Visaka Ind in Rs 64cr expansion mode

Visaka Industries Limited is embarking on an expansion drive worth Rs 64 crore. The company plans to set up a fibre cement sheets unit each at Ahmedabad and Vijayawada.

The Hyderabad-based company expects the building products segment and the garments segment to contribute to its revenues in the ratio of 55:45 after the expansion.

Addressing the media, G Vivekanand, managing director, Visaka Industries Limited, said, "We plan to give more thrust to our fibre cement sheets division and therefore intend to set up a fibre cement sheets unit each at Ahmedabad and Vijayawada. While the Ahmedabad unit will be ready by December 2006, the one at Vijayawada will be ready by October 2007. Each unit will have a capacity of 1,10,000 tonnes a year and will involve an investment of Rs 32 crore."

With this expansion, the total capacity of the fibre cement sheets division will go up to 6,50,000 tonnes . The corrugated fibre cement sheets unit in Rae Bareili, Uttar Pradesh, is expected to commence production by the end of November 2005.

Visaka Industries has also bagged an order from an Italian company for 15,000 pieces of garments worth Rs 90 lakh. The company has set up a pilot plant in Chennai with 200 machines on a two-shift basis.

The Rs 213-crore company will consider setting up its own building and further expanding the capacity of this unit at a later stage.