Nestle India enters Amul's home with Gujarat factory

Nestle India, the subsidiary of Swiss dairy major Nestle, is all geared to set up its ninth plant in the country. The company had acquired about 50 acres of land at Sanand, nearly 30 kilometres from Ahmedabad, for a manufacturing plant, said Gujarat government officials.

The proposed investment was estimated to be about Rs  400 crore. The company had bought land at the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) estate by paying Rs  1.3 crore per acre, informed sources.

An email query to Nestle India remained unanswered. The state, which had been dominated by Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), had found opposition about multi-national companies entering the state with Dr Verghese Kurien, former chairman of GCMMF, being most vocal about the threat to milk co-operatives.

However, in recent times, a number of MNCs had been setting units in the state. Nestle would join a number of other fast moving consumer

goods companies that are setting up manufacturing units in the state.

These include, Colgate-Palmolive, Amway India and Teva-Proctor & Gamble joint venture. Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, through a joint venture with Proctor & Gamble (P&G), plans to establish its first manufacturing facility at Sanand.

Colgate-Palmolive, with an investment of Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion), plans to have its facility by 2014. And, Amway India had lined up an investment of about Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion) for its first company-owned manufacturing facility in the country.

Nestle India's first manufacturing facility was set up in 1961 in Moga, Punjab, followed by factories in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Haryana, two in Goa, Uttarakhand and the eighth one in Tahliwal, Himachal Pradesh, this year.

The company is expected to launch new products this year, and according to market expectations, the Switzerland-headquartered FMCG major may launch breakfast cereals in the Indian market.

This is a category where Nestle has a strong presence worldwide.