Norway's Jotun sets up paints plant in Pune

International paints and surface coatings manufacturer Jotun Group has set up a greenfield manufacturing plant at Ranjangaon near Pune at an investment of $25 million (Rs 100 crore). The plant will become operational in April 2008.

The $2-billion Jotun Group would make 50 million litre of wet paint and 10,000 tonnes of powder coatings at the plant, Claes Jansson, managing director, Jotun Paints India Ltd, told the media on Tuesday.

The company currently has a small unit in the Union Territory of Daman, which it would close down, and shift some of the equipment to Ranjangaon.

Jansson said the company would make products for the India market and was targeting to garner a market share of 8 per cent of the country's paints market by the year 2010. It currently has an 18 per cent share in the marine coatings segment and 4 four per cent in powder coatings. "With a local manufacturing facility, we will be able to price our products competitively," he said.

With its own operations in place, Jotun India expects to increase its revenues by more than 30 per cent year-on-year to achieve the eight per cent share. The company's present turnover is $28 million per year.

The infrastructure sector, which uses large volumes of protective coatings, and the oil and gas sector, which requires both protective and marine coating, would drive the growth.