| Source : IBEF With the growing demand for key healthcare products and solutions, Godrej & Boyce is expecting double-digit growth in its healthcare business. The company which is also a leading maker of medical refrigerators in India, is looking for an alliance with any vaccine makers such as Pfizer’s, that needs to be kept in (-) 70 degrees Celsius. Godrej & Boyce Executive Director Ms. Nyrika Holkar, said that the company’s healthcare businesses are likely to grow in the range of 22-25% in the past year. Ms. Nyrika Holkar said that since March 2020, when the pandemic started, it has witnessed sustained rising demand for many of its key healthcare products and solutions. The healthcare sector’s revenues contribute less than 10% of Godrej & Boyce’s total revenues, however, this sector presents strong growth opportunities even after the pandemic ends. The business line of Godrej & Boyce in the healthcare sector Godrej Appliances, Godrej Interio and Godrej Lawkim, in areas such as hospital beds, medical refrigerators and calibration services for medical equipment like ventilators. As per Ms. Nyrika Holkar, the company is also expecting great opportunity from the government plan to strengthen the medical cold supply chain. For example, the company looking forward to strengthening the medical cold supply chain, as the government has announced plans to create 65 new blood banks at the district level. Such precise cooling solutions are also critical for organ storage banks and pharma cold chains including testing labs. She also added that with Godrej & Boyce’s technology and engineering capabilities as well as a range of suitable products, they are planning to play a significant role in these areas. As the procurement of vaccinations has been opened for private sector corporations and hospitals, they are looking at partnerships and collaborations in this regard. She quoted that around 90% of the products that Godrej & Boyce sells in the healthcare sector are through local value addition. The company, in partnership with the UK-based The Sure Chill Company, sells medical refrigerators that use the properties of water to keep vaccines in the desired temperature range. Last year, Godrej & Boyce has invested 10% of its healthcare revenues back into their business. The company has also built a new manufacturing plant for Godrej Interio at Khalapur, Maharashtra, with a production capacity of 300 hospital beds per day among other healthcare accessories. Similarly, in FY20, Godrej Appliances increased its manufacturing capacity by 300% by making investments in foaming plugs, jigs and conveyor lines. Even at component levels, multiple tools were developed to match plant production capacity. Godrej & Boyce exports its medical refrigerators to over 36 countries covering Africa, the Middle East and SAARC, however, their most of its healthcare products and solutions are focused on the Indian healthcare industry. Ms. Nyrika Holkar quoted that even after the COVID-19 era, there is an immense potential to further upgrade the healthcare infrastructure in order to bolster India’s immunisation drive and the international markets also offers significant opportunity and would seek an opportunity to step up their exports even further. |
