Kajaria Ceramics to set up Rs 100 cr unit in Gujarat

Delhi-based Kajaria Ceramics Ltd, manufacturer of ceramic floor and wall tiles, is planning to set up a unit in Gujarat for the production of vitrified tiles (currently imported from China by the company), at about Rs 100 crore.

The company today inaugurated its office-cum-tile display centre in Chandigarh.

The new unit will produce 7 million square metres of vitrified tiles per year and will roll them out in the domestic market within one and a half years.

This will be the company's third unit in India, the other two being in Sikandarabad (Uttar Pradesh) and Gailpur (Rajasthan). Also, the company has plans to foray into the retail sector by setting up "Kajaria Plus" & "Kajaria Tile Mart" showrooms.

Although the number of stores is to be finalised, the company has earmarked Rs 30-40 crore for opening up stores in various parts of the country in 2007-08.

Talking to Business Standard, Kajaria Ceramics Director Rishi Kajaria said: "We are planning to foray into the production of vitrified tiles within one and half years. We may acquire an existing unit or will get up a production facility, at a project cost of Rs 100 crore, which will be raised through internal accruals and debt."

At present, the company is importing vitrified tiles from China. "Earlier, the market for vitrified tiles was very small, but now it is expanding at a fast pace," Rishi said.

At present, the company's two state-of-the-art automatic plants in Sikandarabad and Gailpur have a capacity of 26.4 million square metres per annum.

The company has a 10 per cent market share in the domestic market, and is expecting to raise it to 15 per cent by 2007-08.

Commenting on expansion plans, he said, "We have earmarked about Rs 100 crore for the expansion of the Sikandarabad unit.

The company is planning to add 3.6 million square metres per year in this plant and to modernise it.

At present, it produces 7 million square metres of tiles per year."

As the demand for tiles is growing in the domestic market, the company expects to attain a turnover of Rs 460-475 crore during the current financial year and is set to attain Rs 1,000 crore by 2009-10. In the last financial year, the turnover was Rs 350 crore, of which exports accounted for Rs 30-35 crore.