Market for export of monument granites to W Europe shrinking

The company also has a major presence in the slabs market, estimated to be worth Rs 2,000 crore. The private concern has had to tweak its growth strategy, in the backdrop of a shrinking global market for monuments. The 17-year-old enterprise was founded and steered by Vivek Bassi, the company’s MD, whose first brush with the highly-unorganised granite industry came through his stint with Greenply Industries. He says, “Companies in the granite export and manufacturing sector are dealing with major changes. One of the reasons is people in Western Europe adapting to the practice of cremation rather than burial, which necessitates the use of traditional headstones and monuments. These have driven growth of granite exports for decades, until now.” 

With a 350-odd workforce, the company claims to be one of the biggest producers of granite monuments in TN. Three of its factories are located at Chengalpattu, Kelambakkam and Hosur. Spread on 11 acres, the greenfield project in Hosur has prompted Bassi to chalk out diversification strategies that includes a foray into glass, ceramic and quartz segments.  The firm caters to some of the top companies in Western Europe and Germany that specialise in the business of granite products. Aryan Granites dispatches 80 containers every month and essentially, the consignments are used for bathroom and kitchen counters. 

Monitoring every aspect of the Rs 40 crore capex in the expansion of the greenfield project, Bassi owes his growth in the industry to his mentor SP Mittal, a former Kitply honcho who went on to build Greenply from scratch. “I was involved in managing the plywood company’s 100 per cent Export-Oriented Unit (EoU) Himalaya Granites Ltd (HGL). The Greenply subsidiary was engaged in business of manufacturing, producing and marketing of granites and monuments using its sole manufacturing facility in Tindivanam, TN. But stiff competition from various domestic and international players, especially from China posed a serious threat to sustaining business. The situation was further aggravated by a workers’ strike followed by a lock-out at the plant in 2008.” However, Bassi drew from the mistakes of the past and has been cautious in his growth plans. From a 20 per cent growth in 2015-16, his company has picked up to touch 25 per cent in the 2016-17 fiscal.