Saint-Gobain commissions R.350 cr plant in Gujarat

A global leader in building and construction materials, Saint-Gobain has recently commissioned its fourth manufacturing unit at Jhagadia in Gujarat thereby significantly expanded its gypsum-based plasterboard manufacturing capability in India. Gyproc India, which has three manufacturing facilities in Haryana, Maharashtra and Karnataka with a combined capacity of 52-53 million square metres(msm), has added new unit taking its capacity to over 83 msm, Chairman and CEO of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, Pierre-Andre de Chalendar, recently commissioned the fourth plant entailing an investment of Rs.350 crore. It is India’s largest gypsum-based plasterboard manufacturing unit, with an installed capacity of 30 msm. Commenting on the development, Venkat Subramanian, Regional CEO, Construction Products India and Managing Director of Gyproc India business, said that this is a significant addition to its business in the country as it provides scale to consolidate business and also further increase market share. Already the company has a business of about Rs.1000 crore and this plant will be able to significantly add to the volumes and business. As per estimates, 80% of the total construction work in the housing and commercial space is accounted for by residential segment. It is this segment, which will drive the next phase of growth. The segment in which Gyproc functions is estimated to be about Rs.2000 crore, growing at a CAGR of over 15% of which it has a share of about 60% and there is potential to grow this on an expanded base, he added.