RK Marble eyes Chinese foray

The Ajmer-based RK Marble would enter the Chinese market, which is gearing up for the Beijing Olympics to be held in mid-2008.

Officials of a few Chinese companies had visited the mining facilities of RK Marble at Kishangarh near Ajmer and Majooli in Jabbalpur of Madhya Pradesh.

The Guinness Book of World Records had recognised the Rs 164 crore company as the largest producer of marble.

RK Marble has chalked out a Rs 45 crore expansion-cum-modernisation plan at its main processing plant at Kishangarh.

According to company officials, RK Marble had recently started exports with its first consignment to the Middle East. Opportunities in the US market are also being considered.

RK Marble holds over a 15 per cent share of the Indian marble industry, which is pegged at around Rs 1,200-1,500 crore per annum.

Ravindra Kr Gupta, vice-president (sales & marketing), RK Marble, who was here on Thursday, said: "The China market has tremendous potential and at present booming with huge domestic demand and Indian marbles have a cutting edge over marbles from European countries because of the product quality. We have already carried out a survey in the Chinese market and received overwhelming response from at least two major companies in this industry which have expressed their interest in sourcing raw marbles from us which they would be selling domestically and also exporting to nearby markets after processing."

RK Marble is more interested in selling processed marbles of both the existing varieties, 'Wonder Marbles' and 'White Marbles' in China as it has its own exclusive processing system for these two ranges.

Gupta said, "However, we are also open for exporting raw marbles in China even as infrastructure development activity there is in full swing in view of the Olympics to be hosted in 2008. It has also led to phenomenal rise in demand for marble. We expect orders of around 100 tonne per month which would include fresh blocks to finished materials."

RK Marble has been sourcing its raw marbles from three mines including one at Majooli in Madhya Pradesh and two at Rajsamund and Dharmeta districts of Rajasthan.

It would be pumping in Rs 45 crore for its proposed expansion-cum-modernisation plan at a processing plant at Kishangarh.

The company would opt for internal accruals and debt funds from banks and financial institutions to meet these expenses.

"With a pick up in real estate in India also, we are expecting to post sales of Rs 215 crore by the end of this fiscal against a Rs 164 crore turnover in 2003-04.

In the next two-three years, we expect to generate 15-20 percent of our revenue from exports in Far-East countries and China. While we have assigned associated traders at Dubai and Saudi Arabia for marketing our 'Wonder Marbles' range in these places, we are revamping our existing domestic marketing network which consists of around 50 associated traders," he said.

He also said for the US market, which looks for complete flooring solution unlike the Indian market, the company would draft a different strategy.