Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd (KNPL) has announced plans to invest Rs 98 crore to expand its production capacity at its Hosur plant in Tamil Nadu. 

The facility currently operates at an installed capacity of 15,500 tonnes per month (TPM) across paints, varnishes, enamels, powders, and resin manufacturing.

The proposed expansion will increase the capacity to 28,140 TPM and is expected to generate 280 new jobs, as per documents filed for environmental clearance. The Hosur plant, which spans 54 acres and employs 700 people, is one of KNPL’s eight factories in India.

A subsidiary of Japan’s Kansai Paint Co. Ltd, the Rs 7,393-crore company foresees robust growth in India’s paint market, fueled by rising industrialization and demand across sectors. The company highlighted that its current production capacity is insufficient to meet future market requirements, making the expansion critical.

KNPL holds a leading position in automotive and powder coatings in India and ranks third in the decorative paints segment. The company’s product portfolio includes interior and exterior home paints, coatings for mobility and appliances, and solutions for infrastructure projects.

Currently, KNPL’s business mix is split 55:45 between decorative and industrial paints, with the industrial segment contributing 70% of its revenue through automotive coatings. With a dominant 58-60% market share in automotive coatings, KNPL is expanding its reach into emerging segments, including electric vehicles (EVs).

“While EV penetration is gradual in four-wheelers (2-3%) and two-wheelers (7-8%), the three-wheeler EV market has surpassed 50% penetration. Our presence in the EV segment is as strong as in conventional systems, where we maintain a high market share,” said Anuj Jain, Managing Director, during the company’s Q2 FY25 earnings call.