24 September 1998: The Rs 60-crore expansion project of Hindustan Sanitaryware & Industries Ltd“s glass division at Hyderabad is slated to be completed by August 1999, according to a recent press rep…
24 September 1998: The Rs 60-crore expansion project of Hindustan Sanitaryware & Industries Ltd“s glass division at Hyderabad is slated to be completed by August 1999, according to a recent press report. The project, which is being financed through internal accruals and loans, envisages erection of a new 250 tonne-capacity furnace based on oil-fired, German technology, the report said. Mr. Sultania, Executive Director and Secretary of the company, said implementation of the project will enhance the plant“s capacity to 430 tonnes per year from 180 tonnes per year at present. Increased production at the plant will go towards meeting the growing demand for glass, especially from the expanding liquor industry and the food packaging industry. “We expect a 20% growth in sales thanks to our locational advantage of being in Hyderabad. Especially so, as several liquor manufacturers and food products majors are setting up manufacturing facilities here,” Mr. Sultania said. He added that expansion of the company“s sanitaryware division at Somanypuram has already been completed, thereby taking the plant“s capacity to 12,000 tonnes from 6,000 tonnes at present. While the sanitaryware industry has been facing a recession in tune with a similar trend in the construction industry, the company had registered a growth of 25% in 1997-98 owing to its strong brand image, the report said. It was confident of maintaining a 25% growth during the current fiscal, the report said. Special efforts were reportedly being made to access markets in the US, Europe and Australia, among others. During the period April-August 1998, the company“s sales had increased to Rs 55 crores from Rs 44 crores during the same period a year earlier. The gross profit during the first five months of the current fiscal rose to Rs. 8 crores from Rs 6.5 crores of the same period a year earlier, even as the net profit during April-August 1998 stood higher at Rs. 6.5 crores compared with Rs 3 crores.