Surya Roshni plans to enter cement production

Chennai: Surya Roshni, a leading manufacturer of a range of electrical lights and related products, will more than double its compact fluorescent light (CFL) production capacity over the next year.

The Delhi-based company, which also makes steel pipes, plans to expand capacities and diversify into cement production with a plant in Gujarat.

Mr J.P. Agarwal, Chairman and Managing Director, Surya Roshni, said the company has launched a countrywide awareness campaign on power conservation and energy-efficient lamps. Surya Roshni is among the earliest to launch BEE-certified CFLs and tube lights, a mark of energy efficiency.

Surya is investing Rs 500 crore in expanding its CFL production facility, which is set to grow to 50 lakh units a month from 20 lakh. The company has production facilities in Gwalior, Nainital and the NCR. The company is a fully integrated manufacturer, with facilities to make all the components that go into electric lamps.

Surya produces over 1.4 crore units of light bulbs, tube lights and CFLs every month, making it one of the largest manufacturers in the country with revenues of over Rs 500 crore, Mr Agarwal said.

The focus on production of CFLs and tube lights is due to the energy conservation properties. A tube light or a CFL that is 5-star rated by the BEE uses just about a fifth of the electricity as against a conventional light bulb, he said.

The company is also getting into production of high-mast lights for industrial purposes and street lighting and sales of luminaries – electric fittings most of which will be outsourced, Mr Agarwal said.

Surya Roshni, which is also among the largest manufacturers of steel pipes with a business of about Rs 1,000 crore annually, plans to invest Rs 400 crore in a steel pipe plant in Gujarat.

It is also exploring options of setting up a cement plant in Gujarat, which Mr Agarwal estimates, will cost over Rs 1,500 crore.