Multivista Global sets up printing unit

Chennai: Multivista Global Ltd, a Rs 60-crore closely held company, has put up a new printing facility at Kelambakkam near here.

The company, which is into printing books for publishers including Harcourt, Oxford University Press, Greenwood and Cambridge University Press, has invested Rs 25 crore in the facility, which can produce over 30 million books a year.

According to Mr R.S. Mani, Chairman and Managing Director, the company also offers its clients warehousing and drop-shipping services of the book to various parts of the world. “The books are directly sent to the end customer’s location across the globe as per the publisher’s advice,” said Mr Mani.

Multivista Global also has a separate export-oriented unit aimed at facilitating delivery of books to Indian book sellers on behalf of foreign publishers, as there is considerable demand within India for foreign books.

“In the next phase of our expansion, which will happen soon, we will invest another Rs 10 crore in more machinery to provide complete print solutions to our clients.”

Apart from the printing business, the company is also into manufacturing of leather shoes and distribution of industrial products and services.

Talking about the company’s shoe manufacturing business, Mr Mani said it has a facility to manufacture three lakh pairs a year. It also houses a design department.

The finished shoes are supplied to European brands including Hushpuppies, Fontana, Reno, Schuhstophas and Eram.

“Nearly 70 per cent of the shoes supplied to those brands are designed by us. Only around 30 per cent is made to their designs,” said Mr R. Shankar, Director of Multivista Global.

It is also exploring the possibilities of setting up a joint venture company with foreign players to expand its horizon further in this segment.

Channel partner


In the warehousing and distribution business, Multivista Global is a channel partner for companies such as Kirloskar Pneumatic to distribute its air compressors, refrigeration compressors and transmission equipment; Timken for its bearings; and Areva for its relays and control panel accessories.

For the year 2006-07, the company earned a revenue of Rs 62 crore. Of this, printing business contributed Rs 17 crore, shoe manufacturing Rs 12 crore and distribution business chipped in Rs 33 crore.

“With the new facility in place, we are positive about taking the overall turnover to at least Rs 80 crore during this fiscal,” said Mr Mani.