11 February 1999: Hindustan National Glass & Industries Ltd (HNGI), a major player in the domestic glass container industry, said it hopes to post a turnover of Rs 180 crore – net of excise – during t…
11 February 1999: Hindustan National Glass & Industries Ltd (HNGI), a major player in the domestic glass container industry, said it hopes to post a turnover of Rs 180 crore – net of excise – during the year ending 31 March 1999. The company is also hopeful of maintaining a 25% share of the domestic market in the long term. The Vice-President of HNGI, Mr. V. S. Modi, said fiscal 1998-99 would see the company“s turnover go up by a little over 10% from Rs 162 crore recorded in 1997-98. The increase in sales would be accounted for by higher sales volumes rather than by increased prices of the company“s products. The company“s two plants at Rishra and at Bahadurgarh – with a combined production capacity of 180,000 tonnes per annum of finished products – manufacture glass containers which find wide applications in all types of industries – food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, liquor etc. According to the company, the list of clients includes many pharmaceutical companies. Modi said the demand for bottles from the alcoholic spirits and beverages industry had shown sustained growth over time. In the last two years, the market for beer bottles had grown by around 35% every year. The demands of the soft drinks industry, too, had shown an upswing, despite the fact that the per capita consumption of soft drinks in India was lower than that in Pakistan or even Bangladesh. Around 60% of the company“s turnover is accounted for by sales to the liquor industry, 25% to pharmaceutical companies and the rest to other industries. To cater to the increasing demand for glass containerware, HNGI has embarked upon a modernisation and expansion plan estimated to entail an expenditure of Rs 35 crore, a recent report has said. The expansion project was being funded through internal accruals, loans and a rights issue of Rs 14.71 crore. Slated to be completed by March 2000, the project envisages a combined 15% increase in the capacity of the two plants. The increase in capacity has also been prompted by the tapering off of competition from plastic bottle manufacturers. Modi informed that the company“s plants have the operational flexibility to suit the specific demands of customers, thanks to the available background infrastructure including sophisticated induction furnaces for manufacture of castings required for making the moulds. The company has a major presence in western India where most of the pharmaceutical companies are located. In the North, its customers mostly comprise liquor manufacturing companies. In eastern India, the Rishra plant – claimed to be the only automated plant in the region – has the benefit of freight advantage vis-a-vis competition. Despite the high freight element, HNGI had a presence in export markets such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Indonesia. In fact, exports to these countries helped the company rake in over Rs. 10 crore in 1996-97. The figure has since dropped in the wake of the currency crises in South East Asia whereupon local products have become cheaper.