Asian Paints Plans 30% Capacity Hike

Asian Paints is planning to embark upon what would be its largest-ever expansion to consolidate its leadership position in the paints industry.

The company proposes to expand capacity by over 30 per cent at one go, to 2.28 lakh tonne per annum from the present 1.68 lakh tonne.

The production hike will be undertaken at Asian Paints plants at Patancheru in Andhra Pradesh and at Ankleshwar in Gujarat. Its other two plants are situated in Bhandup, near Mumbai, and Kasna in Uttar Pradesh.

The paints major is awaiting clearances from the respective state pollution control boards for the proposed capacity expansion within the present approved parameters for pollution control, company officials said.

 

At the same time, the company, which has installed around 2,000 dealer tinting systems under its 'Colourworld' programme, plans to install another 500 to 600 tinting systems in the current financial year.

Asian Paints has just completed upgradation of its phthalic plant, with manufacturing capacity for phthalic anhydride has increased from 22,000 tonne to 24,000 tonne per annum.

Around 32 per cent of the phthalic anhydride production is captively consumed in the manufacture of paints.

The company expects the decorative paints market to grow by around 8-9 per cent, spurred by demand from earthquake-hit Gujarat.

Asian Paints' paints business could grow by 3-4 per cent, the company has said in its annual report.

Asian Paints has been the largest paints company in the country for a few years now, followed by Goodlass Nerolac, Berger Paints and ICI India.

In decoratives, it is the largest player by far, while, in industrial paints, the company trails behind Goodlass.