MRF likely to look at expansion

Sounding positive about the future outlook of the sector, the company has 10 plants at present in India

Tyre manufacturer MRF Ltd would look at expanding its capacity, including foreign and the company has a positive outlook for future, said K M Mammen, chairman and managing director.

Speaking to reporters in the sidelines of announcing MRF Pace Foundation agreement with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), he said the company saw a growth in cars and motor cycles market at present, though there was not much of a growth in the commercial vehicles segment at present. "I am sure it will pick up in the next two or three months," he said.

Sounding positive about the future outlook of the sector, he said the company has 10 plants at present in India. Also, it is expecting a growth in exports.

However, the increasing raw material prices, as against the international pricing, would be a hindrance when it comes to competing with the international firms, he said. The international prices are lesser than the Indian ones.

"When you have to compete with the international players, you have to get the raw materials at the international price," he said. The company would look at having foreign facilities in future, he said.

MRF Pace Foundation ties up with BCCI

The company has on Tuesday announced an agreement with the BCCI including a tie up for five years in which the board would send existing and potential pace bowlers to the academy to train under Glenn McGrath, director, Pace Foundation.

Under the agreement, BCCI would divide the pace bowlers into two categories - elite and probables - to provide training in batches. The Elite includes all those pace bowlers who have been selected by the BCCI to play official matches under contract. There will be a maximum of 10 trainees per camp and the session will be of two weeks. The selected pace bowlers can attend the camp during three visits of Glenn McGrath in a year. The first such training camp was scheduled to begin from September 1.