ICICI Venture bought out the Refractories division of the Associated Cement Companies Ltd. (ACC) on a slump sale basis and renamed it as Ace Refractories. Ace is the second largest player in the industry in terms of revenues and profits supplying to a diverse set of industries. It is a leader in monolithics commanding over 50% market share and is a leading manufacturer of binders. It supplies a wide spectrum of refractory products to steel, cement, petrochemicals, fertilizers, power, sponge iron and non ferrous metal industries. In addition, Ace has built a strong export base with supplies to Middle East, Africa, South and South East Asia, Europe, Latin America and USA. Ace is a pioneer in turnkey projects and has one of the strongest marketing & distribution network in the industry. On the production front, Ace has optimal mix of in-house production and franchisee outsourcing of low end products. It has strong R&D capabilities with ~75% of its products developed in-house.

Ace is increasing its footprint in the Total Refractories Solution Management space with enviable strength in both services & products front.