Gujarat Ambuja Exports Ltd (GAEL), the Ahmedabad-based agro-processing company, is set to expand its maize processing capacity by 70 per cent to 1,750 tonnes per day (TPD). The company is setting up a Greenfield manufacturing plant in north Karnataka at an investment of Rs 110 crore.
Recently, the Karnataka government approved a proposal from the company to acquire additional 41 acres land for its third maize processing plant coming up at Hulasogi village in Shiggaon taluk of Haveri district under the Karnataka Land Revenue Act.
The company has already acquired 54 acres land. Haveri district is one of the large producers of maize in Karnataka and accounts for about 500,000 metric tonnes per annum.
“We are building our third maize processing plant in Karnataka, which will have a capacity to process 750 tonner per day. We are now acquiring another 41 acres land at an adjacent site for further expansion. In the second phase, we intend to double the capacity to 1,400 TPD at an additional investment of Rs 60-70 crore,” a company official said. GAEL is also planning to set up one more plant at the same location for extracting solvent from soyabean. It is yet to submit a proposal to the state government in this regard, he said. GAEL also plans to set up a 5 Mw power plant at this plant to meet the power requirements of its maize processing unit.
The company already has two maize processing plants of 500 TPD each at Himmatnagar in Gujarat and Sitarganj in Uttarakhand. Its third plant in Karnataka will be the biggest maize processing plant in the country, the official said. The plant will be operational by March 2012.
Gujarat Ambuja Exports currently manufactures starch, liquid glucose, dextrose, malto/yellow/white dextrine, sorbitol, maize/corn gluten, maize grem, high malto corn syrup and Glucose D.
The Karnataka plant will cater to both domestic requirements for these products in southern states and exports. The company currently exports Rs 20 crore worth of maize products. GAEL processes maize corn to produce maize starch, maize starch derivatives and by-products that are used in various industries like food & confectionery, paper, textiles and pharmaceuticals.
Considering the huge demand for maize starch and other derivates, which are growing at over 15 per cent annually, Gujarat Ambuja Exports is looking at exploiting the opportunity further.
During the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2011, GAEL reported a net profit of Rs 27.5 crore, a growth of 35.7 per cent over the corresponding quarter last year. Its total sales were Rs 620.9 crore, a growth of 73.5 per cent over the same period last year.
