Finolex in water management JV
GOURI AGTEY ATHALE
TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2003 12:12:36 AM ]

PUNE: Scarce water resources are the next opportunity and Israeli companies, who have perforce developed expertise in conserving water, are poised to enter this business in India.

Plastro Plasson Industries (India), the Rs 15-crore equal joint venture between the Finolex group and two Israeli companies, Plastro and Plasson, is one such example. The joint venture, which manufactures and markets drip and sprinkler irrigation systems, is thus looking at the water re-cycling business.

It is also eyeing the manufacture of filters for these systems, in a joint venture with another Israeli company. Although company officials remained tight-lipped, PPIIL is said to be in talks with Israeli filter manufacturer, Amaid.

PPIIL recently bagged a Rs 70-crore order from Andhra Pradesh micro-irrigation project (APMIP) for drip irrigation of 2.5 lakh hectares of land. We expect a big jump in turnover in the next financial year, when revenues from the Andhra Pradesh project will begin to flow, Satish S Ghatpande, managing director, PPIIL, said. Tova Henkin-Posner, marketing manager, Plasson, said they would need to double production capacity at PPIIL’s unit at Urse, near here.

While the board of directors of PPIIL met here recently, Ms Henkin-Posner declined to comment on the kinds of investments they will make. We will finalise the investments by February-March ’04, Tsvi Tsur, chairman of international subsidiaries, Plastro Irrigation ACS, said.