Rallis readies war-chest for acquisition

The locations which are being looked for these new projects include Jammu and Dahej in Gujarat where a special economic zone (SEZ) is coming up. A total investment of Rs. 200 crore is likely to be made from internal accruals on these projects. CEO and Executive Director of Rallis India, V. Shanker, said these projects were now in their early stages. The company at present has five units spread over Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Company Chairman, R. Gopalakrishnan, who, along with Mr. Shanker, were here to launch a new pesticide that is being made by Rallis in collaboration with Nihon Nohyaku of Japan, said that the company had also decided to ramp up its international presence by increasing its exports from 22 per cent to at least 40 per cent which was the industry average. At present, Rallis exports to Europe, West Asia, Southeast Asian countries and the U.S.

“Asia, Africa and the Latin American countries were some of the largest markets for agrochemicals now,” he told The Hindu. A part of the new units may also be dedicated for contract manufacturing.

Confirming that Rallis was trying to develop “adjacent areas of speciality chemicals”, Mr. Gopalakrishnan said the new project would require 100 acres. He said the company now had a strong balance-sheet and was capable of raising debt, if need be.

On Friday’s launch, Mr. Gopalakrishnan said this was a caterpillar-control product which has been developed with help from the Japanese company. It is a completely safe product with certification of green triangle with respect to toxicity levels.

Rallis manufactures the product at its Ankleshwar plant in Gujarat and is now launching it after large-scale field trials over the last four years.