Himalya Int to invest Rs 12 cr on new canned soup facility

Food processing company Himalya International today said it will invest up to $2.5 million (around Rs 12 crore) to set up a facility for manufacturing canned soup at Vadnagar (Gujarat).

The company has tied with US-based Wayne Farms for technical collaboration for the plant which will be operational in October this year and have an installed capacity of 15 crore cans annually.

"The plant will be set up with an initial investment of $2.5 million and around hundred trained employees would be deployed to run the plant. Wayne Farms will provide technical and other knowhow and training to the employees," Himalya International Chairman Manmohan Mallik said in a statement.

He said the plant would process 15 crore cans every year at full capacity and would produce mushroom, tomato and lentil soups under the brand names 'Himalya Fresh' and 'Uno Italiano'.

He, however, did not disclose the source of investment for the facility. It will market canned soups in both the domestic and international markets.

"We expect to generate revenue of Rs 120 crore by 2014 from the new facility. Our aim is to tap the growing demand for canned soups which is preferred more by consumers nowadays than dried powder soups," he said.

The BSE-listed firm has a turnover of over around Rs 600 crore and last year it had announced plans to set up a Rs 130 crore mega food processing plant in Mehsana (Gujarat), which is scheduled to start commercial production by September 2010.