Glassware manufacturer Borosil has announced a temporary suspension of operations at its borosilicate glass furnace in Jaipur following a sudden restriction in Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) supplies by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs). Speaking on the development, Pradeep Kheruka, Chairman of Borosil, described the situation as "dynamic."
“We have spoken with the people who are in charge of LPG allocation and we have been told that we can get a certain amount of LPG. So, it is a dynamic situation,” he told NDTV Profit on Thursday.
“It is uncertain. We cannot say anything. We believe that we should get sufficient gas to resume production. Not enough gas as we need, but sufficient gas to resume production, perhaps at a lower level,” he added.
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Borosil operates two opal glass furnaces and one borosilicate glass furnace in Jaipur. While production at the borosilicate glass furnace has been temporarily suspended, the opal glass furnaces have been operating at lower capacities, the company said in an exchange filing dated March 11.
The disruption comes at a sensitive time for the company, which had recently announced expansion plans to increase the Jaipur facility's capacity from 25 tonnes to 32 tonnes per day to meet surging demand.
When questioned about the daily financial hit caused by the shutdown, the Chairman remained cautious, noting that the situation is "very recent." “We will need some time to figure this out. As soon as things become clear, we will be happy to share that with the stock exchange.”
Kheruka emphasised that glass manufacturing requires an uninterrupted fuel supply because it is a continuous process. Any curtailment in gas availability can force a complete shutdown of the affected furnace.
“We require gas completely in the sense that we cannot curtail gas. The only thing you can do is curtail production from any one furnace, for example, and continue running the other furnaces at full capacity. So, at the end of the day, it is not something where the process will allow any curtailment,” the top executive said.
“Hopefully, we might be able to get – we might be able to get permission to have gas, but only time will tell. I really cannot say anything at this moment,” Kheruka added.
Shares of Borosil were trading 7.42% lower at Rs 240.25 apiece on the NSE at 3:10 p.m, while the benchmark Nifty50 was 0.86% down to 23,665.35.
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