Furniture maker plans JV with European co

Twenty First Century Offices Pvt Ltd (TCO), an office furniture manufacturer based in Bangalore, plans to enter into a joint venture with a large European company.

Addressing the media during the inauguration of the company's new corporate office and design studio here on Friday, Amar Kumar B G, director (marketing) and a founder member of TCO said that talks were on for a joint venture with a large European company that employs around 70,000 people. The JV, which will be a 51:49 partnership basis with the majority stake for TCO, was expected to be inked within next 3-4 months, he said without divulging details about the company.

Amar Kumar said that the joint venture will focus on design, and production and distribution for export. "Our JV with the European company will strengthen us further with superior designing capability although the manufacturing will be done here. Europeans are known for superior designs," he added.

Part of TCO's existing facility in Bangalore will cater to the production needs of the joint venture company.

TCO has made an investment of Rs 12 crore to set up the corporate office and the design studio which were inaugurated on Friday. Srinivas V, director (technical) and a founder member of the company said that the design studio was something unique for the company.

"The studio will provide real time feel of material, colour combinations and other specifications of the products to architects as well as clients," he said, adding this will enable our clients to arrive at their choices faster.

The company also announced that it will enter the home segment this year. "To begin with, we will offer premium furniture for the living room, bedroom and for children, besides providing kitchen solutions," said Sq Ldr M V Chakradhar, AGM (special projects). Besides, the company will open a state-of-the-art 1.5 lakh sq ft facility in the Bommasandra Industrial Estate with an investment of Rs 20 crore.

The company had a turnover of about Rs 50 crore in 2004-05.