Eveready Industries India has decided to set up a greenfield plant in Uttaranchal with an investment of Rs 75 crore (Rs 750 million).
The plant would have a capacity of 400 million batteries and two double A lines would be installed in phases and completed over 18 months.
Deepak Khaitan, vice-chairman and managing director, said the investment would be spread over two financial years.
The new plant would be a step forward to Eveready's vision of production of two billion batteries in four years. At present, the company has a capacity of 1.3 billion batteries and a market share of 46 per cent.
Khaitan said Eveready had a mind share of 73.2 per cent and, therefore, the potential of the brand was huge and the market share could also be increased.
The board of Eveready has been reconstituted post demerger of the tea business into McLeod Russel.
The company has inducted Diwan Arun Nanda of Rediffusion as a non-executive director. Suvomoy Saha has been appointed as a wholetime director and chief financial officer. R Srinivasan and R S Jhawar have resigned as directors of Eveready and would be joining the board of McLeod Russel.
Khaitan said the company was penning a three-year plan for its businesses. As part of the plan, Eveready was finalising other products for distribution, apart from its own products. The new products could complement its packet tea.
Khaitan said the company has shortlisted two products for distribution and would finalise it over the next 2-3 months.
The move would be in tandem with Eveready's growth plans. The company was eyeing a 15 per cent compounded annual growth rate for its batteries business, 35 per cent for packet tea and 25 per cent for packet tea.
Eveready has three packet tea brands, Jaago, Premium Gold and Tez and the company does not plan to add to its current portfolio of brands.
