§1What this business is
Monolithic means jointless. These are refractory cements, castables, ramming mixes and gunning mixes that are cast, poured, rammed, gunned or vibrated in place to form a furnace lining in one piece, instead of building it from bricks. The unit buys calcined and sintered minerals — fire clay and grog, bauxite, kyanite, quartzite, chromite, dead-burnt magnesite, dolomite, fused alumina and high-alumina cement. It crushes and pulverises them, screens and stores them by grain size, weighs them out in the required proportion, mixes them in a mixing machine, tests the mix and packs it in bags. Nothing is fired in the unit, so there is no kiln. The profile assumes a product mix of 10% silica, 20% high-alumina, 30% basic and 40% alumino-silicate monolithics. About 75% of refractories go to iron and steel; the rest go to cement, glass, thermal power and similar industries.
Capacity: 3,000 tonnes a year on a single shift for 300 days, valued at ₹2,50,50,000 — 300 t silica, 600 t high-alumina, 900 t basic and 1,200 t alumino-silicate monolithics.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A ceramic engineer or refractory trader who knows steel, cement or glass plant buyers and can design mixes.
Who it is not for
Someone with no technical knowledge of refractory grades and no industrial customers.
Advantages
- No kiln and no firing — only crushing, grading and mixing
- The profile says use of monolithics is rising while bricks and shapes decline
- Several product grades from one plant
- Under ₹1 crore for a refractory unit
Drawbacks
- Thin margin of 8.54% on sales in the profile
- Raw materials are over 90% of the monthly cost
- Fine dust is a health hazard and needs a cyclone dust collector
- Buyers are large plants that test every lot
Skills you need
- Refractory mix design and grain-size grading
- Laboratory testing to the Indian Standards named in the profile
- Dust control and worker safety
- Technical selling to plant maintenance teams
Why difficulty 3/5: Simple plant, but mix design, testing and industrial selling need a technical person.
§3Market
Who buys
- Iron and steel plants
- Cement plants
- Glass and ceramic factories
- Thermal power plants, fertiliser and petrochemical units
- Non-ferrous metal and foundry units
How it sells
- Direct supply to plant purchase and maintenance departments
- Sale through furnace-lining contractors and refractory dealers
Good to know
- The profile says about 75% of refractories made in India are used by the iron and steel industry.
- It says consumption of monolithics is rising while bricks and shapes are declining.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Jaw crusher (225 mm × 100 mm) with 7.5 HP motor | 1 | ₹1,00,000 |
| Single-row roller crusher (300 mm dia × 375 mm face) with 7.5 HP motor | 1 | ₹80,000 |
| Pan mill (1,200 mm pan) with 7.5 HP motor | 1 | ₹1,00,000 |
| Hammer mill (375 mm × 200 mm) with 7.5 HP motor | 1 | ₹80,000 |
| Rotary screen set with 2 HP motor | 1 | ₹40,000 |
| Bucket elevators with 2 HP motor | 2 | ₹1,00,000 |
| Double-deck vibrating screen in dust-proof casing, 2 HP motor | 1 | ₹50,000 |
| Magnetic separator (rotating drum type) | 1 | ₹30,000 |
| Counter-current mixer (100 litres) with 10 HP motor | 1 | ₹1,50,000 |
| Double-shaft trough mixer with 5 HP motor | 1 | ₹1,10,000 |
| Weighing balance, bag-stitching machine and material-handling equipment | — | ₹1,00,000 |
| Cyclone separator (10,000 cu m/hr) with suction fan, hoods, ducting, stack and 15 HP motor | 1 | ₹2,50,000 |
| Testing equipment and apparatus | — | ₹5,00,000 |
| Tools and jigs | — | ₹50,000 |
From: DC-MSME project profile — Monolithic Refractories (2010)
- Fused alumina grains22 tonnes a month at ₹24,000 a tonne
- Dead-burnt magnesite50 tonnes a month at ₹8,500 a tonne
- Calcined kyanite32 tonnes a month at ₹6,000 a tonne
- High-alumina cement5 tonnes a month at ₹28,000 a tonne
- Calcined bauxite53 tonnes a month at ₹2,500 a tonne
- Chromite20 tonnes a month at ₹4,500 a tonne
- Raw fire clay and calcined fire clay (grog)20 tonnes at ₹400 and 32 tonnes at ₹1,300 a tonne
- Quartzite and calcined dolomite28 tonnes at ₹700 and 5 tonnes at ₹3,500 a tonne
- Chemical reagents and packing bags₹30,000 a month
From: DC-MSME project profile — Monolithic Refractories (2010)
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam registration
- GST registration
- State Pollution Control Board consent to establish and operate (dust)
- Factory licence (23 workers with 85 HP)
- ESI and PF registration
Start it in your state
Pick your state: today’s cost, central + state subsidy, raw material, land and help, on one page.
§6Schemes & subsidies
At ₹97.93 lakh the project is above PMEGP's ₹50 lakh ceiling for manufacturing; CGTMSE can cover the loan without collateral.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Fixed capital ₹44,20,000 (land 30,000 sq ft ₹15,00,000; workshed, raw-material shed, godown, office and boundary wall ₹9,25,000; machinery, testing equipment, tools, office furniture and installation ₹19,20,000; pre-operative ₹75,000) + working capital for 3 months ₹53,73,225 = ₹97,93,225. The profile prints the two parts; its 12% interest figure of ₹11,75,187 is worked on this sum.
Working capital: Recurring cost ₹17,91,075 a month, of which raw materials are ₹16,24,200 (fused alumina grains ₹5,28,000 and dead-burnt magnesite ₹4,25,000 are the largest); working capital for 3 months ₹53,73,225.
Prices from September–October 2010 — land, machinery and mineral costs will be much higher now.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: CAPEXIL
- The profile does not plan exports; the market is Indian process industries.
- Confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or your customs broker before shipping.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Rise in prices of fused alumina, magnesite and bauxite
- A lining failing in a customer's furnace
- Slow payment by large plants
- Dust complaints and pollution board action
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working monolithic refractories (castables, ramming and gunning mixes) unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, GST registration), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
§12Watch
There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.
Want to start Monolithic Refractories (Castables, Ramming and Gunning Mixes)?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.