Grindwell Norton (GNO), a company listed on the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges, pioneered the manufacture of grinding wheels in India in 1941. In 1990, Saint-Gobain acquired Norton Company, USA, worldwide and thereby became a shareholder in GNO. In 1996, Saint-Gobain increased its equity stake, making GNO its first majority-owned subsidiary in India.

Presently, GNO’s businesses include: Abrasives, Ceramic Materials Businesses (Silicon Carbide and Performance Ceramics & Refractories), Performance Plastics and ADFORS. The Saint-Gobain Country Head office, INDEC (the captive India IT Development Centre for the Saint-Gobain Group globally) and CertainTeed are also part of GNO. GNO’s subsidiary, Saint-Gobain Ceramic Materials Bhutan Pvt. Ltd., manufactures Silicon Carbide. The Group currently holds 51.66% of the equity capital of GNO.

Business area of the company

Abrasives Business: GNO’s Abrasives Business, markets and manufactures a full range of Bonded Abrasives, Coated Abrasives (including Non-woven Abrasives), Thin Wheels and Superabrasives at its plants near Mumbai, Bangalore, Nagpur and Himachal Pradesh.

Ceramics Business: The Performance Ceramics & Refractories (PCR) business offers complete solutions with expertise in design, engineering and manufacturing refractory systems for high temperature, ballistic and wear applications. The HPR plants are located in Bangalore and Halol (Gujarat). The Silicon Carbide business manufactures Silicon Carbide crude and grains at Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) and near Phuentsholing (Bhutan) and is a major supplier to all leading Refractory, Metallurgy and Abrasives manufacturers in India.

Other Businesses: GNO’s other businesses include: CertainTeed (subsidiary of Saint-Gobain) and INDEC (the captive India IT Development Centre for the Saint-Gobain Group globally).

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