Global Thikkodi Forum (GTF) steel pipes and tubes, a venture set up by a group of Middle East-based expatriates, started production of galvanized iron pipes and tubes at Thikkodi village in Kerala, according to local media.
GTF set up in May 2018 is the first of its kind venture in Kerala, which has 207 investors contributing a total of Rs18mn. The maximum investment was Rs400,000 per person.
The company’s partners researched the market to find that the monthly demand for GI pipes and tubes in Kerala was 40,000mt in the pre-COVID-19 times, said CEO Ishaq Koyilil to Indian Express. Demand is expected to be down at 25,000mt now. Meanwhile, the monthly production in Kerala is heard to be around 4,000mt, he added.
GTF’s monthly production capacity is 3,000mt and the company sees a huge potential in in Kerala as demand from construction and infrastructure sectors is expected to boom.
($1 = Rs 72.98)