| Exide Industries Limited, the largest manufacturer of lead acid storage batteries in South Asia would invest Rs 11 crore to scale up production of Tandon Metals Limited, an unlisted lead smelting company located near Pune, to 20,000 ton per annum in the next 12-18 months.
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| Exide had anounced today in a BSE notice that it had finalised 100 per cent acquisition of Tandon Metals for a consideration of Rs 22 crore.
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| "The acquisition of Tandon Metals was made at a cost of Rs 22 crore and an additional Rs 11 crore will be invested by Exide to enhance its capacity to 10,000 ton per annum in 12-18 months and this can subsequently go upto 20,000 ton per annum in the next 2-3 years. At present, the capacity of Tandon Metals is 700-800 ton per annum and the low capacity can be attributed to the lack of raw materials and lesser customer orders", T V Ramanathan, managing director and chief executive officer of Exide told Business Standard.
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| Tandon Metals' had been an important supplier of high quality lead alloys to Exide's factories located in western India.
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| Exide also intends to buy about 50 per cent pure lead in the next 12-18 months.
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| The acquisition of the lead smelting company will reduce our dependence on high cost imported lead and also help us to cut down costs, Ramanathan said adding that it is difficult to project the exact reduction of costs at this stage.
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| Exide's move comes at a time when the price of lead has been highly volatile and has doubled since April this year with lead accounting for around 70 per cent of the battery costs. |
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