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Skipper Pipes, the polymer pipes and fittings division of the ₹1,700 crore Skipper Ltd, is looking to double its turnover to ₹700 crore by the end of this fiscal, backed by geographical diversification and focusing on the plumbing and B2B businesses. It has a turnover of close to ₹330 crore at present, and accounts for around 19 per cent of Skipper’s total revenues.
According to Siddharth Bansal, Executive Director, Skipper Ltd, the company has a total installed capacity of close to 52,000 tonnes per annum for polymer pipes and fittings, and it caters to agriculture, plumbing and sewage, borewell and bathroom fittings.
Plans are afoot to tap into the growing demand from government sector under the JJM (Jal Jeevan Mission) which aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water to all households in rural India through individual household tap connection by 2024; apart from tying up with private residential complexes, and projects for plumbing needs.
“We have an installed capacity of around 52,000 tonnes across our plants in Uluberia in West Bengal and at Guwahati, but we are yet to utilise the full capacity. We are building up a team and trying to get empanelled in government’s JJM programme. We are also in talks with various real estate companies and consultants. Our current capacity is good enough to meet our target of touching sales of around ₹700-750 crore during the current fiscal,” Bansal told BusinessLine.
The market for polymer pipes and fittings is estimated to be close to ₹35,000 crore and has been growing at a CAGR of around 8-10 per cent. Of this, nearly 50 per cent comes from the unorganised sector. Agriculture pipes account for the biggest chunk of the market followed by the residential segment.
Geographical diversification
Skipper Pipes, which started off in 2009-10, was primarily focusing on the eastern and north eastern markets till 2015-16. It gradually started making inroads into other markets in 2017. East and northeast currently accounts for nearly 55 per cent of its total sales and the remaining 45 per cent comes from South and Central India.
“South is currently a small market for us. We are present in few markets including Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. We have started focusing on markets in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and we want to create our presence in these regions as well,” he said.
The company currently has close to 120 distributors and 18,000 retailers across the country. It plans to add 45 more distributors and 15,000-18,000 retailers during the current year primarily in the North, West and South India, taking its total distributor network to 165, and close to 40,000 touch points.
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