AHMEDABAD: Plastic and textiles maker Sintex Industries Ltd plans to acquire a composites firm with sales of about $30 million in Europe by March 2008, a top company official said.
The company is on the verge of finalising a deal in Europe, where it has been talking to 3-4 companies, managing director Amit Patel said on Tuesday.
“We do have a presence in the US market, now we are keen to have distribution network in the European market. The acquisition will help us strengthen our technology and network,” he said.
Composites, made from polymer matrix material, find application in medical imaging, auto components and electrical components.
Sintex acquired Wisconsin-based Wausaukee Composites for $20.5 million in June. In 2006 it bought the south Asian operations of Germany’s Zeppelin Mobile System, and is still scouting for more in the plastic composites segment.
“Just in case the deal does not materialise in Europe, we have some companies in US who are interested in having us as acquirers,” Patel said. “The acquisitions will help in building a global presence in the auto and electrical plastic accessories market and add to the company’s consolidated topline as well as bottom line.”
Sintex is also considering buying an Indian composites company by December 2007.
It has set aside Rs 110 crore to be funded through internal accruals for these acquisitions, Patel said.
Sintex expects to complete expansion of its domestic manufacturing and distribution network for pre-fabricated structures by next year.
As part of the plan, the company would set up units in Kolkata, Nagpur and Salem by December 2007, and a new plant to make sandwich panels for BTS shelters in Himachal Pradesh by June 2008.
“We are also doubling production of our prefabricated building system products by March 2008 by investing Rs 110 crore in the existing plant at Kalol in Gujarat,” Patel said.
These are part of its Rs 230 crore expansion plan in the pre-fabricated segment. In the textile segment too, it expects to complete capacity expansion to 29 million metres, from 21 million metres, by Decemeber 2008.
