Praj eyeing US ethanol mkts; to set up base thereOur Regional Bureau / Pune June 5, 2006Praj Industries has trained its sights on the United States ethanol market and is looking actively at setting up base there through acquisitions. The company will be helped in this process by both, the money global venture capitalist Vinod Khosla invested in it for a 10% stake and his reputation as an ethanol evangelist, according to an official release."The company is actively pursuing leads and is confident of concluding some contracts in the coming 3 to 6 months." The company's strength lies in research & development capabilities that have helped it to develop ethanol plants that use multiple feedstocks, Pramod Chaudhari, chairman of Praj, said. "Given the worldwide popularity of ethanol as an additive or substitute for motor spirit, the US - the largest consumer of petrol - will surely be in the lead as far as ethanol use is concerned. We see a major role for ourselves in the US as it has declared its programme of 25:25, indicating mixing of 25% ethanol with petrol by the year 2025," Chaudhari had told Business Standard a few days ago. "The objective is to grow in newer geographies while capitalising on the goodwill in the existing market. Hence, we have devised a strategy wherein our existing clients will not be disturbed by our global ambitions,
