Tata Chem to invest Rs 60 crore in Gujarat and UP facilities
The Economic Times — September 17, 2002

The Rs 1,500-crore Tata Chemicals will be investing up to Rs 60 crore over the next 12 months to revamp its fertiliser and chemical production facilities at Babrala, Uttar Pradesh and Mithapur, Gujarat respectively. The company's flagship brand, Tata Salt, is also set to foray into foreign shores, with exports to the Middle East and neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bangladesh likely to commence soon.

Moreover, Tata Chemicals is scouting for new businesses to expand into. Speaking to ET, Tata Chemicals managing director Prasad Menon said, "We are looking at entering new businesses, but nothing has been firmed up yet. A final picture will emerge only in the next six months to a year."

On being asked whether the company is looking at entering the food business, Menon said that the possibility cannot be ruled out. Menon added that the company was open to both greenfield projects and acquisitions to enter a new business domain.

According to Menon, last fiscal, the company was facing pressure on its bottomline and, therefore, decided to concentrate on consolidating its existing businesses.

At that point, Tata Chemicals was not looking at expansion at all. But Menon said that in this fiscal, the company's fortunes have started looking up and hence the company was now open to expanding into new businesses and investing in new facilities again.

Tata Chemicals has three core businesses: inorganic chemicals, fertilisers and salt. It also has interests in the cement business. At present, fertilisers contribute around 42 per cent of the total Tata Chemicals business, while salt contributes around 10 to 11 per cent of the business. Soda ash is around 40 per cent of Tata Chemicals' revenues. According to Menon, the company's salt business will grow at a faster pace of 20 to 25 per cent than the growth in other businesses. He added that while the company was producing four lakh tonnes of salt, the company was now looking at doubling the salt production in the next four years. He added that Tata Salt was looking at exports as a major growth driver in the salt business.