Mumbai, India – Nilkamal is setting up a dedicated site for the production of polyurethane foam to support its mattress manufacturing operations. It is joining a trend where Indian mattress manufacturers are investing in PU foam manufacturing to serve the surging domestic mattress market in the country.
‘We are investing about INR 400 million in setting-up PU foam producing unit, spread over 60 acres in Hosur as part of backward integration to cater to all [our] four mattress plants, said Sadananda K, general manager for the company’s mattress business.
Nilkamal operates multiple mattress producing units in india. These include Hosur, Tamil Nadu, in the south of the country, which produces 1000 mattresses a day. The western plant in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan and the northern site in Dharuhera, Haryana, both make 400 mattresses a day, while 600 are made each day in the eastern plant in Durgapur, West Bengal. In total, the company makes about 750,000 mattresses a year.
‘Currently, we are buying PU foam blocks from a network of vendors to feed our mattress production,’ Sadananada said. ‘The upcoming foam site is likely to be functional by the end of 2022, and provides complete control over supply chain and quality parameters, besides removing dependence on third party production lines.’
Nilkamal has already ordered a Hennecke line for the Hosur site. This has the capacity to produce 10,000 kg/hour of PU foam.
Nilkamal claims to be the world’s largest producer of moulded plastic furniture, and also operates thelifestyle home solutions retail chain, Nilkamal Mattrezzz.
Listed on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange, Nilkamal supplied 1,000 ‘Covid Quarantine’ beds, mattresses and other furniture to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority in the middle of 2020.