Mandideep Fast Emerging Industrial Hub

What’s common between Lupin, Procter & Gamble, Daawat Foods, Vardhman Textiles, HEG Ltd.? They all operate out of Mandideep, an integrated industrial enclave exporting products worth crores of rupees every year adjacent to Madhya Pradesh’s state capital.  

Manideep hosts about 650 industrial plants on which 450 factories are operating. Products ranging from food processing, automobiles, auto components, pharma and with HEG being largest producer of graphite electrodes for steel plants in the world.

Ravi Jhunjhunwala, CMD, HEG Limited, Mandideep, says that Madhya Pradesh has the best environment for industrial investment. The industrial policy of the state government is attracting investors as Madhya Pradesh is a suitable state for investors. The unit of his company will invest Rs. 2,000 crore in the state for the manufacture of graphite anodes. This investment will be made in Sirsauda village of Dewas district, which will have an annual production capacity of 20,000 metric tonnes. The production of the first phase will start by January 1, 2025, and the project will be completed by January 1, 2028. In the first phase, the unit will be the world’s largest company in the field of graphite production after the company is expanding with a capital investment of Rs. 1200 crore in the unit premises in Mandideep industrial area.

HEG was the first industry to bear the flashlight of industrialization in Mandideep, Madhya Pradesh in the 70s. Being the world’s largest producer of graphite electrodes for steel plants, HEG’s graphite electrodes are in demand all over the world today. Graphite electrodes are a raw material for steel producers who use the electric arc furnace route (EAF) instead of the traditional blast furnace process. It is being supplied to America, Europe, and African countries from Mandideep plant. As many as 1800 people are getting employment from the plant. Mandideep HEG also has a graphite electrode production plant with a capacity of 76.5 MW (two thermal power plants and one hydropower plant).

Being the world’s largest producer of graphite electrodes for steel plants, HEG’s graphite electrodes are in demand all over the world today. Graphite electrodes are a raw material for steel producers who use the electric arc furnace route (EAF) instead of the traditional blast furnace process. It is being supplied to America, Europe, and African countries from Mandideep plant. HEG also has a graphite electrode production plant with a capacity of 76.5 MW (two thermal power plants and one hydropower plant). HEG was the first industry to bear the flashlight of industrialization in Mandideep, Madhya Pradesh in the 70s. As many as 1800 people are getting employment from the plant. The lotrher key players are Vardhman Textiles Limited. Established in 1991 at Mandideep, at present, two plants of the company are working here on 180 acres and 50 acres, in which more than 15 thousand people are getting direct employment including 4,500 women.

Mandideep based Lupin company is manufacturing many items of pharma and medical sector and exporting its antibiotics in large quantities to foreign countries. Plants of big companies like Daawat Foods are operating in the industrial area. The company’s Managing Director Rajendra Wadhwa says that Madhya Pradesh’s basmati is meeting all the criteria, so exporters from other states take paddy from here and export it on their tag. The share of Madhya Pradesh in the country’s total basmati exports is about 25 percent. US based Procter & Gamble is manufacturing products ranging from home hygiene to personal care here. The company manufactures products such as Ariel, Tide, Gillette, Oral B, etc..

The Mandideep has manged to attract such an impressive client in last few years is something exceptional. In the year 1983 there were only 49 industrial units in Mandideep, now there are about 650 industrial plants in Mandideep on which 450 factories are operated. In this, 400 factories are of MSME category.

Notably, Mandideep has developed right under the nose of Madhya Pradesh and Bhopal, which is just across the border. The presence of well-developed State with a rich industrial eco-system just a few kilometres from the State capital.

So why did major corporate giants find it attractive to set up plants in Manideep?

Manideep did all the basic things right. It offered large tracts of land free of encumbrances adjoining a National Highway, assured uninterrupted power supply and excellent connectivity to rail and airports in Bhopal and to state’s commercial capital- Indore.

The proximity to Bhopal, Indore assured supply of adequate skilled, technical manpower and an established manufacturing eco-system for manufacturing units to source components and supplies.