Guwahati, Jan. 25: Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) major Emami Ltd plans to make its Rs 300-crore factory in Assam, its third in the state, one of the best five plants in the country.

The factory, which will manufacture personal and healthcare products, is spread over an area of 35 acres at Pacharia in Kamrup district of lower Assam and is expected to go fully commercial by March.

The company now has made an investment of Rs 400 crore in Assam with three factories.

The move comes at a time major companies are setting up units in the state. Around 75 units with an investment of Rs 6,000 crore will come up by March and a new North East Industrial Policy is expected soon. The state government has already passed a bill on ease of doing business.

"The plan is to make it one of the top five FMCG factories in the country and this is necessary with the kind of investment being made. It is going to be one of the most modern FMCG units in the country well-equipped with the latest technology to meet the current and future business requirements," the managing director of Emami Ltd, Sushil Goenka, told The Telegraph.

On the need for setting up another unit, he said Emami has a diverse product portfolio of nearly 300 products in healthcare and personal care, among which many are category leaders, and it is imperative for the company to invest in its own manufacturing units for better quality assurance.

"Moreover, the overall growth of our business in the Northeast has been extremely good. We expanded our business in various diversified categories with demand for our products having gone up. Many new products were launched that won consumers' confidence. Some of these new products that were launched are category creators in their respective segments," he added.

Terming Assam the "second home" for Emami, he said it is satisfied with its operations in the state as it presented ample opportunities in terms of growth and expansion of business.

"A sizeable portion of the company's revenues comes from these factories and the plant has been financed by a combination of both internal accruals and borrowings," he said.

On importance of industrial policies, he said they are critical factors while making any long-term infrastructure investments as businesses are becoming very competitive and keeping costs lower and efficiency higher is very important.

Goenka said though the company has dedicated export units in other parts of the country, there are plans to export from this unit whenever required.