Agarwal Packers and Movers buy 98 pc

Chennai, Jul 5: Agarwal Packers and Movers, a household transport unit of the Hyderabad-based logistics major DRS Group of Companies, has acquired 98 per cent stakes in Dilip Road Lines (DRL), one of the leading parcel service companies in the south. Announcing this at a press conference here, Joint Managing Director Ramesh Agarwal said the acquisition would help the DRS to leverage the network of the DRL to become a leading national player in the parcel service market.

While the DRS had a wide network in the northern, western and eastern regions, the DRL had a strong base in the south. The acquisition would help the DRS to capture the parcel services market in the country as a whole, he said.

Marking its foray into Tamil Nadu, the DRS would set up five branches in Madurai, Salem, Tiruchirapalli, Tuticorin and Karur, he said adding the company also plans to appoint ten franchisees in the city.

The company was planning to invest about Rs 21 crore in the next six to nine months to expand the network of branches from 35 to 60 across the country and the fleet size from 490 to 500.

As on March 31, 2006, the DRS group's turnover was Rs 115 crore, while the DRL had made Rs 8.7 crore.

The DRS Group earned a net profit of Rs 3.5 crore and the DRL Rs 50 lakh for the period, he said.

Agarwal Packers and Movers, which was catering to the transportation needs of households, was planning to introduce household goods transportation service in Tamil Nadu shortly as the scope of household movements in the state was increasing rapidly.

The DRS group had recently set up a DRS Institute of Logistics and Transport in Haryana to provide training in the various functions of the transportation industry, Mr Agarwal added.

UNI