Hindustan Glass mulls more acquisitions

MUMBAI, March 22: Hindustan National Glass and Industries, India's largest player in the container glass industry, is mulling more acquisitions in the country and overseas to expand its footprint. “We are very keen on acquisitions in India. We are also looking for acquisitions abroad to increase our footprint overseas. However, we are yet to identify any target,” Hindustan National Glass and Industries (HNGI) assistant vice-president Mr Sanjay Jain said. Sources, however, said that HNGI was looking for acquiring companies which could produce at least 250-300 tons of glass a day and eyeing overseas acquisition in countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Egypt. HNGI, which currently manufactures 2,575 tons of glass a day, has six manufacturing facilities in Rishra (near Kolkata), Bahadurgarh in Haryana, Rishikesh, Neemrana in Rajasthan, Nashik in Maharashtra and Pondicherry. Barring the two in Bahadurgarh and Rishra, all other facilities had come to its fold through acquisitions. It had bought the Pune (now closed), Pondicherry and Rishikesh facilities from Australian company Owens Brockway in 2001-02, the Nashik facility was owned by the acquisition of L&T Glass Works in 2004-05 and the Neemrana plant from Chandigarh Sheet Glass next year. Mr Jain further said: “We are not looking for mere capacity addition. We are targetting companies which will bring in the right product-mix and a good market to cater to among others.” The company had recorded Rs 1,148 crore income from sales last financial year, which was likely cross Rs 1,500 crore this fiscal, Mr Jain said. HNGI is currently rebuilding a furnace in Rishra with an investment of Rs 120 crore and has plans to carry out the rebuilding job in two furnaces in the Bahadurgarh facility with an outlay of Rs 220 crore. Mr Jain said that the company expected to clock double-digit growth in sales in the next five years buoyed by the increased consumption in the country, the growing culture for ready-to-use foods and large consumption from the pharma, food and beverages sectors. n PTI