Pushed into the red following protests over environment issues last fiscal, Indo-Japanese joint venture company Nitta Gelatin India, a major manufacturer of products essential for the pharmaceutical industry, hopes to turnaround and post profit this year.
"Last year there were a number of disruptions. That seems to behind us. But still there are some signs of discontent. But we have been able to carry out with normalcy in the last 5-6 months and hope to post a decent profit this year," company's Managing Director Sajiv K Menon told reporters here.
Nitta Gelatin India Ltd (NGIL) processes about 60,000 tonnes of animal bones a year at its facilities at Kathikkudam in Thrissur in Kerala, Ankleshwar in Gujarat and Chandrapur in Maharastra to high value products which otherwise would have been a challenge to the environment, he said.
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There had been protests from people living near the plant in Thrissur on discharge of waste into Chalakudy river and air pollution allegedly caused by the company, a joint venture between Japan's Nitta Gelatin Inc and Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation.
Menon, who recently took over as the MD of the company, said NGIL had been very badly affected. The loss during 2013-14 was in excess of Rs 7.31 crore, he said adding, during 2012-13, the company's profit was Rs 26.13 crore.
He expressed the hope that "NGIL will be working to its capacity this year and we will be able to turnaround this year".
The company's total revenue last year was Rs 300 crore with exports contributing 60 per cent of it. Besides Kathikuddam, NGIL also has another plant in Kerala at nearby Kakkanad.
A major manufacturer of gelatin, ossein, di calcium phosphate, collagen peptide and related products with wide applcations in pharmaceuticals, neutraceuticals and other industries, NGIL was committed to protect the interests of all its stakeholders, especially those living around the manufacturing sites, Menon said.
On the report recently submitted by the Kerala High Court appointed commitee of National Environment Engineering Research Insitute (NEERI), he said Nitta Gelatine was 'totally committed' to the report and would implement the 23 recommendations within the stipulated time frame despite an additional expenditure of about Rs 4 crore, he said.
The court had directed NEERI to conduct a detailed study from April 2009-February 2014 into the environmental pollution status with respect to air, water and solid waste from Ossein division of NGIL, including the adequacy and efficacy assessment of the pollution control facilities installed.
