Precot Meridian Ltd is a leading player in the textile industry manufacturing yarn and fabric. As part of its expansion plan would be investing an additional Rs 200 crore at its technical textile plant in the Hassan SEZ, which was set up in June 2013.

With promoter funding and a loan from ICICI Bank, the company is currently raising the required capex for the project. It will hire an additional 400 employees for the unit, Ashok Kulkarni, CEO and Director of Percot Meridian Limited said.

At the State Level Textile Investors Meet held on Saturday, Ashok Kulkarni said that last year, their company invested Rs 189 crore in Hassan. Now they are committed to an additional equivalent capacity at an investment of roughly Rs 200 crore in the next fiscal.

The integrated technical textile plant produces fibre-to-finish products using 100 percent cotton. The fabrics are non-oven manufactured under high water pressure. They are also used in hygiene, health and healthcare products made with natural, biodegradable raw materials using an ecologically sustainable method that meets European Union, Japan and US pharmacopeia standards.

Kulkarni welcomed the state government’s New Textile Policy as it facilitate emerging technical textiles in critical areas such as production, technology, research and development. The policy will encourage integrated development in the sector aiming to sustainability of the textile units in the State.

Kulkarni urged the state government to scrap VAT (value added tax) as Maharashtra and Gujarat have done.

The company started production in 1964 with initial capacity of 12,096 spindles at Kanjikode in Kerala. It now has units in the four southern states of India namely, Tamil Nadu (six units in Coimbatore), Kerala (Kanjikode and Palakkad), Andhra Pradesh (Hindpur) and Karnataka (Gowribidanur and Hassan) with total spinning capacity of 2,25,000 spindles and 117 looms.

Precot Meridian currently exports its healthcare products like cosmetic pads, baby wipes and observant cotton to Germany, UK and Eastern European nations.

Precot Meridian has an annual turnover of Rs 627 crore in fiscal 2014 and targeted revenues of Rs 750 crore in the next fiscal.