 "Titan to locally produce spectacle frames and reduce imports")
Titan has an existing lens making facility at Chikkaballapur, on Bengaluru outskirts. The new unit would build nickel and lead free, lightweight titanium and aluminum frames that would have better precision and accuracy.
The manufacturing facility is also expected to substitute the conventional hard tooling technology with hi-tech lasers and CNC machining, for quicker turnaround time and designing, a company statement said. It did not elaborate on the new factory.
India's spectacle market that include frames and lenses was around $ 2 billion in 2013, according to Ken Research. The market grew 27 per cent annually since 2007. Frames account to around a tenth of the total demand.
"There are a few local manufacturers. But nearly 99 per cent of the spectacle frames are imported," said Namit Goel, Head of Research at Ken Research.
Besides Titan, GKB Opticals is the other large organised player. In the online space, firms such as Lenskart have lens making facility.
The eyewear business for Titan in the nine month period to December stood at Rs 275 crore.The firm has a presence in around 400 outlets in 162 towns making it the largest organised optical chain in the country.