 "Saint-Gobain to invest Rs 1,000 crore in Tamil Nadu plant")
French multinational corporation Saint-Gobain SA will invest an additional Rs 1,000 crore at its facility in Tamil Nadu. The company has plans to set up second Magnetron Coater plant and third float line in the same complex. This will be the first facility, which will house more than two float lines globally for the company. The expansion is expected to be completed by 2018.
The company's existing capacity will go up by around 1,000 tonnes a day and the company expects to increase revenue by around 30% from the plant located at Sriperumbudur, near Chennai.
The facility, in Sriperumbudur area, is spread over 177 acres of land and produces 1,500 tonnes of glasses a day. After the expansion, the company's cumulative capacity would be 144 million sq ft. In all, the company has facilities in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Currently, the company has revenues of around Rs 2,000 crore in Tamil Nadu.
B Santhanam, president — Flat Glass South Asia, Malaysia and Egypt and Managing Director, Saint-Gobain India Pvt Ltd said that the new capacity will cater mainly to export markets including Africa, Middle East, South Asia, ASEAN countries.
The company has invested around Rs 3,500 core in glass business alone in India.
Today around 98% of what is sold in India by the company is produced in India.