Owens Corning, the US building material and glass fibre composite major, has finalized a major expansion plan in its India operations, which will include setting up of three joint ventures in the infr…
Owens Corning, the US building material and glass fibre composite major, has finalized a major expansion plan in its India operations, which will include setting up of three joint ventures in the infrastructure sector. The proposed three joint ventures will be in addition to the Owens Corning“s plan to acquire a 25% stake in Siro Plast, another Mahindra & Mahindra venture. The company is also undertaking a capacity expansion in glass fibre reinforcements at Owens Corning India Ltd., its joint venture with the Mahindra & Mahindra. The JV will set up a second meltor at its Taloja factory which will double its capacity to 60,000 tonne per annum. It has already invested about Rs 500 crore in India, and proposes to bring in another Rs 250-400 crore over a two-year period to fund its proposed expansion programmes. “We are currently in the process of finalising our new joint venture plans and a decision on them is expected by August this year,” Owens Corning India managing director Brad Wiggins informed. Wiggins refused, however, to name the domestic companies with whom they are talking for the new joint ventures. “We are yet to finalize these agreements and, therefore, it is premature to give the details on these projects,” he said. On the stake acquisition plans in Siro Plast, Wiggins said the talks are still on, though a final decision on this is yet to be taken. Wiggins said the joint venture in the telecom sector will be for manufacturing of fibre optical cables and the other two JVs will be for manufacturing of glass reinforced pipes (GRPs) for underground water supply system and related activities. He added that the setting up of the proposed ventures is part of the long term plan of Owens Corning to shift a large chunk of its composite manufacturing to India.