Shalimar Paints’ South Unit Shortly

According to officials in the company, it has decided to either acquire a manufacturing unit for the purpose or set up one. Shalimar, which started operations in 1902, is the oldest paint company in the country.

Referring to the company’s plan, managing director SL Agarwal said, “This will help us establish our reach across the country.”

Shalimar has factories in Howrah (West Bengal), Sikandrabad (Western UP) and Nasik (Maharashtra).

The proposed unit in the south will have both water-based and solvent-based paints. “In the next 24 months we will have a production unit in south India. We will select the facility and the place depending on the tax incentives and other facilities to be provided by the state government besides commercial considerations like the cost of acquisition,” said AK Mukherjee, the chief of operations in the eastern region.

The company, which has between 5-7% market share in the decorative and industrial paints segments, has recently become a debt-free company. “We have posted a net profit of Rs 2 crore and a revenue of Rs 175 crore on an annualised basis. Our profit is low as we have paid back all our debts,” said Mr Mukherjee. He said that the company’s investment in the new plant will be through internal accruals. “We are now a profitable company. We have not yet decided how much we will spend, we will invest what is

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