Finolex to shift Pune unit to accomodate SEZ

PVC pipe manufacturer Finolex Industries plans to shift its factory at Chinchwad (Pune) to make place for the company's proposed special economic zone (SEZ).

Saurabh Dhanorkar, assistant managing director, Finolex Industries, told Business Standard that the company would set up an SEZ specifically meant for information technology units.

"We have 78 acres of land at Chinchwad out of which just about 10 acres is in use. We will shift our unit so that the SEZ will get more space," Dhanorkar said.

Alternative locations could be Ratnagiri, where the company has a bigger plant; Urse, where a sister company's plant functions; or Chakan, about 30 km from the existing plant, Dhanorkar said.

The company will not face a big problem in shifting the staff from Chinchwad as the staff count here just 200, Dhanorkar said, adding that the transferring will take time since work on SEZ can get under way in the vacant part of the premises.

Dhanorkar said the company was studying various options for the SEZ. "We are getting offers from various parties from India as well as overseas. Valuation of the land is a major consideration before the nature of our participation in the project is defined," Dhanorkar said.

The company may consider an outright sale of the land or may look for a real estate developer to form a joint venture where the company's land will be its equity.

"Our role will be that of a real estate company and the lease rentals will be our return from the project, unless we decide to sell the land outright and exit from the place," he said. According to him a final decision was likely in three months.

Dhanorkar said in tandem with the capacity expansion at the company's PVC resin plant at Ratnagiri, the company had begun expanding its pipe making capacity as well. The pipes capacity has gone up from 60,000 tonne to 73,000 tonne, after the capacity of resin increased from 130 tonne to 260 tonne.

The company has invested Rs 10 crore to install three extrusion lines for the additional capacity, he said, adding that the pipes capacity will be raised to 100,000 tonne per year over the next two years or so.

Dhanorkar said the company's proposal to construct a breakwater wall at Ratnagiri had received approvals from the environment authorities and the company is in the process of identifying the construction firm which will construct the breakwater.

"Once this is built, we can expect a steady flow of our raw material through the year as against a complete halt of three to four months during monsoon time as of now," he said.