Spray Engg to invest Rs 200 cr in sugar sector

The firm has entered into a 50:50 joint venture with Germany-based Indusrtieprojekt Gmbh to modernise & upgrade the Indian sugar industry.

Panchkula-based Rs 300 crore-worth Spray Engineering Devices Ltd, the provider of integrated energy-efficient solutions for the cane-processing sector, is going to invest Rs 200 crore this year in setting up an engineering unit and a sugarcane-processing unit.

The company has entered into a technical collaboration with Germany-based Indusrtieprojekt Gmbh (IPRO).

With an investment of Rs 150 crore, a 5,000 tonne sugarcane unit in Hoshiarpur will become operational by next year. The unit will generate 15 Mw. "The factory will enable us to demonstrate, research, train and develop new technology in the sugar industry," said Vivek Verma, managing director, Spray Engineering Devices Ltd.

The company has been trying to modernise the sugar industry for the last 15 years. At present, Spray Engineering Devices Ltd has three units in Baddi, which are spread over an area of 30,000 sq metres. The firm has offices in Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Pune. It also serves over 500 sugar factories around the world.

To cater to the export market of equipment used in the sugar industry, the company would set up another unit located in a special economic zone near a port.

"Vishakapatnam, Chennai and Gujarat (Jamnagar) are the places where we are looking for 20-28 acres of land. Investment for the project will be Rs 50 crore and work will start by the year end," said Verma, adding that Brazil, China, Thailand and Africa formed the key market of this segment.

By going for a technical collaboration, IPRO foresees a promising growth for the Indian sugar industry.

The agreement has been signed by Dr Dieter Schroder, managing director, IPRO and Vivek Verma, managing director, Spray Engineering Devices Ltd. The 50:50 joint venture will work towards development of processing technologies for future plant designs and energy management in the Asian region.

The new name of the company will be Industrieprojekt Gmbh Sugar Engineering Limited and its headquarters will be at Noida, with work likely to be expanded in Pune, Mohali and Chennai.

Verma said the joint venture between the two corporates will modernise and upgrade the country's sugar industry the market for which accounts for Rs 2,000 crore.