Plaza General to set up unit in Uttarakhand

Plaza General Cable Energy Private Ltd (PGCEPL), the newly formed joint venture (JV) company between the US-based global cable giant General Cable Corporation and India's cable major Plaza Cables Group, will soon set up a manufacturing unit at Roorkie, in Uttarakhand.

Talking to Business Standard, Plaza Cables Director Deepak Gupta said, "The motive behind such a partnership is to take the Indian grid connectivity to global standards, thus enabling the unit to produce power at 400 Kv, evading transmission loss."

Fostering growth and better market hold, PGCEPL has already secured the rights to acquire a 25-acre site near Roorkie, where it will commence construction of a new low, medium and high-voltage energy cable manufacturing facility.

"It's a green field project. General cables being the world leaders in wire and cable products were in search of a strong base in India. This venture is beneficial for both the companies, providing market presence to the General cables along with providing a platform to enhance Plaza's brand image and also make Plaza a part of the global business," Gupta said.

In phase I, Rs 175 crore will be invested for upgrading the existing Plaza cables plant in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and also for setting up a new plant in Uttarakhand. The production is scheduled to commence in August next year.

"Major share, about Rs 130 crore will be forwarded to the new site while new technology, techniques and guidelines will be provided at the existing units. The technological assistance is being provided by General cables," added Gupta.

This will be followed by further investment to add additional manufacturing capability in specialty and extra high-voltage cable products.