Clay Craft enters bottle biz, eyes 20% share in country

Jaipur: Leading manufacturer of ceramic tableware in the country Clay Craft India has entered the stainless-steel bottles segment that is currently dependent on Chinese imports.

The Jaipur-headquartered company has set up a manufacturing unit in the Vishwakarma Industrial area and is in the process of ramping up production as it expands its market in the country.

“After Covid pandemic the usage of water bottles has been growing by around 30% and plastic bottles are falling out of favour as people are becoming more health conscious. Currently, our products are available in six states. We are adding one state a month to our network,” said Bharat Agarwal, director, Clay Craft.

In a bid to curb imports, the Centre last year made it mandatory to obtain BIS certification. Also, the Centre is probing into anti-dumping allegations to support its Make In India mission.

Agarwal said, “Given the commitment of the Centre to curb substandard imports, the domestic bottle manufacturing industry is poised to take off. Currently, we import over 80% of the bottles from China. If the government polices continue to support the industry, the domestic production will meet 80% of its requirement in next three years.”

Currently, there are a handful of bottle manufacturers with vacuum technology in India. Cheaper imports are stalling domestic manufacturing. The industry wants the government to ensure strict compliance of the BIS certification requirement.

Agarwal said the bottle vertical would lend a significant boost to the group’s revenues which is around Rs 200 crore annually.

“In the next three years, Clay Craft group revenues are expected to reach Rs 350 crore with the bottle business contributing 30-35% of it. Similarly, we expect a 20% share in the country’s bottle production capacity by that time,” added Agarwal.

Last year, Clay Craft operationalized its Manda plant adding 50% capacity to its existing tableware production.

“The state-of-the-art plant at Manda Industrial area was designed to achieve higher automation, cost-cutting, and quality enhancement. We have utilized 35% of the 1 lakh sq metre area in phase-I which has increased our production capacity by 50%,” added Agarwal.

Clay Craft has set a 5-year target to fully operationalize the unit which is built on the concept of sustainability having priority on renewable energy, largescale plantation, water conservation and facilities for its labour force.

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