According to company vice-president (sales) R Kurup, the Pen plant, with a capacity of 5,000 sq metres per day will contribute to around 25 per cent (Rs 60 to Rs 70 crore) of the turnover this year. The plant is currently working at 70 per cent capacity. To utilise the capacity fully, the company is setting up a second polishing unit in Pen with an investment of around Rs 3 crore to Rs 4 crore. The Pen factory was set up at a cost of Rs 185 crore, say company officials.

The recently introduced products of the company including decorative tiles, floor and wall border tiles are expected to contribute about 10 to 15 per cent to the turnover next year.

After due diligence, when tiles division of EID Parry at Karaikal near Pondicherry will completely come into its fold in November this year, the total capacity of the company will increase from 15 million sq metres to 16.6 million sq metres per annum. The company also has production units in Dewas and Thane in Maharashtra and Kunigal near Bangalore. It has 35 per cent market share in wall tiles and 20 per cent in floor tiles in the tiles market estimated at about Rs 800 crore.

Kurup was here to launch the Milano shower system, priced at Rs 9,795 inclusive of free installation and service. A separate company - Milano Bath Luxuries India Pvt Ltd - has been floated by the Rajan Raheja group to market the instantaneous hot water shower system under the brand name Triton Milano. The product, already launched in Mumbai and Pune, will reach the four southern states by December this year and rest of India by June 2000.

The product will be marketed through the Johnson Tiles distribution network consisting of about 700 dealers and 3,000 sub-dealers. In Chennai, the company has already tied up with retail majors Vivek & Co, Vasanth & Co, Spencers and Geebal for product demonstrations and sales promotions at their counters, apart from sales. It also plans to have exclusive meets of influencing groups like builders, architects, interior designers etc. They are also concentrating on institutional sales to hotels, luxury flats etc.

The showers are currently being imported from Triton p.l.c, UK, but after two years Milano plans to enter into a JV with the manufacturing company to make the showers in India. Mumbai or Bangalore will be the likely location for the plant, where the parent group already owns land.

The company also plans to venture into related areas like bathroom and kitchen fittings including shower cubicles, faucets, sinks, electro-static taps etc. It is talking to international leaders in the field like Grohe for marketing or technical tie-ups.