Visaka Industries Ltd is set to take up work on the proposed greenfield manufacturing plant near Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu for its Vnext range of products by October this year.

“The project, aimed at strengthening its presence in the southern market, has been delayed by a few months due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, we expect to take up work by October and complete it by next year,” Vamsi Gaddam, Joint Managing Director of Visaka Industries, told BusinessLine .

The company’s Vnext range of products — textiles and solar roofing solutions — has taken a hit in the first quarter of 2020-21. However, it expects business to pick up in the second half and close the year at about the same business volumes and turnover.

“The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown have been challenging for the company, its manufacturing facilities as well as the company’s supply chain. This is probably a once-in-a-lifetime disruption. However, despite this, the rural market has been doing well and we expect the second half of this fiscal to see increase in volumes,” he said.

“During the lockdown phase, there has been increase in demand from some of the companies in the manufacturing sector, particularly those in the pharma sector, both for Vnext products and the Atum-based solar roofing products,” he said.

“In just about a year, we have sold more than five lakh sq ft of solar fused roofs and the demand is set to go up further, particularly from the commercial and industrial segments. We are also innovating to offer a wider range of solutions. The product has been gaining traction in the US and some other markets. But Covid-19 has dented the volumes,” he said.

During the lockdown, over 1.9 lakh sq ft of buildings for Covid-19 care spread across 34 leading hospitals have been constructed with 313 tonnes of Vnext products, he said.

The company has developed an innovative app that serves as a single point interface for the Vnext range of products and solutions. All one has to do is to design what he wants through the app, order it and get it delivered at home just like one orders at e-commerce majors like Amazon and Flipkart, he said.

In the textiles business, Vamsi said, “It is one segment of the business that has been adversely affected due to the lockdown in Mumbai, where majority of the business gets transacted. However, we expect, demand to get back to normal in the second half.”