Godrej and Boyce to set up new plant in TN capital

Chennai, Sep 12: As part of its expansion plans, Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Company Limited would set up a new plant here at an investment of Rs 18 to 20 crore to cater to its furniture division.

Talking to reporters after unveiling 'Godrej Interio,' the complete furniture solution for homes, offices and special projects, Company COO Anil Mathur said Godrej and Boyce had enough land at its existing plant in Ambattur for the expansion.

The land would be used to set up the second plant for manufacturing home and office furniture.

The company would invest in excess of Rs 150 crore in overall expansion activities, besides spending about Rs 300 to Rs 400 crore for acquiring furniture firms in United States and United Kingdom.

''Each acquisition will be in the range of Rs 150 to Rs 200 crore. The process has started and the talks are on. But it will take some time,'' Mr Mathur said.

He said the new brand of home and office furnitures would be sold both in Godrej's Lifespace outlets and in exclusive ''Godrej Interior'' outlets. The company was planning to open ten such exclusive units in the Chennai city.

The company would aggressively expand its market for home and office products by redefining the price points and was planning a growth rate of 33 per cent through brand enhancement this year from 25 per cent last year, with special focus on niche segments like stadium furniture, health and hospitality furniture and corporate showrooms.

Godrej was also looking to increase its market share in each of its products by ten per cent year in the current fiscal before achieving the targeted business volume of Rs 1,500 crore by 2010, he added.

UNI