- Business
- Kesoram Industries Limited, a flagship company of the BK Birla Group founded in 1919 and headquartered in Kolkata, India, engages primarily in the manufacturing and sale of viscose rayon filament yarn, transparent paper, and chemicals through its subsidiary Cygnet Industries Limited; it previously operated in cement under brands such as Birla Shakti and Vasavadatta Cement, and in tires under Birla Tyres, but has divested these segments in recent years. The company's core rayon operations, established at its Tribeni plant in Hooghly, West Bengal, produce viscose rayon yarn and filament yarn with an installed capacity exceeding 6,500 metric tons annually, alongside transparent paper and related chemicals marketed through dedicated distribution networks serving domestic and select international markets in textiles, packaging, and industrial applications. Geographically focused on India with plants in West Bengal, Odisha, and Uttarakhand historically, Kesoram maintains a lean structure post-demerger with approximately 27 employees as of 2025. In a major strategic restructuring, Kesoram completed the demerger and transfer of its cement business, boasting 10.75 million tons per annum capacity across facilities in Karnataka and Telangana, to UltraTech Cement Limited via an all-stock deal valued at approximately INR 5,379 crore, effective March 1, 2025, following board approvals in late 2023 and regulatory clearances; earlier, in 2018, it demerged its tire business Birla Tyres for debt reduction, which subsequently underwent insolvency and acquisition by other entities, sharpening focus on high-margin specialty chemicals and packaging materials. These changes have positioned Kesoram as a streamlined player in viscose and cellulosic products, with ongoing board enhancements including new independent directors in 2024 and 2025 to bolster governance and strategic oversight.