The Hindu Business Line : Om group plans EOU for granite furniture

THE Chennai-based Om group of companies proposes to put up a `100 per cent export oriented unit' for the manufacture of granite furniture and bathroom fittings, the group's Chairman, Mr N. Ashoken, told Business Line. The project, expected to come up at Madhavaram near here, will cost at least Rs 4 crore.

According to Mr Ashoken, the granite market has shifted from just raw blocks or tiles and slabs to monuments with sophisticated cut and finish to decorative pieces, furniture and bathroom fittings. The lower end of the market is fast being gnawed away by the Chinese.

The upper segment products command a premium and a unit that can occupy this niche can prosper, he said. The bathroom fittings, for example, comprising a wash with taps and a mirror frame, could cost around Rs 60,000. A bar table, made of stones of different colours could cost anywhere between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh.

The products of the Om group are among those that are on display at the Indian Monument Manufacturers' Association's fair, at the Chennai Trade Fair centre, here.

The Om group exports granite products worth Rs 8 crore every year. According to Mr Ashoken, while the Japanese market is gone, lost to the Chinese, the European market continues to offer good demand for value added products.

Higher value addition has become critical — while on the one hand the prices of raw blocks are going up (in sympathy with the diesel prices as a lot of the fuel is used in quarries), the prices of standard products (like monuments of simple design) are falling.

Raw block prices have risen by about 33 per cent in the last two years. Today, a cubic metre could cost anywhere between Rs 15,000 and Rs 35,000 (some even Rs 50,000). Transportation costs also have increased and vary between Rs 400 per tonne and Rs 2,000 per tonne, depending upon the distance to the quarry.

Currently, the industry calls for specialist approach in production, using a combination of technology and art. Sophisticated CNC machines and CAD facilities are used, while art adds the finishing touch, Mr Ashoken said.

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