The Hindu Business Line : Henkel India's new Rs 5-cr soap finishing line goes on stream

HENKEL India Ltd (formerly Calcutta Chemical Company Ltd) has started commercial production from its new soap finishing line, created at an estimated cost of about Rs 5 crore.

The new facility has the capacity to produce two tonnes per hour of Henkel India's premium soap brands such as Margo, Check and Fa.

Inaugurating the new facility here on Wednesday, Mr A. Satishkumar, Managing Director of Henkel Group in India, said that the technical upgradation would facilitate better process consistency and finish of the products. The plant productivity was also expected to go up significantly through right balancing of resources and inputs.

Helped by the new facility, Henkel India's plant in the city would now be able to raise premium soap production capacity from 400 tonnes to 1,000 tonnes per annum. Mr Satishkumar said the production of soap finishing line has undergone a sea change with installation of new soap finishing line with technical know-how from Binacchi & Co., Italy, a pioneer in soap manufacturing machinery.

He said that Calcutta Chemical, which was acquired by Henkel SPIC India Ltd a couple of years ago from Shaw Wallace & Company Ltd, had undergone a transformation, not only in its name but also in production facilities which could be compared with the best in the industry.

Nod for reverse merger: Incidentally, the board of Henkel India Ltd (HIL), which met here on Wednesday formally approved the "reverse merger" proposal of Henkel SPIC India Ltd with HIL at a swap ratio of 1:1. Henkel SPIC India, in which Henkel KgaA, Germany holds 51 per cent, is proposed to be merged with HIL, a 91 per cent subsidiary of Henkel SPIC. The merger, which is proposed to be effective July 2004, is being done as part of a consolidation move and also for deriving tax benefits.

With this reverse merger of HIL with Henkel SPIC, the new entity will synergise the manufacturing activities of the Group. Henkel Marketing India Ltd (HMIL), formerly Detergents India Ltd, would now focus on marketing and distribution of the group's products.

Mr Satishkumar said that the group was also toying with the idea of setting up a green-field premium soap manufacturing unit in Himachal Pradesh. The group was at present operating through a detergent unit at Karaikal in Pondicherry and two small soap units in Tamil Nadu.

More Stories on : New Projects | Soaps & Detergents

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page