Chandigarh, Apr 3 (IANS): Indorama Industries, which claims to be the largest producer of polyester in the world, Tuesday said that it is investing Rs.1,000 crore at its new plant in Himachal Pradesh's industrial town of Baddi.

Indorama business head R.D. Gupta told reporters here that the company had already set up a Spandex manufacturing plant of 5,000 MT (metric tonnes) per annum capacity for the first time in the country with an initial investment of Rs.400 crore.

"The company intends to expand the capacity to 15,000 MT per annum in two phases by investing total Rs 1,000 crore in three phases. This is a state-of-the-art manufacturing set up equipped with zero-discharge facility as well as rain water harvesting facility," Gupta said.

Indorama Industries Limited is a subsidiary of the Singapore-based Indorama Corporation, an $8 billion company with business diversified in polyester fiber, filament yarns, spun yarns, fabrics and other material. It has 38 manufacturing plants in 19 countries and a customer base in over 90 countries.

Company officials said that Indorama products range from stretch denim, sportswear,
active wear, intimate garments, innerwear, socks and surgical and medical applications.

"India's Spandex domestic growth is expected to be 15-20 percent as compared to world's growth of 7-8 percent per annum. Direct consumption of bare spandex in the country currently stands around 6000-7000 tonnes per annum, all of which is imported at present," Gupta said.

Indorama director Rajeev Kshetrapal said that the company would create over 300 jobs in the hill state in first phase.