Indo Rama to increase production capacity

By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 19 December 2002, 20:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: Polyester major Indo Rama is planning to pump in Rs 500 crore in order to increase its polyester production capacity by 500 tonnes per day (TPD). Currently, its main manufacturing facility at Butibori produces 850 tonnes of polyester per day which is well above the installed capacity of 650 tonnes per day. "Expansion in our business will take annual polyester production from three lakh tonnes to five lakh tonnes by June 2004," said company's managing director O P Lohia. India has a total polyester production capacity of 15 lakh tonnes annually. There are two major integrated players in the market. While Indo Rama makes three lakh tonnes, Reliance produces over five lakh tonnes of polyester in a year. Of Indo Rama's total sales turnover of Rs 2,400 crore projected for current fiscal year, nearly Rs 2,000 crore is expected to come from polyester units and the balance from its spinning activities. In first half of 2002-03, the company clocked a turnover of Rs 617.38 crore -- up 33.9 per cent from Rs 461.01 crore in the year-on period. ''We have started trial runs of new machines and hope to record a turnover of Rs 3,000 crore by next fiscal year,'' Lohia told reporters visiting the 235-acre and ISO 9002-certified Butibori facility. The figure is likely to jump to Rs 3,750 crore in 2004-05 and Rs 5,000 crore by 2005-06, he said The company has signed a technology agreement with Zimmer of Germany and engineering design work has commenced. Kvaener Power Gas has been appointed as detailed engineering contractor. ''The textile growth domestically and globally will be led by polyester in future,'' Lohia said. ''India and China are emerging as two major players in polyester production on the global horizon.