The Hindu : Business : Sarda group looking for jute hub in A.P.

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Saturday, Jan 05, 2008
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Sarda group looking for jute hub in A.P.

Special Correspondent

To set up chain of training institutes

KOLKATA: The G. S. Sarda group is eyeing Vijayawada as a possible location for a jute hub, G. S. Sarda, Chairman, said. While the Sarda group already has a jute mill in Nellipara in Andhra Pradesh, the decision to set up a jute hub in the State is linked with the success of the business model that is now being tried out at Alwar in Rajasthan.

Addressing a press conference here, he said aside from these projects, the G. S. group was also planning to set up a chain of free training institutes for jute workers. “There is over-employment in the industry but there is shortage of skilled workers,” he said, adding that while traditionally jute mill workers had been male, but of late women had shown a greater interest and increased skill levels compared to their male counterparts. Stipends and a free meal would also be given to the apprentices.

The Rs. 600-crore G. S. Sarda group has interests in jute industry, real estate and marine technology. While G. S. Sarda has units in West Bengal and Bihar with a daily capacity of 250 tonnes the Sarda group as a whole has a total capacity of 500 tonnes daily. This would be augmented by another 60 tonnes once the unit in Rajasthan becomes fully operational. He said informally, the family business, whose total turnover is Rs. 2,000 crore, had been split between the three brothers.

Explaining the concept of a jute hub, Mr. Sarda said this would actually be a hub for north India where the mill would also have a warehouse. “The maximum consumption of jute bags and fabrics was in North India and Alwar serves as the immediate source of procurement,” he said. “If this business model succeeds we may repeat it in Vijayawada”. Such mills will cater to local demand and negate the need to keep inventories for a long time,” Mr. Sarda said.

On the training centre venture, he said ten such centres would be set up in West Bengal where the group was among the largest employers with 20,000 people on its rolls. The training facility would eventually be ramped up to have a turnout of 1,000 people monthly with assured placement. The faculty would be drawn from within the company and the Indian Institute of Jute Technology.

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