Orient Ceramics to invest Rs 100 cr in capacity expansion

Tiles maker Orient Ceramics and Industries today said it will invest around Rs 100 crore over the next one year in expanding manufacturing capacity.

"We plan capacity expansion as there is huge potential. The expansion will be done either by putting up a new plant or by entering into a joint venture with an established player or by both," company Executive Director Madhur Daga told PTI.

Orient Ceramics, which has 50,000 sq mt per day tiles making capacity at its plant in Uttar Pradesh, along with eight contract manufactuers in Gujarat, enjoys nearly seven per cent share of the country's Rs 4,000 crore organised market. The unorganised sector also commands around Rs 4,000 crore market in India.

India's per capita tiles consumption currently stood at 0.5 sq mt compared to 3.5 sq mt in China. India manufactures around 650 million sq ft of tiles a year vis-a-vis 6 billion sq mt in China.

Daga said both the joint venture or setting up of the new plant would either be in the West or in the South as Orient does not have any manufacturing base in these regions, which contribute to around 60 per cent of the total market.

"Our long-term ambition is to grab 20 per cent share of the Indian tiles market. This is particularly why, we would like have our presence in the Western and Southern markets," he said indicating that the greenfield plant, if it happens, will come up at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, where the company has 40 acres of land.

Daga declined to give any further details on the possible joint venture, saying, "We are on the look out and evaluating the targets, but the time is not ripe yet to make further comments on that."

Orient Ceramics, which had recorded Rs 269 crore topline last fiscal, is among the top three players in the North, East and North-East markets.