Gas stove maker to clear kitchen smoke

Having become one of the largest gas stove makers in the country, Bangalore-based Stovekraft Ltd (better known through its Gilma brand) now wants to suck up all the smoke it generates in kitchens with its electric chimneys.

The gas stove brand has now diversified into marketing an electric chimney, microwave oven and massage chair.

Stovekraft is part of the Rs 100 crore Vardhman Group of companies and contributes some 70 per cent to the group's revenues.

Priced in the Rs 4,999-35,000 range and around Rs 4,000 cheaper than the competition, the electric chimneys are designed in Italy and made in China. It is the same with the massage chair that is priced at Rs 89,000 against similar chairs costing Rs 1-3 lakh.

"Higher-end kitchen appliances like the electric chimney and hobs are suitable for the modular kitchens that are widely in use today," said Rajendra J Gandhi, managing director, Stovekraft Pvt Ltd. Hobs, unlike the table-top stoves, fit into the granite slabs in the kitchen or into the modular kitchens. They are aimed at the upper end of the middle classes.

Gilma will in a few months have some eight exclusive outlets in the city as a brand-building exercise.