Kolkata, Sep 23 (IANS): State-run Balmer Lawrie and Co Ltd has tied up with a China-based company to foray into the construction chemical business on a large scale for the domestic market, a top company executive said Friday.

"As part of our strategy, we thought that since we are in leather chemicals business, we must go into making chemicals which could be manufactured at our existing plant with certain additional facilities," company chairman and managing director S.K. Mukherjee said.

"We thought that construction chemicals is one of our activities which will be basically implemented within our company with not much of a problem," Mukherjee said after the annual general meeting of the company here.

"We have already added some manufacturing facilities in Chennai (where the leather chemical plant exists) for construction chemicals. We have spent around Rs.3 crore for that," he said.

Stating that the company was basically targeting the cement industries and concrete manufacturers, he said: "We intend to market the construction chemicals. We tested the market last year by selling some small quantity."

Mukherjee said that to boost the company's construction chemical business it has tied up with a Chinese company, called Muhu. "The facility has been created based on their technology."

He informed that in the next one year the company will form a joint venture with the Chinese company to market the construction chemicals in India.

The company will start commercial-scale marketing of construction chemicals in the next six months' time.

The construction chemicals market in India is worth about Rs.18,000 crore.

The company is targeting sales of about 1,000 tonnes to 1,500 tonnes in the first year of operation. After that, it will gradually expand the facilities.

Mukherjee said the company was trying to acquire companies in the field of industrial packaging and lubricants.

"We will not be spending anything more than Rs.20 to Rs.50 crore for acquisitions," he said.

Balmer Lawrie will also start an on-line portal for tours and travelling business by March next year.

"We are now basically working on booking engine tools basically to cater to the requirement of the army. We are expecting around Rs.100 crore from on-line portal business to be generated from the army in 2013," he added.