Karam Group, which manufactures, sells and exports personal safety gears for industrial workers and those working at oil rigs, shipping lines and in hazardous environments, said it would invest ₹300 crore in three years in capacity expansion to meet increased demand for its products.
“This investment will be self financed, and we are exploring the possibility of setting up a new manufacturing unit either in South or Western India. Besides, we have decided to set up small assembly operations in Brazil and in Africa to be competitive in those markets,” said Hemant Sapra, co-founder and president, global marketing, Karam Group.
“We have a roadmap to grow our turnover from ₹600 crore in FY21 to ₹1,500 crore in the next three years and for this need to invest ₹300 crore in capacity expansion,” he added.
Having already established subsidiaries in the U.S., Europe, Africa and the UAE to cater to those markets through different brands suited to local buyers, the group is gearing up to open a subsidiary in Singapore in three months to supply in the South-East Asian region.
“In Singapore, we will introduce our American brand K-Strong which will find acceptance in that region. We decided to go for own American and European brands through our subsidiaries to find greater acceptance for our products in those markets. And the strategy has worked well,” Mr. Sapra said adding the brand sold in Europe is called Kratos Safety.
All the products, marketed under the brands Karam, K-Strong, Kratos in different countries, are manufactured in India, he said.
Starting from scratch in 1997, the group, he said had grown to be an organisation with 3,600 people working in India and abroad.
“We are truly an Indian multinational and our products namely helmets, eyeglasses, ear plugs, masks, face shields, safety shoes, hand gloves, coveralls and harness ropes are having high demand in the international markets, and we will grow our business substantially,” he added.
He said the Union government’s move to set up a new code on occupational safety, health and working condition of workers will go a long way to improve the quality of products manufactured in India and will help increase the share in the global markets.
