja near Mumbai in Maharashtra. Its extrusion plants are located at Renukoot, Uttar Pradesh and Alupuram, Kerala. There are three modern and well-equipped foil facilities in Nagpur, Maharashtra, Silvassa in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Kollur in Andhra Pradesh.

Hindalco subsidiary Hindalco-Almex Aerospace Limited manufactures high-strength aluminium alloys for applications in the aerospace, sporting goods and surface transport industries.

In FY2016, the value added downstream production of the company including wire rods grew by 12% over last year to 423 KT. The turnover of the standalone aluminium domestic business increased by 21% to INR17,125 crore vis-à-vis INR14,105 crore in the previous year, despite lower realisations. This was achieved primarily on the back of higher metal volumes and a higher proportion of value-added products.

2. NALCO: National Aluminium Company Limited, the Navaratna PSU of Ministry of Mines, Govt. of India has achieved remarkable growth in production on all fronts in the first quarter of 2016-2017. During the quarter, the company produced 94,496 tonnes of aluminium, up 10% from the corresponding period the previous year. In FY2015-2016, its total aluminium production stood at 3,72,183 tonnes.

NALCO has a 50,000 MT per annum capacity rolled products unit, integrated with the smelter plant at Angul, where it manufactures aluminium cold rolled sheets and coils from a continuous caster route, based on the advanced technology of FATA Hunter, Italy. The company formed a JV company named Angul Aluminium Park Pvt. Ltd. (AAPPL) with IDCO in 2010 to promote downstream and ancillary industries in Odisha.

3. Bharat Aluminium Company: Vedanta Group holds a 51% stake in Bharat Aluminium Co. Ltd. (BALCO), while Govt. of India owns the remaining 49% stake. Balco  has many firsts to its credit as far as progressing India’s downstream aluminium growth story is concerned. The company was the first to produce alloy rods for conductors used in the power transmission industry, the first to roll material for Aerospace in the country and the first to set up the widest Hot Rolling Mill in India. The company bagged the much coveted I.M.E.A. India Manufacturing Excellence Gold Award -2016 for achieving production, and product quality as per world standards.