Spartek plans expansion

The company at present has a manufacturing capacity of six lakh sqmt of tiles a year at its four plants put together.

The company is planning to set up two separate joint ventures, one each in the Krishna-Godavari Basin and Gujarat, for setting up the tile manufacturing plants.

"We are in advanced stages of discussion with potential partners at both the places, and the two plants are expected to be simultaneously implemented in the next 12 to 15 months," said Krishnaprasad Tripuraneni, the managing director of the company.

The company expects the first phase of investment of about Rs 50 crore for the K-G Basin plant, while the Gujarat plant's capital outlay is yet to be worked out.

We are planning to infuse investments upto Rs 40 crore into the group to fund capital expenditure, working capital shortfall and substitution of high cost debt with low-interest loans, Tripuraneni said.

"We have already tied up with an internationally reputed investor for raising Rs 16 crore investment and for the balance discussions are in an advanced stage with a group of financial investors abroad," he explained.

The bureaucratic and legal hassles like waiting 12 years for BIFR approval and four years for debonding the company's 100 per cent EOU division and mounting interest burden added to the problems of the company, he said.

As per the BIFR approved package, the group debt got reduced to Rs 65 crore from the earlier Rs 100 crore. The average interest rate has also come down to 10 per cent from 17 per cent.