Commodity Online
BANGALORE: Wienerberger Brick Industry Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of world's largest producer of clay hollow bricks Weinerberger will set up a manufacturing plant in Kunigal with an initial investment of Rs 90 crore.

This is the first investment by the company in Asia. Kunigal plant which spreads over 30 acres of land, would have an output of 100,000 tonnes per annum in phase one.

Commercial production would start by the end of 2008 and would focus on hollow blocks under the brand name "Porotherm" and an exclusive range of "Terca" facing bricks.

Wienerberger's has 263 plants in 26 countries. The euro 2.48 billion company, number two on the clay roof tiles market in Europe, already has government approval to double the capacity in phase two.

"The demand for eco-friendly building materials is on the rise globally. In India, the birthplace of clay brick architecture, clay is still the most preferred building material", Ingo Hofmaier Managing Director (Commercial) Wienerberger Brick Industry Pvt Ltd told reporters.

The company said clay is locally sourced. It said the company's load-bearing clay hollow blocks can "beat the heat due to its outstanding thermal insulation properties".