Balaji Wafers to increase capacity at Rajkot unit

Company setting up two new production lines which is expected to raise it production capacity by nearly 50%

Rajkot-based Balaji Wafers Private Limited is in process of increasing its production capacity of its plant in Rajkot.

For this, the company is setting up two new production lines which is expected to raise it production capacity by nearly 50 percent. The company also has a plant in Valsad district in South Gujarat.

“We are going to increase production capacity at Rajkot plant. Work on two new production lines is going on for the last two months. New production lines will be functional from next month,” said Keyur Virani, director, Balaji Wafers Private Limited.

The new production lines will manufacture wafers and other snacks. Balaji is also planning to launch new flavours in the market in coming days.

Virani said, “The expenditure for the two new production lines would be about Rs 80-100 crore. We started investment for this project last year and the fund for this was managed from internal accruals.”

Production capacity of the new production lines, which would be fully automatic, will be around 5,000 kg per hour.

Currently, the production capacity of Rajkot plant is 8,000-10,000 kg per hour in which the company produces multi-flavoured wafers, chana dal, mung dal and 25 other snacks.

The company shelved its July 2013 plans to sell 15 per cent stake to private equity funds for future expansions and is now readying for initial public offering (IPO) to raise fund for its future plans.

“We are preparing to come up with an IPO to raise funds for our future expansions. The company plans to offer not more than 10 per cent equity shares of the company,” confirmed Virani.

Balaji Wafers enjoys around  65 percent market share in western Indian snacks market and is present in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Rajasthan and some parts of Madhya Pradesh. Its current turnover exceeds Rs 1,200 crore and the company expects 25-30 percent growth in 2014-15.