The Hindu Business Line : Ellora Time to diversify into vitrified tiles, CFLs

The company is investing nearly Rs 350 crore in a new facility near Kandla Port in Gujarat that would produce 30,000 sq. m. of vitrified tiles and two lakh CFLs per day, the Managing Director, Mr Jesubhai O. Patel, told Business Line.

The company is already manufacturing 50,000 units of CFLs, which claim to save 80 per cent power, at its existing clock plant at Morbi in Saurashtra region of Gujarat. The CFLs, sold under the `Orpat' brand, are priced about 30 per cent lower than the products of larger players such as Philips and Havells and come with a one-year replacement guarantee, Mr Patel said.

"The new facility is 70 per cent complete and we hope to begin production of both vitrified tiles and CFLs by December this year. The plant is being 60 per cent financed through internal accruals and the rest has been arranged from banks," he said. The company is using the marketing network of Ajanta clocks to market the CFLs. In addition, it is planning to use small outlets such as public telephone booths and corner stores to penetrate the market. The company has also put its plans of investing in a Chinese company for contract manufacturing on the back burner. Several leading companies are using China as a manufacturing base for CFLs at present.

"We had initially explored the idea of hiring an existing unit in China and using it as a production base. But now the company has decided to keep its manufacturing base within India. The new facility at Samkhiali will be able to meet our growth projections as of now," according to the Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ravi G. Iyengar.

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Ellora Time to diversify into vitrified tiles, CFLs