It was the long cherished developmental dream of the State of Kerala that established a significant leap when Malabar Cements Limited, the only Portland cement manufacturer in Kerala, was incorporated in April 1978, as a state Public Sector Unit. This Company, with a capital outlay of Rs.68 crores and a paid-up equity capital of Rs. 26 crores, is fully owned by the Government of Kerala. The Company is continuously running on profit.

Cement is the basic construction material of the contemporary era. During the 1970s cement was a controlled commodity and Kerala had to depend entirely on other states or foreign countries for its requirements/ supplies of this construction material. This was the stimulus behind comprehending this state-owned cement manufacturing unit.

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) had identified a cement grade limestone deposit in the Walayar reserve forest way back in 1961-62. Later, the Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited confirmed its efficacy.

Despite its difficult terrain and perilous conditions at the deposit, the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) had engaged M/s. Holtec Engineers Pvt. Ltd., in 1975 to study the feasibility of putting up a cement plant at Walayar. And based on this study, KSIDC subsequently obtained an Industrial License for the manufacture of cement in November 1976. The Malabar Cements Limited thus came into existence at Walayar, the then remote and underdeveloped tiny village in the eastern boundary of the Palakkad District.

After periodic and incessant construction spree, the cement plant was commissioned on the 2nd of February 1984. The commercial production since then commenced on the 30th of April of the same year.