As part of the company's golden jubilee celebrations, managing director A Vellayan, a former McKinsey official, set a Rs 2000-crore turnover target by 2004. Set up in collaboration with TI of the United Kingdom in 1949 to manufacture cycles, TII gradually integrated backwards into the manufacturing of chains, tubes and metal strips. By 1960, it had manufactured one million cycles of Hercules brand.

Although the common bicycle has a 65 per cent market share which is growing at a marginal rate of one to two per cent a year, the company has focused on the fancy cycle segment with and without gears. This segment having a 35 per cent marketshare, is growing between 10 and 15 per cent annually.

Tube Investments which is part of the Chennai-based Murugappa group, recorded a 35 per cent increase in sales turnover during the first quarter of the current fiscal. According to Vellayan, the company is on target for a turnover in excess of Rs 1000 crore during fiscal 1999-2000, against Rs 677 crore in the previous year.