Pump and Motors manufacturer CRI, as part of its diversification, is foraying into the high end specialised wires and cables sector.

City-based CRI Research Centre has developed a high temperature application XLPE (cross linked poly ethylene) submersible winding wire with higher dielectric strength along with high efficient DC solar cables for the fast growing solar industry, its vice-chairman, G. Soundararajan said.

The specialized wires and cables range includes lead-free insulated cables for hygiene applications, EPDM cables for low ambient applications, special oil resistant and chemical resistant cables for waste water, communication cables, halogen free flame retardant wires, fire retardant wires and fire retardant low smoke wires, termite resistant wires, flexible power cables for industrial applications, submersible cables and winding wires, he said.

CRI is already in the manufacturer of high end non-metallic uPCV and CPVC pipes and this diversification was part of an aggressive plan targeting a turnover of Rs,5,000 crores in 2021, Soundararajan said.

Of the Rs.40,000 crore market size of Indian wires and cables industry, the target segment market potential of CRI was about Rs.14,000 crores, which was expected to touch Rs.25,000 crores in 2021, with compounded annual growth rate of 15 per cent. “The company is confident of capturing at least 4 to 5 per cent market share in the targeted wires and Cables segment which would fetch a revenue of Rs.1,100 Crores by the year 2021,” he added.

“In the first phase, CRI has earmarked an investment of Rs.125 crore for this project, with an integrated cable compound manufacturing facility having a production capacity process over 10,000 tonnes of copper and produce products worth over Rs.500 crores per annum,” he claimed.

The company has planned to invest further to double the capacity in about two to three years in the second phase, he said adding the company was in the process of establishing a new distribution network for some of its wire and cable products.