"India is the only market globally with substantial growth"

RHI Magnesita CEO Stefan Borgas on the company's M&A strategy, why India is important, the way ahead, and more

- Krishna Gopalan

RHI Magnesita is a €3.6-billion refractory products company that serves a range of industries such as steel, cement and non-ferrous metals and has a workforce of more than 20,000 people across 67 sites. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are a big component of the company's growth. In the recent past, it has acquired Dalmia Bharat Refractories and Hi-Tech Chemicals in India. CEO Stefan Borgas, 60, says India makes him feel energised. In an interview with Business Today's Krishna Gopalan, Borgas talks about the opportunities in India, the industry, and the challenges, among other things. Edited excerpts:

Q: What makes India a different place to be?

A: India is the one place in the world that you want to come to when you want to get energised. Right now, every [other] place in the world, at least in the industrial space, is depressed, with low morale and low energy.

This is a country with a lot of improvisation and talent. I was at one of our plants in northwestern India recently. Two years ago, it was horrible, [but] now it is world-class. We didn’t spend too much on it, apart from using a lot of energy, ingenuity, discipline, and rigour. It is a good example of how well Indians can work. The plan is to send some of our managers from Europe and the US to take a look at the plant to understand what can be done if you just apply common sense, good energy and fantastic teamwork.

Q: RHI Magnesita’s growth in India and many other geographies, to a large extent, has been through M&As. RHI and Magnesita also came together courtesy a merger in 2016 (RHI was a German company and Magnesita was from Brazil) to create a new entity...