Britannia Industries Ltd, India’s leading biscuit company, expects to start work on its second unit in Orissa soon.
“We have applied to the Orissa government for 10-12 acres of land near the twin city of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, and expect to get the final nod on it within weeks,” said Vinita Bali, Managing Director, Britannia Industries.
Bali, who was here to deliver the Foundation Day lecture at the Xavier Institute of Management, said the proposed unit will produce different varieties of biscuits mainly for the Orissa market.
The unit, to be built at cost of Rs 40-45 crore, will have an installed capacity to produce about 2,500 tonnes of biscuit per month.
It being a labour intensive industry, the unit will employ about 500 to 700 persons. This will be the second unit of the company in Orissa. It presently has a 1,000-tonnes per month capacity biscuit unit in Mayurbhanj, bordering West Bengal.
Orissa apart, the company proposes to set up a similar size unit in Bihar. Both the new units are expected to strengthen the company’s presence in eastern India while contributing to the overall business expansion pan-India. The company, at present, has manufacturing facilities in Uttaranchal, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata.
It may be noted, Britannia’s net sales rose 25 per cent to Rs 912.8 crore in the first quarter of this fiscal against Rs 731.24 crore last year. In volume terms, sales grew 20 per cent during the quarter. Stung by a rise in the cost of inputs like wheat, sugar and milk and the consequent pressure on margins, the company is mulling to raise the prices of its different products by 5-10 per cent.
Even as Britannia is expanding capacities, it is concentrating on cost minimisation, which continues to be a key parameter for the manufacturing system and in this regard, the appropriate exploitation of latest technologies like energy efficient ovens, on-line mixing have been put in place in a few relevant units. This drive will continue in the forthcoming years to leverage technology as a competitive edge.
Uttarakhand factory continues to deliver a significant share of production and with investment in automation and mechanisation, will continue to drive efficiencies.
Marginal capacities have been exited during this year like Manna Foods in Kolkata.
