Nagarjuna Agrichem plans Rs 350 crore market expansion

Indian leading crop protection company Nagarjuna Agrichem Limited (NACL), has undertaken a massive expansion program in terms of market penetration, expanded product portfolio, and capacity expansion. NACL has launched seven new products to cater to the rabi and kharif seasons, for grapes, onions, potato, vegetables, chili, tea, and cotton. To ensure a wider market reach for the existing & new products, an extensive distribution infrastructure has been created with through 33 warehouses. 20 new sales territories have been added taking the total to 350 sales territories, and 1500 new dealers have been added to take the total to 10, 000.

NACL has undertaken a capacity expansion program to increase its production capacity by 9000 tonnes by 2011 at a total cost of Rs 350 crore. De-bottlenecking initiatives at Srikakulam and Ethakota facilities are underway at a total cost of Rs 75 crores. NACLs plans to expand capacity include setting up a greenfield facility at a cost of about Rs 250 crore in the Special Economic Zone near Vishakapatnam, within the Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Region. The facility to be commissioned in 2011 will focus on Technicals (Active Ingredients).

Announcing the expansion plans, Ashok Muni, Director and Chief Operating Officer, NACL said, "The company has robust and sustainable growth plans for the near future. Our vision for 2017 is to create a strong domestic brand equity having the highest market share of more than 12 %, while being a global player in branded products. Inorganic growth opportunities through Mergers & Acquisitions are also being explored to help make NACL a US$, One billion company in the next seven years."

NACLs Vision 2017 includes rapid growth in domestic and global markets by launching new branded products and entering untapped domestic and global markets.

The company has strengthened its position as a global player by launching branded products in US, Far East and select South American markets through aggressive organic and inorganic growth strategies. In the export markets, NACL has enjoyed the fastest growth rate in the last five years among all Indian companies with a CAGR of 14% per cent from 2004-2009. NACL exports grew from Rs.54 crores to Rs 293 crore.

The company is setting up a world class R&D center in Hyderabad at a cost of Rs 25 crores, in collaboration with Indian / Overseas Universities. This center will work on innovation to commercialization, substitutes for generics, basic & applied research and contract Research.