Kansai Nerolac to up capacity by 15%

Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd will add a fifth plant in December to cater to growing demand in decoratives paint segment and expects to raise capacity by 15 percent with the addition, a top official said.

Kansai Nerolac gets 55% of its revenues from decoratives, but is the market leader in the industrial segment with a market share of 42%, managing director H.M. Bharuka told Reuters in an interview late on Wednesday.

Kansai, India's second largest paints maker, has earmarked capital expenditure of Rs 1 billion in 2009/10, mainly for building the new decorative plant and for capacity expansion in existing plants, he said.

"We are spending more in decoratives as we are putting up a new facility near Bangalore, Karnataka, which will go live by December," he said.

"And as far as industrial (segment) is concerned brownfield expansion is underway in existing facilities."

The firm's current capacity stands at about 175,000 tonnes an annum and the new plant will raise capacity by 15%annually, he said. (Reuters)