UDAYAPUR, Dec 4 : Udayapur Cement Industry Ltd has started upgrading plant and machinery to increase its production capacity.

According to officials of the state-owned cement producer, the company plans to raise production capacity to 1,100 tons per day, up from 800 tons at present.

Nawal Kishor Shah, general manager of the company, said that the company management had been asking for budget for increasing production capacity from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies. This year, the ministry has allocated some budget for upgrading plants and machineries. "With the limestone deposits and human resources we have, we can increase production capacity to 2,000 tons per day by adding modern machineries," he added.

According to Shah, the company's limestone mine in Sindhali of Triyuga Municipality can supply raw materials to the factory for 200 years. In 25 years of operation, the company has managed to extract only 15% of limestone from the mine, he added.

The company has been producing Gaida brand of OPC cement.

"We have a pool of workers having experience of 25-20 years. We have sufficient raw materials and nearly 100 bigha of land. The company is self-sufficient in all the raw materials except coal," he added.

With the budget that the ministry has provided, the company has started work for increasing production capacity by 200 tons per day. The ministry has provided Rs 10.5 million to the industry for the purpose. The company plans to meet fund shortfall by utilizing its resources.  

"There is no alternative to increasing production capacity, as there is stiff competition in the market. If we cannot supply products as per the market demand, we could lose customers," he said, adding that the company aims at increasing lost market by increasing production.

Shah said that the company was planning to lower the price of cement after increasing production capacity. "By lower price, we aim to increase our market share," he added.

The company revised the price of its products two times in October. It lowered the price of Gaida cement, which is available in 50-kg bag, first by Rs 25 per bag and Rs 30 per bag later on. It retails at Rs 743 per bag.

 
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