Kerala - Alappuzha   

Fomil plans to increase market share

ALAPPUZHA: Foam Mattings (India) Limited (Fomil), a State government undertaking here, is seeking to increase the market share for its products through a number of innovative efforts in the near future.

According to Fomil chairman K.R. Bhageerathan, plans to set up a coir composite board factory under the aegis of Fomil were progressing. The initial idea was to establish the factory at Ambalapuzha or Punnapra in Alappuzha. The latest plans were to set up the unit at Vaikom in Kottayam, he said.

The State Directorate for Coir Development had allocated Rs.10 lakh for the factory, which will go for mass production of composite boards using coir mattings, under the flagship programme in the Budget. The rest of the funds for the factory, which is expected to increase the demand for coir matting, will come from the State government, the Central government and through institutional finance.

The factory is expected to be a reality in a couple of years. Efforts were also on to increase the public sector undertaking’s export share, which stood at a mere Rs.17 lakh this year, Mr. Bhageerathan said.

Fomil, according to Managing Director S. Ratnakumaran, was also planning to attract more customers for its products through the first of its kind Coir gift packs, which would comprise a set of coir products that could be used for various purposes in households. These would be available in the market shortly, he said.

On Saturday, the firm’s hopes of garnering more clients from foreign shores got a boost when a foreign delegation visited Fomil, situated near the Alappuzha beach. The delegation had representatives from Indonesia, The Philippines, USA, Canada, Germany and the Middle East.

The delegation, Mr. Ratnakumaran said, was interested in business tie-ups with Fomil and had arrived to study the possibilities.

A similar foreign delegation would visit the firm on December 10 as well, he added.

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