December 18, 2001
Proposed Acquisition of the Shares of Eternit
Everest Ltd. by The Associated Cement Companies
Limited
Eternit Everest Ltd. (EEL)
is a leading building products company of which
Etex Group, Belgium and The Associated Cement
Companies Ltd.(ACC ), are the joint promoters.
ACC proposes to acquire the entire equity share
holding of the co-promoters by way of share
purchase agreement to be entered into on December
26, 2001. This acquisition will be subject to
approval of Reserve Bank of India and other
approvals if any.
The proposed acquisition of
Etex Group's 50% equity stake in EEL comprising
74,00,010 Equity Shares (face value Rs.10 each)
at a price of Rs.22 per share together with
ACC's existing stake of 26% in EEL comprising
38,50,020 shares will make EEL a subsidiary
of ACC. EEL is the only fibre sheet producer
with national presence. EEL's 'Everest' Brand
is the oldest / strongest brand and enjoys huge
brand equity.
In view of the global restructuring
being undertaken by the Etex Group, they gave
ACC the first preference to acquire its shares
in EEL. Whilst ACC is endeavouring to divest
its equity stake in businesses which have no
synergy with cement, it has decided to continue
with Refractories and further strengthen its
presence in Ready Mix Concrete and Asbestos
Cement Products which have synergy with the
cement and construction industry. In pursuance
of this objective, it has availed of this opportunity
to acquire further shares in EEL. The acquisition
is expected to enhance shareholder value.
HSBC were the Advisers to this
transaction.
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November 1, 2001
ACC Gagal - first Indian cement plant to
receive the OHSAS-18001 certification
ACC's Gagal Cement Works, has
been awarded the prestigious 'Occupational Health
and Safety Assessment Series -18001' certification
by KPMG-QR, a world renowned certifying agency.
ACC Gagal - first, not only
among its 11 plants, but also in the cement
industry, has obtained 'Certificate of Registration'
for complying with requirements as stipulated
in the standard ' OHSAS- 18001: 1999' for the
scope 'Occupational Health and Safety Management
Systems in Manufacture of Cement'. The Certificate
of Registration is valid upto July 26 , 2004.
Gagal, located in the Bilaspur
district of Himachal Pradesh, contributes significantly
to industrial activity in the state. The plant
has already been certified for systems like
ISO-9002 for Quality Management System [QMS]
and ISO-14001 for Environment Management System
[EMS].
KPMG have expressed their appreciation
of ACC Gagal's outstanding achievement in maintaining
state-of-the-art documentation and a high level
of awareness on Safety, Health and Environment
aspects even among the junior-most and unskilled
employees. This award is a tribute to the company's
continued concern for health and safety not
only of its employees but also the society around
it as a good and caring corporate citizen.
R Nand Kumar
VP - Marketing & Corporate Communications
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May
2001
SIZE="2" COLOR=""> Rebuilding Gujarat -
ACC takes the lead in training Gujarat's masons
and construction site supervisors
The earthquake that rocked
Gujarat on 26th January 2001 devastated large
parts of Kutch district and some talukas in
the districts of Rajkot, Surendranagar and Ahmedabad.
Numerous buildings were reduced to rubble while
even larger numbers have party collapse or developed
serious damage.
Obviously the state's immediate priority is
to rehabilitate those rendered homeless and
provide them with safe, dependable homes. This
requires an enormous extent of rapid construction
by way of renovation, major and minor repair
work and fresh reconstruction. Such construction
activity in the state is unprecedented and calls
for substantial mobilization of resources, construction
equipment, building materials and manpower at
short notice. In particular, the reconstruction
work will call for a large number of trained
masons and site supervisors.
We expect there will be a scarcity of skilled
masons and trained supervisor in the state,
especially in rural and semi-urban areas in
Kutch, Rajkot and Surendranagar districts. IT
is likely that more than 10,000 persons may
be needed for the reconstruction work in these
areas. Bringing in such a large number of skilled
masons from outside will prove to be difficult
and costly. Simultaneously this act will server
only to deprive the local population of an employment
opportunity.
We believe it is more meaningful to find local
people who are willing o participate in the
reconstruction work and who can be trained to
serve as masons and site supervisors. There
is no formal training course for this trade
whose members draw their skills only form years
of practical experience. Induction of these
basic skills is not a very complex task and
training in the basic essentials can be conducted
in brief and concise capsules provided they
are scientifically designed and focused.
Considering these aspects, The Associated Cement
Companies Ltd, in association with the Confederation
of Indian Industry (CII), has embarked upon
a plan to provide suitable orientation and training
for about 1000 masons and supervisors in various
earthquake affected villages. This intensive
programme, to be taken up for groups of candidates
in manageable batches will be condensed into
one month and will focus on training the rural
poor in skills related to basic construction
practices to suit their own cultural and social
needs as well as provide tips and guidelines
to help render structures more stable, durable
and earthquake resistant. Such training will
help in accelerating the creation of a local
workforce apart from generating ready employment
opportunities to the local population and thus
improve their earning capacity. Training local
people will also enable the local population
to get their houses built expeditiously with
earthquake resistant construction.
The first training programme in this series
will be conducted from 19th May 2001 to 17th
June 2001 at village Dahisara Mota in the Maliya
Miyana Taluka of Rajkot district. The programme
is scheduled to be inaugurated at 11:00 am on
19th May 2001 by Shri P.N.Patel, District Collector
of Rajkot in the presence of Mr.M.L.Narula,
Director, ACC at Hamirbhai's Gin Mill in Dahisara
Mota.
Although cement manufacturers have frequent
interactions with masons, we are pleased that
ACC has been able to put together a formal training
programme of this magnitude for masons and site
supervisors. We hope it will help in the swift
rehabilitation and reconstruction effort going
on in the state. We also pray that the rural
people of Kutch, Rajkot and Surendranagar districts
acquire adequate appreciation and skills to
make their constructions stronger and more durable.
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April 26, 2000
Mr Pallonji S Mistry indicated his desire
to retire from the Chairmanship
At the Board Meeting of The
Associated Cement Companies Limited (ACC), Mr
Pallonji S Mistry indicated his desire to retire
from the Chairmanship and the Board of the Company
for personal reasons. While reluctantly and
very regretfully acceding to his wishes, the
Board recalled the significant contribution
made by Mr Mistry to the development of ACC
during his long association with the Company.
Mr Mistry has been a Director of the Company
for over 48 years including over 4 years as
its Chairman. His wide knowledge and experience
of the cement industry has been of great value
to the Board and the management of the Company.
At the above Board Meeting,
the Directors also unanimously decided to appoint
Mr Tarun Das as an Additional Director on the
Board of Directors and also as Chairman of the
Board of Directors of the Company with immediate
effect. Mr Das is an eminent economist and has
played a major role in the development of commerce
and industry through the Apex Body, the Confederation
of Indian Industry (CII). He is at present the
Director General of CII.
Dr S Ganguly, Vice Chairman
who has been associated with the Company since
the last over 11 years in both executive and
non-executive capacities, expressed his desire
to retire from the Board of Directors. While
acceding to his request, the Board recalled
the significant contribution made by him during
his association with the Company.
Mumbai,
26th April, 2000
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April 11, 2001
The kiln for the new cement plant
The kiln for the new cement
plant (Capacity 2.6 million tonnes per annum)
at our Wadi Works in Gulbarga District, Karnataka
was lighted up today.
Sd/-
R. Nand Kumar
Vice President-Marketing and Corporate Communications
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