Currently, having a paid-up capital of Rs 9.95 crore, Transmedica has drawn up a three-phase expansion project which will take the existing 49 million syringes per annum capacity to 400 million. The project also envisages expanding the five million intravenous cannulae (IVC) capacity to 24 million per annum and one million endo-tracheal tubes (ETT) to 1.2 million per annum. ``We will also add needles to our product range once this expansion is complete,'' Rathod said.

The company has set up a new plant, close to its existing unit at Pondicherry, and plans to bifurcate its manufacturing process. ``We propose to manufacture high-marginitems like ETT and IVC at the old plant and make the low-margin high-volume products like syringes at the new one,'' Rathod said. The first phase of expansion has already begun, he said and added that the entire expansion should be complete by November-end.

The total project cost of Rs 25.42 crore will be financed through a Rs 10.50 crore term-loan apart from issue proceeds. The company will issue equity shares of Rs 10 each on rights basis at 1:1 ratio to garner Rs 9.95 crore as well as a rights issue of 10 per cent CCP shares of Rs 10 each at 1:2 ratio to mobilise Rs 4.97 crore. The CCP shares will be eligible for conversion at the end of the third year. The company's shares are currently listed on the Madras, Cochin and Mumbai stock exchanges.

Incorporated in 1985 as Transplastics India Ltd, the company was later renamed in 1997. Stricken by a lack of funds, there was a change of management in December, 1996 brought about by the suggestion of IDBI, which has a small stake in the company. At that time,Rathod and Enarai Investments took over and currently they hold 65.27 per cent of the capital.

Transmedica has reported a Rs 38.36-lakh loss for the period July 1, 1997, to February 28, 1998. The share has been poorly quoted and after touching a 52-week high of Rs 27 in 1995, the scrip slid drastically. It was quoting between Rs 3-4 for the most part of 1997. Volumes have also been very thin.

``There is an urgent need to expand,'' Rathod said, ``as in the current scenario, only those companies which have a global size of operations can succeed.'' The market for Transmedica's products is immense, he pointed out adding that the domestic need for syringes had been estimated at 3,700 million units per annum. Of this domestic manufacturers account for only 800 million leaving a huge shortfall.