The Rs 1,800-crore viscose staple fibre (VSF) manufacturing facility of Grasim Industries Ltd in Gujarat will be commissioned by March 2013, a senior official of the Aditya Birla Group company said on Friday.
The plant, located at Vilayat in Bharuch district of Gujarat, will have an annual capacity of 1.20 lakh tonnes, Mr K.K. Maheshwari, Director and Head of VSF Business, Grasim Industries, said on the sidelines of a conference on man-made fibres (MMFs) held at the IIM-A here.
More capacity
With this, Grasim Industries' total capacity to manufacture VSF will be increased to 4.54 lakh tpa, including the 3.34 lakh tpa capacities of its existing plants at Nagda (Madhya Pradesh), Harihar (Karnataka) and Kharach (Gujarat).
Another Aditya Birla Group company is considering to set up a caustic soda plant and a captive power plant at Vilayat with an investment of Rs 800 crore, he said.
VSF, a manmade, biodegradable cotton-like, easily blendable fibre, is being increasingly used in making apparels, knitted wear, dress material and home textiles, besides having non-woven applications.
Grasim would commission its new VSF plant at Harihar, Karnataka, in the next 18 months. This would have a capacity of 35,000 tpa, and will increase Grasim's total VSF capacity to 5.89 lakh tpa.
Grasim Industries also has a joint venture in China (70,000 tpa), and two in Canada (1.22 lakh tpa, and 1.89 lakh tpa) to manufacture fibres, besides a 70,000 tpa facility for rayon grade pulp at Harihar.