Tinplate Company evaluating capacity expansion

The Tinplate Company of India Ltd (TCIL), a Tata Group subsidiary, today said it is mulling capacity expansion, buoyed by improving domestic demand for packaging.

The road map for the proposed augmentation will be finalised over the next one year, a top company official said.

"Tinplate is evaluating growth plans, and we are looking at productivity in the existing locations or installing a new plant. The same will take 6-12 months to arrive at a conclusion," Non-Executive Director Ananda Sen said after the company's Annual General Meeting here.

Tinplate Company's Chairman Koushik Chatterjee was not present at the AGM.

Sen said the company was working closely with Tata Steel Europe for operational improvements.

"Since, we are part of one group, we work together. We have interactions and share experiences. This is a continuous exercise," Managing Director Tarun Daga said.

In its annual report for the fiscal 2017-18, Tinplate Company said it is expecting sustained improvement in domestic tinplate demand, but competitive capacity additions may put margins under pressure going forward.

TCIL has a market share of 45 per cent in India, and an installed capacity of 379,000 tonnes with 94 per cent capacity utilisation, officials said.

According to the annual report, exports contribute 20 per cent to its overall revenue, of which Asian countries have a share of 59 per cent, while Europe has 32 per cent.

The growth in the construction industry also supported the consumption of tinplate, it said.

Domestic production of tinplate in 2017-18 was higher by 12 per cent compared to the previous year, while total import was lower by 5 per cent, the company said in the report.