H&R Johnson setting up cement tile units in Andhra

H&R Johnson (India) Limited is setting up two cement concrete tile manufacturing units in Andhra Pradesh (AP) "" at Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam.

The two units in AP are part of the company's plan to set up five such manufacturing units in India. The AP units will have a combined daily production capacity of 12,000 sft.

The company has earmarked a capital investment of Rs 200 crore to fund its various capacity creation initiatives during the current fiscal. The funding for the cement tile units will be derived from this investment corpus.

"Our foray into the cement concrete tiles is part of our natural progression to grow in the tile business. It helps us expand our product offerings and provide a wider choice to the discerning customer," company's managing director, Vijay Aggarwal, stated in a press release here on Friday.

Stating that the company had set an ambitious target of achieving a Rs 1,000-crore sales turnover this year, he said that the new business foray would be an essential contributor to this growth.

For the first quarter ended June 30, 2006, H&R Johnson (India) Limited achieved a sales revenue of Rs 206 crore, recording a growth of 38 per cent over its performance during the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

According to Aggarwal, the company will be rolling out its cement concrete tile range with 24 brand new products. This range currently comprises designer interlocking cement tiles which will be marketed under its exterior tiles brand 'Endura'.

The new products are expected to contribute Rs 10 crore to the company's topline during the current fiscal.