Duraware forays into automobile dry-coats

Duraware Pvt Ltd (DPL), the Aurangabad-based maker of non-stick cookware under the Nirlep brand, plans to foray into the automobiles dry-coat segment. Du Pont is the only major player in this segment.

Duraware has recently tied up with Japanese-major Ki Hin, a major supplier for auto components to Honda Motors, for providing high-end industrial coating.

It will also set up a separate plant at Aurangabad to handle work for Ki Hin India, the local arm of the Japanese company.

"We are in the testing stage for the launch of non-stick dry coat for automobiles and, with the expected launch of the product in the first half of the next calendar year, we will pose a competition to Du Pont. Our products will be strategically priced "" should cost much lower than Du Pont's offerings "" and we will stress on the service factor for our customers," Mukund Bhogale, managing director of DPL, said.

Duraware, which reported a sales turnover of Rs 80 crore at the end of the last fiscal year, is eyeing a 25 per cent rise in sales to Rs 100 crore by the end of the current fiscal. Its new business of industrial coating is expected to contribute substantially to the sales.

"We are already providing coating to seven important components of carborators of Honda vehicles from our new plant near the non-stick cookware plant at the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) campus in Aurangabad. We are also eyeing more such technical tie-ups with other automobile majors as the automobile industry will be our next major focus," said Bhogale.

Though he declined to divulge more information, it is reliably learnt that the company is already talking to major automobile manufacturers like Mahindra & Mahindra.

Talking about the dry-coat for four-wheelers, Bhogale said Duraware will set up an extensive distribution network across the country before the product is launched.

"Our present distribution network is only for the cookware segment and, for the automobile dry-coat, we will set up marketing network soon. The product, which protects vehicles from micro-scratches, will be targeted at a niche market segment. It is estimated that 15 per cent of car owners opt for dry-coat. This is expected to rise further with the launch of more expensive cars," he said.