JK Paper to double local sourcing in two years

Firm hopes to achieve this through a massive plantation drive across 11,000 hectares in Rayagada, Koraput and Jeypore and parts of Andhra Pradesh

JK Paper, leader in the segment and known for its flagship JK Copier brand, plans to double its local raw material sourcing for its Rayagada unit in south Odisha in the next two to three years.

The company hopes to achieve this through a massive plantation drive spread across 11,000 hectares in and around Rayagada, Koraput and Jeypore in Odisha and also at the Vizianagram and Srikakulam areas in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. Around 25,000 small and marginal farmers of these areas have been persuaded to raise eucalyptus, casuarina and shibaboo on fallow lands.

“Currently, around 40 per cent of the raw material for our Rayagada plant comes from Odisha and eastern Andhra Pradesh. To meet the balance requirement, we are buying from Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In the next two to three years, we believe 80-85 per cent of the raw material would be drawn from a 150-200-km radius of the plant and this can be done through large-scale plantation initiated by us,” said A S Mehta, president.

Increasing local sourcing is a win-win situation as it would save cost besides being environment-friendly, he said.

JK Paper is a dominant player in the office printing paper category with a market share of 26 per cent. The company has a combined paper making capacity of 455,000 tonne a year from its plants in Odisha and Gujarat.

JK Paper's unit at Jaykaypur in Rayagada district alone has a capacity of 295,000 tonnes. The raw material requirement for this plant is 900,000 tonnes per annum. The plant has offered direct employment to 2,000 people and indirect employment to 1,500 others.