Sar Group to invest Rs 500 cr on water purification segment

Diversified firm Sar Group today forayed into water purification segment and said it plans to invest Rs 500 crore on the vertical for the next five years.

"The group is committed to invest Rs 500 crore to achieve Rs 2,000 crore sales by 2017 in the water purification and related industry," Sar Group Chairman and Founder Luminous Power Technologies Rakesh Malhotra told reporters here.

The group, which has interests in various sectors including telecom and electricals, today launched two models of RO water purifier--Livpure, under the aegis of its group firm 'Luminous Water Technologies'.

The entire investment will be sourced from internal accruals and without any external debt or equity, he added.

When asked about the investment details, Malhotra said, of the total corpus, Rs 200 crore would be dedicated to manufacturing and R&D processes, whereas Rs 300 crore would be invested in sales promotion and infrastructure for the Livpure brand.

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, who has been associated with Luminous for over four years would also be the brand ambassador for Livpure "I" RO water purifier, Malhotra said.

The company, which has already invested around Rs 30 crore on a manufacturing facility in Himachal Pradesh for water purifiers, said it is looking to expand the Livpure dealerships in the entire country.

"Currently, we have 1,500 dealers across seven states. By the end of this year we plan to have 5,000 dealers across the entire country," Malhotra said.

He added that the company plans to have around 700 service outlets in the country by the end of 2012.

According to company estimates, water purifier industry market in India is worth around Rs 4,000 crore per annum, growing at 25 per cent year on year.