Haridwar, Pantnagar to get Fusegear plants

Indo-Asian Fusegear Ltd, a mid-sized manufacturer of electrical equipment, is planning to set up two plants in the Uttaranchal towns of Haridwar and Pant Nagar with a total investment plan of Rs 56 crore.

The Delhi-based company has already started commissioning its Haridwar plant and is hopeful of starting commercial production in the early part of the next financial year. The plant""with a proposed investment of Rs 45 crore""will have two units that would manufacture compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) and miniature circuit breakers (MCB).

After the completion of the Haridwar unit, the company will start commissioning the RS 11 crore unit at Pant Nagar, from which it intends to produce electric cables and remotely accessible electric meters.

The investment will be 33 per cent funded through the promoters' internal accruals, while there is a plan for private placement of equity that would contribute around 10 per cent of the sum to be invested. Rest would be met through term loans, according to the company executives.

Meanwhile, Indo Asian shares are expected to be relisted in the Bombay Stock Exchange this week following the merger of its group company Indo Kopp into it.

The shares were delisted from the bourses three weeks ago to for a fresh listing of the merged entity.

After completion of the Haridwar plant, Indo Asian is expected to have a capacity of producing 20 million CFLs a year and 1 lakh MCBs a day, according to company sources.

Indo Asian, which is one of the four organised CFL manufacturers in the country, currently has a 30 per cent share of the organised market. Other companies with significant operations in the CFL segment include names like Osram, Phoenix and Havells.

According to industry estimates, the CFL market size in the country is around Rs 2,000 crore a year (around 200 million lamps), and is currently experiencing a 25-30 per cent growth.

The company, with plants in Noida, Parwanoo, Jalandhar, Sonepat, is experiencing increase in export demands of CFLs, partcularly to the UK and to some other countries in Europe, where the law is stringent about using mercury free lamps.