Eureka Forbes targets North India

"We have launched our innovative product Aquaguard Integra 7 in the national capital and are aiming at selling about 2,000 machines to the elite in the next two months," Eureka Forbes Ltd Vice-President Lalit Wadhwa said.

The product, developed at the company's research and development unit in Bangalore, is equipped to filter all the impurities that are specific to the region. The product worth about Rs 25,000 would be sold through direct marketing.

"At present, we are focusing on the market in the national capital but plan to move to other cities such as Chandigarh and Lucknow by August," he said.

When asked about the production capacity, he said, "The top-end product is being produced at the Bangalore unit. It can also be manufactured at any of the other four units in Bhimtal, Haridwar, Meghalaya, Baddi and Ranipur."

On the company's expansion plans, Wadhwa said Eureka Forbes is moving into the country's yet untapped rural market to scale its Rs 722 crore turnover by 20 per cent.

"The company, with about 6,500 direct sales workforce, plans to enter into rural areas with region-specific products like tap attachment and its flagship Aquaguard. There is a huge opportunity lying in rural areas, which is about 59 per cent of the country's total market. We aim to increase our Rs 722 crore turnover, in 2005-06, by another 20 per cent during the current fiscal. The firm recorded a growth of about 15 per cent in the urban areas during 2005-06," he said.

Earlier, Eureka Forbes had announced to set up a new unit at Ranipur, in Uttaranchal.

"Besides the new facility at Ranipur, the firm is also expanding the production capacity of its facility at Baddi to support the demand from the rural segment," he added.