Grasim mulls two greenfield cellulose projects

Mumbai: Aditya Birla Group's umbrella brand for its range of cellulosic fibres Birla Cellulose plans to set up two greenfield projects at Rs 1,600 crore to augment its existing capacities.

One of them will come up at Vilayat, Gujarat, and the other in Egypt, a top company official said on Friday.

'We will be investing around Rs 800 crore for each of the manufacturing units,' Grasim's Chief Marketing Officer Vijay Kaul said, adding that each unit will produce around 240 tons of cellulose a day.

Grasim Industries Ltd is the mother unit of Birla Cellulose and is the world's largest producer of spun-dyed specialty fibre.

The company has already invested Rs 40 crore in its Textile Research Application and Development Centre (TRADC) in Gujarat to deepen its research and application-driven processes for developing cutting-edge fibres to promote eco-fashion, he said.

The company presently has a market share of 23 per cent globally and aims to raise it to 30 per cent in the next two years, Kaul said. 'By 2010, we will be producing 2,400 tons of cellulose per day.'

Birla Cellulose on Friday tied up with the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) to showcase its natural fibres – Birla Viscose, Birla Modal and Birla Excel.

'As a global market leader, we see changing trends in the domestic and foreign turfs and the increasing accent on natural fibres. To promote the existing environmental-friendly, nature-based fibres, we have aligned with FDCI and leading fashion designers,' he said.

The fibres will also be showcased at the India Fashion Week in Delhi beginning March 12, Kaul added.