Godrej & Boyce (appliances division) chief operating officer George Menezes (right) with vice-president Kamal Nandi in New Delhi on Tuesday. Picture by Prem Singh

New Delhi, Sept. 5: Godrej & Boyce will invest Rs 80-100 crore to set up a refrigerator manufacturing facility in Pune and plans to clock a turnover of over Rs 1,000 crore this fiscal.

“We will invest Rs 80-100 crore to set up a frost-free refrigerator manufacturing facility, which will double our existing capacity for the product,” Godrej & Boyce (appliances division) chief operating officer George Menezes said.

The Mumbai-based consumer durables firm recorded a turnover of Rs 750 crore in 2005-06.

The company already has a manufacturing capacity of 3.5 lakh frost-free refrigerators per annum at its facility in Shirwal, 120 km from Pune.

The new facility, to be operational by end-2007, will raise its annual capacity to about seven lakh units.

The company, which unwrapped its new range of frost-free refrigerators today, enjoys 12 per cent of the domestic market share and plans to double it within six months to 25 per cent with the introduction of the new range.

The company has two existing facilities in Shirwal to manufacture washing machines and air-conditioners and two in Mohali, Punjab to manufacture direct cool refrigerators and components.

The company’s combined direct-cool and frost-free refrigerator capacity is 10 lakh units per annum.

It controls 20 per cent share in the combined market for refrigerators.

“The frost-free market is expected to almost double by 2009. This upswing has motivated us to set up the new unit, which will help us cater to the increased demand for such a product,” Menezes said.

Godrej & Boyce, which launched its Eon range of refrigerators in the 245-250-litre capacities, will be available at a cost of Rs 16,000-26,000, he added.

Sharing plans about new product line-ups, Menezes said, “Our aim is to launch products each quarter in our five categories — air-conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators, microwaves and DVD players.”

Godrej & Boyce has kept aside Rs 100 crore for its ad and marketing budget and research and development activities.

The company said it is looking at marketing its products extensively in overseas markets, especially in West Asia and the sub-continent.

“Exports currently do not contribute much to our revenues, but due to similar markets in West Asia and the sub-continent, our products have been received well and we hope that the new products would increase our revenues from these markets,” said Kamal Nandi, vice-president (appliance division) of Godrej & Boyce.