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Pune , Oct 20

TO cater to the `choosy and cost conscious' customer of the day, SPL Ltd, which has been in the ceramic tiles business for the past three decades is checking out new avenues. This includes the patios and the facades of the buildings.

"The trend is still in the nascent stages,'' Mr Abishek Somany, Executive Director, SPL Ltd, has said. The company is currently importing the tiles to cater to this niche segment.

Talking to presspersons he said it was also planning to increase its production capacity at its two manufacturing plants — Kassar in Haryana and Kadi in Gujarat. The combined capacity of these two plants was 37,500 sq metres per day. The expansion would be in the Gujarat facility, which would have an additional 8,000 sq metres and this was expected to be completed by next fiscal, he said.

"We are expanding the Gujarat facility as it would be easier to cater to the increasing requirements of the western and rest of Maharashtra region,'' he said.

Close to Rs 2,000 crore was the size of the domestic tiles business, of which close to Rs 1,500 crore came in from the organised sector and the rest from the unorganised sector. He said that catering to the customer requirements, SPL was also importing tiles from Spain, Italy and China and said these tiles would be brought under the brand name of `Missoni'. The brand was launched about two months ago and would have the cheapest (which would come in from China) as also the high-priced tiles (from Spain and Italy) under one brand. Tiles were also being imported from Indonesia he said while noting that one leased line catered to SPL requirements.

Mr Somany said the company was moving towards becoming a `total solution provider' and also contemplating bringing in other accessories such as fittings and furnishings under its roof. "These would again be imported and would be brought under the Missoni range. However, it is too early to comment more about it,'' he said.

Looking at the financials of the company, Mr Somany said the company had closed the year 2003 with a turnover of Rs 202 crore. The company was estimating a growth of 15 per cent during the current fiscal, he said. For the first half of the current year, it had recorded a turnover of Rs 104 crore as against Rs 100 crore registered during the previous fiscal.

He said exports contributed close to six per cent to the total turnover and it might be brought down to 4.5 per cent during the current fiscal as the domestic demand had been on the rise. "We do not look for revenues from the export market but it is more of having a foothold and knowing the latest trends in the export market. If the domestic demands falls, especially during the rainy season, it is exported so as not to pressurise the domestic dealers,'' he added.

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