Diamond and cubic boron nitride (CBN) are known as Tools for Stones. Wheels and tools made with these abrasives are used in high end applications. CUMI is present in this segment, through its joint venture Wendt India Ltd., Bangalore, India.

The major user industries for Tools for Stones are automobile, engineering, cutting tools, refractories, ceramics tile, glass and steel.

The characteristics of abrasives industry are as follows:

Diverse industrial applications
Perceivably low threats from substitute products
Adequate raw material availability
Application engineering support to users

The key success factors are quality, cost, delivery and application engineering.

Key inputs are abrasive grains (a large portion of which is captively procured) electricity, processed cloth, paper and resins.

The global abrasives industry is about USD 13 billion. The major players are Saint Gobain, Tyrolit, Winterthur, Sia Abrasives and 3M. Till last year, CUMI was primarily an Indian player. The acquisition of Volzhsky Abrasive Works, Russia has given CUMI a strong presence in the Russian markets and also a sound base for increasing its global penetration.

In India, CUMI is the market leader. Apart from CUMI, Grindwell Norton Ltd. (part of the Saint Gobain group) is a major player in the domestic industry. 3M specializes in coated abrasives. In addition, John Oakey & Mohan and SAK abrasives, are the other abrasives manufacturers of significance in India. The Indian market is also served by several small players operating in specific product lines and also imports. While high-end imports are certain specialty products from Europe, the low end ones are 'price only' products from China.