Anushruti Singh
Lately, India has been witnessing robust growth in infrastructure wherein mining and tunnelling activities have picked up pace significantly. To support that growth, Minova Runaya Pvt Ltd (MRPL)—a joint venture between Minova-a global platform for tunnel and mining support solutions and Runaya-a sustainability-focused manufacturing company, is upscaling the landscape of mining support solutions in the country.
Recently, SME Futures visited MRPL’s state-of-the-art facility built over 20,000 sq. mts. in Bhilwara, Rajasthan where they introduced us to their cutting-edge solutions that address geotechnical challenges across various domains including tunnelling, railways, roads, and hydropower. A highlight of MRPL’s capabilities is the production of friction bolts and Secura Bolts and Resins.
Naivedya Agarwal, Chairman, MRPL & CEO & Co-Founder, Runaya, told us that earlier mining and infrastructure support solutions were unavailable in India and had to be imported. Therefore, with this JV, they intend to fill this void and support the government’s vision of ‘Make-in-India.’
“We are committed to merge cutting-edge technology with environmental responsibility and will meet 100 per cent of MRPL’s energy requirement through renewable resources by FY25. While empowering India’s vision to become a global leader, we aim to increase our export revenue to 30 per cent. MRPL isn’t just an endeavour, it’s a testament to our collective ability to redefine industries and leave a lasting impact,” says Agarwal.
In a tete-a-tete with SME Futures, Agarwal further discussed about the mining and infrastructure support solution market in India and MRPL’s progressive trajectory.
Edited excerpts:
How big is the mining and tunnelling support solutions tech market in India and what’s your market share in it?
The Indian mining and tunnelling market today is about Rs 2000 crores, and the global market is about $4 billion. The Indian market is growing at a rate of 10 per cent a year. We currently have a 15 per cent market share and have future growth plans to increase this.
What are the thrust factors of demand in this sector?
One of the major thrust factors is the Government of India’s focus on scaling infrastructure projects. The government is focusing on projects across the railways, highways and hydropower sectors and these require extensive tunnelling solutions. Further, as hard rock and metal mines such as zinc, copper, uranium, manganese and soft rock mines such as coal move underground, the demand for tunnelling solutions naturally increases.
Tell us about MRPL’s joint venture in India, how big is this opportunity for both the companies?
Minova Runaya is a collaborative effort between two dynamic enterprises, Minova and Runaya Metsource, headquartered in the Bhilwara District of Rajasthan.
Minova’s legacy of over 140 years in ground support solutions, coupled with Runaya’s commitment to innovation, sustainability, and efficiency, forms the backbone of this collaborative effort. Earlier, India used to be dependent on importing products such as wire mesh and self-drilling anchors, however, through this collaboration, developing new products and innovative mining solutions will be possible. This is a step towards achieving the objective of Atmanirbhar Bharat and becoming an export leader.
Safety has always been a major concern for the mining industry and inadequate safety measures have led to unfortunate accidents. MRPL’s focus is to bridge the gap between the hazards of the mining industry and safety. Additionally, we aim to empower our country’s local talent by providing them with a platform to benchmark globally and reach their full potential.
Can you elaborate on your products and their USPs?
Our products and solutions resolve all types of geotechnical challenges including ground stabilisation and consolidation, water and crack control, sewer repair and micropile foundations. We also support underground mines across the primary commodities, with solutions designed to provide safety and improve efficiency. Some of our products include:
Self-Drilling Anchors (SDA): Our SDA’s are the perfect reinforcement solution for unstable ground conditions including sand, gravel, silt and clay, and soft/medium fractured rock formations. The quality of our SDA’s is ensured through regular testing by our engineers.
Capsule Grout: We are the pioneers of capsule grout technology with our globally renowned polyester Lokset capsules and our cementitious Capcem anchor grouts. We offer a wide range of capsules to suit your bolt and cable anchoring needs.
Injection Chemicals: Which include PU and silicate grouts that provide a wide range of setting speeds, strengths and internal structures. From ultra foaming to high strength and fast setting, our injection chemicals anchor, consolidate and control strata, water and gases in all types of ground conditions.
What are the various challenges or gaps, when it comes to manufacturing mining support solutions? How is MRPL innovating to address them?
The main gap in India is actually the technology to deliver a superior product, and this is where MRPL is playing a crucial role. Minova has 140 years of experience doing this globally, and we are able to leverage their global portfolio to deliver a superior product in India which Indian companies are not able to match in terms of the structural support that is provided.
Does MRPL depend on domestic demand? What is your current export portfolio and how do you plan to increase exports?
MRPL is not dependent on domestic demand. We have started to scale in the Indian market and in the next 3-5 years, we plan to increase our export share to 30 per cent of our capacity.
What is the roadmap for MRPL down the line?
Our 3–5-year vision is to reach a revenue of 1000 crores by FY27 through the full capacity utilization of our current portfolio and by expanding into new products such as cementitious grout and injection chemicals. We are currently adding two new products to our product portfolio, i.e., wire mesh and self-drilling anchors for infrastructure projects. Our philosophy is to first start trading products from Minova’s global portfolio and as our market share grows, we will start converting those to domestically manufactured products.
