Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd, established in the year 1867, is a multi-product, multi-location diversified business conglomerate operating in various industrial segments through its Strategic Business Units and business wise synergistic Joint Venture Companies. There are very few Corporates in the World which have successfully completed 135 years of fruitful existence. Balmer Lawrie is not only the largest manufacturer of Steel Barrels, Speciality Greases and Travel Services in India but also a leader in most of the other business segments that it operates in. Balmer Lawrie has consistently been a profit-making, dividend paying Company. Balmer Lawrie last year recorded a Turnover of Rs. 7696 million (approx. USD 160 million) - excluding its Joint Ventures.

Balmer Lawrie has identified four of its businesses which are currently doing well (except for Tea operations in India) but which have immense untapped potential. The Company believes that the full potential can be realized and thereby the value enhanced considerably through appropriate strategic alliances. Accordingly, Balmer Lawrie invites proposals for Strategic Alliances from Indian and Overseas Firms in the following Business areas which would lead to enhancing the growth of the identified Businesses by leveraging the strengths of Balmer Lawrie and the Strategic Partner(s).

• LEATHER PERFORMANCE CHEMICALS
• TEA BLENDING & EXPORTS
• TOURS (IN-BOUND & OUT-BOUND)
• CONTAINER FREIGHT STATIONS
  
  

LEATHER PERFORMANCE CHEMICALS

BL entered the field of Performance Chemicals by setting up a unit in Chennai in the year 1983 for the manufacture of Synthetic Fat Liquors by commercializing a lab-scale technology developed by Central Leather Research Institute. Over the years, BL has added several new products and formulations developed in-house through its R&D facility (Product Development Centre located at Chennai) and now has a basket of Synthetic & Semi-synthetic Fat Liquors and a range of Synthetic Tanning Agents, Bioenzymes and Leather Finishes. BL is also the market leader in India in the SFL product segment. Apart from its focus on in-house R&D, BL has Technical Service Centres located at all major leather processing areas manned by highly qualified and experienced personnel. BL has an established Marketing Network consisting of Dealers/Stockists supported by a team of in-house Marketing Professionals. The Average sales of this Division during the last three years was around Rs. 175 millions (approx. USD 3.5 million). BL is looking for a strategic partner who would provide state-of-art technological inputs for development of a comprehensive basket of products in sophisticated Fat Liquors, Synthetic Tanning Agents, Beam House Performance Chemicals and Leather Finishes which will enable BL to service its customers fully. BL also has some very strong products in Fat Liquors & Mineral Syntans and complementary marketing in markets outside India offer excellent potential.

Tea Blending & Exports

BL's association with Tea goes back over 100 years when Tea-related activities formed a major portfolio of the Company. BL now has Production (Blending & Packaging) facilities at Kolkata and Coimbatore in India and overseas in the United Kingdom, through its wholly owned subsidiary Balmer Lawrie (UK) Ltd. BL exports Packaged Teas, Tea Bags, Tea Sachets and Bulk Teas. BL has recently Test launched Branded Premium Teas in the Indian Market. The Average sales of this Division during the last three years was around Rs. 300 million (approx. USD 6 million). BL is looking for a strategic alliance in this business which could provide backward linkages with tea producer, forward linkages with overseas buyers for tea exports, leverage the marketing of its Branded Tea in the domestic market and integrate with global supply chain through extensive marketing network.

Tours (In-bound & Out-bound)

Travel Operations of Balmer Lawrie also dates back to the early years. The Tourism activity is relatively young being setup in 1983. BL is one of the largest Travel Agent in India and operates through a Network of Offices spread all over the Country (Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Bhubaneshwar, Trivandrum). All its offices are manned by highly skilled and experienced personnel, with modern infrastructure for e-commerce and custom-built software packages.

The Average total sales of Travel & Tours Division during the last three years was around Rs. 1750 million (approx. USD 36 million).

Strategic Alliance preferably with a large overseas Tour Operator can result in development of inbound & outbound tourism business where the Alliance Partner can use BL's facilities in India for development of in-bound Tourism and outbound tours from India can be promoted by BL.

Container Freight Stations (CFS)

Balmer Lawrie is a leading player in Import/Export Cargo Handling & Logistics Management Services by Sea/Air and has Cargo Associates in about 40 Countries. As an extension of its Logistic Services, BL had set up its first CFS at Kolkata in 1995, followed by one at Mumbai (1999) and Chennai (2000). All the CFS' are located in close proximity to the Ports and equipped with state-of-art Container Handling Equipment. The Sales of the CFS Business Division during 2000-01 was around Rs. 136 million (approx. USD 2.8 million). As this activity offers tremendous growth potential and enjoys infrastructure benefits, strategic alliance is sought for expansion for profitable growth of this activity and setting up CFS at other locations.

General

It is envisaged that initially the strategic alliance in all the above areas would be in the nature of a business association, that is un-incorporated strategic alliance. At a later stage, depending on the success of the association, this association could be incorporated through Joint Venture, Subsidiary etc. Interested firms may send their detailed proposals giving their Company Background, Past Financials, Core Competence & Capabilities in the relevant business area, Nature of Alliance offered, Terms, etc to :

The Managing Director
Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd.
21, Netaji Subhas Road
Kolkata 700 001

Any queries on the above can be sent to the following E-mail addresses:
blm@vsnl.net &
blhomd@vsnl.com