Lubricant maker to up network

To capture a 2.5 - 3.0 of the market in the next 2-3 years from the present 1.5 per cent, Sah Petroleum Ltd., the Mumbai-based lubricant manufacturer, is expanding its network and production portfolio at an expenditure of Rs 40 crore.

"We set a target to scale our capacity to 80,000 litres from 40,000 litres by the present fiscal and moving in that direction we completed the third phase in September. The fourth phase is estimated to be completed this fiscal year-end," said Aditya Sah, joint managing director of the company.

"The investment in our business is an ongoing practice but looking at a specific market share is very important," Sah added.

Each phase of expansion entails a capacity addition of 10,000 litres proposed to be completed in six months.

Thus, sensing the huge growth of Indian GDP and thereby, petroleum product, the company targetted this expansion plan in early 2005.

With all expansion in line, the total storage capacity of the company is expected to touch 17.5 million litres by the end of current fiscal, thus making it as one of the highest in the private sector.

After completing the test marketing successfully of automotive lubricants in small packs for retail and bazaar trade, the company has launched process oils, speciality oils, transformer oils etc. under "Ipol" brand all over the country.

The company has met with a tremendous response fromthe market for its products and expects to generate at least 10 per cent of its revenues from this sector in the current year itself.

"We are expecting 50 per cent of our revenues from these product lines in the years ahead," said Sah.

The company is also planning to tap different segments such as construction and mining, fleet-operators and agri sectors, which constitute more than 90 per cent of auto lubricants, in the next three years.

After that it would consolidate its brand positioning through the mode of OE approvals or tie-ups, co-branding etc.