Recorders to invest Rs 20 crore in Baddi

Company to come up with an IPO in 2007

Chandigarh-based medical equipment maker Recorders and Medicare Systems Ltd is consolidating its production facility in Baddi with an investment of Rs 20 crore. The company also has plans to come with a range of sports products.

Speaking to Business Standard, Managing Director Suman Jolly said spread over 9 bighas (one bigha is 14,400 square feet) of land in Baddi, the unit would merge the existing units in Chandigarh, Panchkula, and Baddi. "The investment of Rs 20 crore for the project will spread over three years," Jolly said.

The company started operations in 1975. It manufactures a wide product range of products related to neurology, cardiology, critical care and patient monitoring, medical video and image processing, imaging, physiology, pulmonolgy, and clinical chemistry. At the same time, the firm's R&D facility is working to add new products.

The company has 22 service centres across the country and proposes to have a total of 90 by 2007. According to Jolly, at present, the company has 60-70 per cent market share in the domestic market, with a client base of of more then 4,500 customers.

The company is eyeing an annual turnover of Rs 14 crore this fiscal, and looking at a 50 per cent consistent year-on-year growth. "In the second quarter of 2007, we will come up with an IPO," said Jolly.

For the last one year, the export market has been the target of growth for the firm through product and market extension. Till last year, the firm used to export to the markets of Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. It will start marketing its product range in Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan from this year.

"This year, exports will amount to Rs 1 crore , but next year we are looking at 15 per cent growth,"said Jolly.

Diversifying into allied business, the company will soon come up with a treadmill for personal use and fitness centre.

"The product will be ready in four months' time, and large- scale production will take another two months. The price range will vary from Rs 1- 4 lakh and will have features like the number of calories lost, target heart rate, etc.," said Jolly

"With the size and volume of the market not very large, the biggest challenge for the industry is the lack of enforcement of law for theft of know-how," said Jolly.