The Hindu Business Line : Samtel plans plasma display panel unit

AFTER establishing itself in the flat picture tube and super flat market, Samtel Color Ltd, is now planning a foray into manufacturing plasma display panels (PDP).

The company proposes to set up a plasma display plant towards the third quarter of this year. "We expect to have working prototypes ready in the next three months and thereafter we are planning to set up a pilot plant to produce these panels with an investment of approximately Rs 30 crore," Mr Sunil Kakaria, CEO, Samtel Color Ltd, said.

Talking to Business Line on the company's future plans, he said that the company was also looking at the huge potential demand for 29" tubes. It is also exploring various strategies to make the 29" more cost effective.

Recently, the board of directors of the company had sanctioned a small expenditure for evaluating cost effective strategies.

"Based on the existing infrastructure, we are confident that a world-class large size tube facility can be created with an investment substantially lower than the past," Mr Kakaria stated.

The intention of Samtel to manufacture PDP is going to help indigenous colour television (CTV) manufacturers as it will bring down prices and boost sales, industry representatives said.

At present, PDP and liquid crystal display (LCDs) are imported. PDP is essentially used for giant screens and can accommodate a large number of spectators.

Agreeing that constant innovation is the need of the hour, Mr Kakaria said, "Samtel has been doing a lot of research and development work. About a decade ago, we decided to develop our own in-depth capabilities and took the first step for this by disconnecting our technical dependence on Mitsubishi."

In fact, in the last decade, there has been a complete transformation at Samtel and the company now has three-colour picture tube production lines and are producing over five million colour tubes per annum.

"We have developed the ability to continuously upgrade machinery and processes of our production lines. Samtel is now designing and producing picture tubes required by the industry. Last year, the company spent about Rs 20 crore on R&D and this expenditure is likely to increase in the coming years," he said.

On the projections for 2004 for the TV industry, Mr Kakaria said, though the penetration of CTV is still quite low in the country, TV households are growing thanks to economic development and price reductions.

"We expect the market to continue to grow at an average rate of 15 per cent per annum over the years to come," he stated.

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