Mumbai: Greenply Industries Limited (GIL), the leader in the Indian laminates and plywood industry, today announced to significantly scale-up its operations through extensive expansion and marketing plans. In the wake of a rapidly growing industry, the company has decided to expand the capacity of its laminates division by 33 per cent with a total investment of` Rs16.5 crore. The Rs254-crore turnover company has also decided to step-up its marketing operations, with an increased emphasis on advertising and customer involvement.

Encouraged by strong export potential and an optimistic 20 per cent domestic growth in the branded laminates market, the company plans to increase the volume of the laminates manufacturing plant located at Behror, Rajasthan by 2.40 lakh sheets to 3.20 lakh sheets. GIL aims to boost its revenue from laminates division by almost 25 per cent to Rs170 crore. Currently, their range of laminates, which includes GreenLam, GreenGloss and GreenTouch, enjoy a 25 per cent market share in the organized laminates industry in India.

Explaining the rationale behind the move, S P Mittal, chairman, Greenply Industries Limited, said "The country''s upbeat economic situation and the optimistic real estate scenario in the country has also provided a fillip to the branded laminates and plywood industry. In addition, we expect the easier availability of home loans and falling interest rates to result in an increased demand this fiscal. We are also experiencing increased demand from international markets. These have been the key motivating factors behind our decision to expand the capacity of the laminates plant."

To support its increased manufacturing capabilities, GIL has also planned an aggressive marketing strategy to expand reach and strengthen its presence in the domestic market. The Company has earmarked Rs5 crore for its advertising budget this year, and will launch a new advertisement campaign on April 14, 2004. Additionally, the company has lined up several new shades of laminates such as Montreal cluster, Vienna pine, American walnut, American ash and French walnut.

Commenting on the new marketing strategy, Mittal said, "This sector has traditionally had a low degree of customer-involvement. Our marketing energies for this year are focused on establishing a direct link with the consumer and also, strengthening our dealer network to ensure easier availability. We have also introduced several new designs in light of the continuous endeavor of the company to offer the contemporary designs and top quality products to our consumers."