Avi group chairman and managing director Avinash Arora said the plant will have a capacity to produce up to 8,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of flexible packaging material, rotogravure cylinders up to 3,000 numbers per annum and blown film up to 3,000 tpa. Over 90 per cent work has been completed and the plant is likely to commence commercial production shortly, he added.

The flexible packaging plant, being set up at a total cost of Rs 113.83 crore, will be largest in the country once it commences 100 per cent production, Arora said. At 100 per cent capacity, the company expects to achieve an annual turnover of Rs 160 crore and a net profit of Rs 28 crore per annum, he said.

With the growth of the country's food processing industry, the company foresees a good potential and a growing demand for packaging products in the coming years, he said. On itsmarketing strategy, he said the food processing industry is going to be the focus area as a huge demand for flexible packaging is expected.

The plants machinery has been imported from the USA, UK, Germany and Italy, he said. On the end use of the material, Arora said 30 per cent of the production is to be used by group companies for in-house needs, and the balance is meant for the domestic market. The arrangement will not only help group companies to improve their profitability, but also provide much needed cushion for the new unit in the initial years, he added.

The group's total turnover for 1997-98 group was Rs 634.76 crore. This is expected to cross the Rs 800-crore mark during 1998-99, Arora said.