West Coast Paper Mills Ltd

History of West Coast Paper Mills Ltd

West Coast Paper Mills Limited (WCPML), the leading entity of the SK Bangur Group, is headquartered in Kolkata and incorporated on March 25, 1955. WCPML has been operating a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility (Paper Division) in Dandeli, Karnataka, boasting a production capacity of 320,000 metric tonnes per annum. With a self-sustained pulp capacity of 255,000 MTPA and a captive power generation capability of 74.8 megawatts, WCPML ensures operational independence. Its products reach across India through an extensive network of dealerships. The Company is ISO 90012015, ISO 14001-2015 FSC (R) & OHSAS 18000-2007. The Company's Mysore Plant produces Optical Fibre Cable which cater requirement of telecom sector of India. Apart from paper, the company is also into manufacture & sale of Optical Fibre Cable and Jelly Filled Telephone cables. WCPM's Paper Division is located at Dandeli in Karnataka and Cable Division in Mysore, Karnataka. WCPM has two subsidiaries Speciality Coatings & Laminations Ltd (SPCL) is engaged in manufacture of Coated paper and paper boards i.e Chromo & Art Paper. SPCL's 15000 tpa plant is located at Gurgaon in Haryana. WCPM holds 65% stake in the equity of SPCL. Further, the company owns six windmills with an installed capacity of 1.75 MW in Tamil Nadu for power generation.and majority of this wind power is supplied to Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TEB). The Company has a telecom manufacturing plant in Mysore. The Company supplies its products ... through dealers, who in turn sell it to reputed converters, publishing houses and end users. WCPM's paper division at Dandeli consists an paper mill with an installed capacity of 1.57 lakh MTPA and a 28 MW cogeneration power plant. The product mix of WCPM's paper division includes writing, printing & packing paper. The company which has raised the paper capacity by 18000 tonnes per annum is presently engaged in further raising the paper capacity to 163750 tpa by FY 2002-03. The Cable Division i.e Sudharshan Telecom came into existence in 1996 by setting up a plant to manufacture Optical Fibre Cable(OFC). Latter in 2001 the company set up facility to produce Jelly Filled Telephone Cable(JFTC). Currently the cable division has an installed capacity to produce 83,500 Kms of OFC and 15,42,000 Ckm of JFTC. Sumitomo Electric Industries of Japan and John Royale & Sons of USA are the technology providers for Sudarshan Telecom. This state of the plant at Mysore is capable of producing armoured and aerial types of OFC in addition to the underground duct burial type cables with a fibre count upto 40 fibres. Expansion, Modernisation and Diversification Programme for the Paper Division at Dandeli has been taken up with a cost of Rs. 214.50 crores (of which 65% had been completed by the end of 2001-02). In 2000-2001, the company has ISO 9001 certification from Det Norske Veritas, the Netherlands. During last quarter of 2001-02, the new 33000 TPA Duplex Board Machine was commissioned by the company and the company looks forward to increase the market share in the duplex board segment in the near future. During the year 2003-04, the Company completed its ongoing expansion programme for the the Paper Division at Dandeli in Karnataka at a cost of Rs. 230.14 crores. In 2004-05, the Company became self-sufficient in the generation of its total power requirements of 38.64 MW through sources like, 24.80 MW of thermal capacity, 2 MW from DG sets and 11.84 MW from furnace oil-based generators. In 2005-06, the Company commissioned a 15.5 MW turbine, partly replacing its dependence on high-cost power from the DG sets, and accounting for 24% of its annual power requirement. The Company also stabilised the operation of the chlorine dioxide plant in 2005-06. During the year 2006-07, the Company initiated two new systems - 'New Condensate Recovery System' and the 'Blow Heat Recovery System' and reported a better utilisation of steam and heat from the cooking process. Control cable worth Rs. 1.26 crore was manufactured and sold in 2009-10. During the year 2010-11, the Company took a decision to restart the use of copper telephone cable infrastructure with marginal investments to manufacture control cables, railway signalling and quad cables. Accordingly, all the required balancing equipment was installed and obtained BIS approval for manufacturing control cable and approval from Railways for manufacturing of signalling and quad cables. The Company carried out strategic acquisition of International Paper APPM Limited (IPAPPM). Pursuant to Share Purchase Agreement signed dated 29 May 2019, the Company acquired on 29 October 2019, 55% of the paid up share capital of IPAPPM by 13902025 equity shares of Rs. 10/- each from International Paper Investments (Luxembourg) S.a.rl and 7971496 equity shares of Rs. 10/- each from IP International Holding Inc. In terms of Letter of Offer dated 30 August 2019, the Company acquired on 11 October 2019, 6839879 equity shares of Rs. 10/- each representing 17.20% of the paid up share capital of IPAPPM from public shareholders. Consequently IPAPPM Limited became a subsidiary of the Company having total shareholding of 72.20%. The name of IPAPPM Limited was changed to Andhra Paper Limited (APL) w.e.f. 09 January 2020. The Company doubled the manufacturing capacity for Optical Fiber Plant by setting up a new unit at Fab City, Hyderabad, Telangana. The newly commissioned plant started its commercial production effective from February 14, 2024.