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Archana Venkat

Exploring tie-ups with cos having strong marketing network

Chennai March 23 Innovation-driven product manufacturing company 3M is expanding its Indian operations.

Known for its brands `Post-it' and `Scotch-Brite', the company is looking to enter new product categories and is also expanding its existing manufacturing facilities, according to Mr Bert O'Donoghue, Managing Director, 3M India Ltd and 3M Lanka Pvt Ltd.

Pune unit

The company is setting up a new unit in Pune to manufacture various kinds of tapes catering to the labelling and packaging industry. It is also ramping up the capacity of its existing units that make products for corrosion protection (Ahmedabad), automobile (Pune), telecom and electrical industries (Bangalore).

3M India has so far invested about Rs 110 crore and plans to invest much more this year, Mr Donoghue told Business Line on the sidelines of a seminar on innovation organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

He added that the Pune unit would use new technology, possibly not seen in India before.

The company is also exploring new industrial segments and has commenced studies on the construction, automotive, water and electricity related industries. 3M India also plans to look at the consumer products industry. "The professional and office stationery market is interesting. We will also continue to bring out new products under the Scotch-Brite brand," Mr Donoghue said. The company recently introduced a floor mop under the brand.

Distributing products in India has been difficult for the company. "We covered the entire US market by tying up with 6-7 large retailers such as Wal-Mart and K-Mart. In India we need to do that with about 2 lakh stores because the hypermarket penetration does not cover the whole market," Mr Donoghue said. Hence, 3M India is exploring tie-ups with Indian companies with a strong marketing network.

"We are also open to helping such companies develop their ideas into products," Mr Donoghue said. The company also plans to tie up with Indian universities for research cooperation on technology, markets and consumer behaviour.

3M India expects these measures to lead to a growth of about 35 per cent in 2007-08. The company reported net sales of about Rs 380 crore for the year ended December 2005. As of now, it has about 150 projects to work on and is actively pursuing 15-20 of them. Globally, 3M makes about 55,000 products, while in India it makes over 2,000 products.

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