We'd like to be seen as the Hindustan Lever of this industry," says Vijay Aggarwal, managing director, H & R Johnson (India), the 77:23 joint venture between the Rajan Raheja group and Johnson Ceramics International of the UK.
Aggarwal is explaining why his company recently signed an agreement to acquire EID Parry's ceramic tile plant at Karaikal, Pondicherry, for Rs 31 crore. HRJ is also going to pour in another Rs 59 crore to increase capacity by 4.3 million square metres (msm) in three different locations, which will take total capacity up to
20 msm.
To many others, this Rs 90-crore acquisition-cum-expansion spree looks little better than suicidal. For the past two years, the ceramic tiles business has been floored by flat demand, excess capacity