Jindal Aluminium to set up Rs 500cr foil plant

Jindal Aluminium will invest Rs 500 crore to set up a factory for making foils and sheets near its existing extrusion facility in Bangalore, a top company official said today.

"The plant will come up near our plant in Bangalore. It will go on stream by March next year. We are investing Rs 500 crore on the plant. This will make foils and sheets," Jindal Aluminium's Executive Director B D Garg told PTI.

The company, promoted by S R Jindal, younger brother of O P Jindal, has already acquired 50 acres of land and has placed orders for plant and machinery.

"In the very first year of operation, production will be around 12,000 tonnes per annum, which would be ramped up to 35,000 tonnes a year in three years," Garg said.

Buoyed by the growing demand from the packaging industry, India had to import around 65,000 tonnes aluminium foils last year, mostly from China, to cater to the domestic need.

Garg said the company would stand to have a great chance to cash in on the burgeoning demand for aluminium foils in the country.

Jindal Aluminium, a leading player in the country's Rs 3,500 crore aluminium extrusion space with over 20% market share, hopes to clock total sales of Rs 900 crore in this fiscal from Rs 800 crore in the previous one.

"In the next fiscal, this should go up to Rs 1,300 crore with contribution of Rs 1,000 crore from the existing aluminium extrusion business and the remaining from aluminium foils and sheets," Garg said.

The company hopes to sell more than 50,000 tonnes extrusion from 45,000 tonnes sold last year. The industry size is two lakh tonnes and has been growing at 8-10% per annum.