PM Powerpack plans new mobile phone battery unit

CHANDIGARH: Mobile phone battery maker PM Powerpack Solutions today said it plans to set up a new manufacturing facility for mobile phones batteries and portable mobile charger with an investment of Rs 8-10 crore.

"There are plans to set up a new facility for manufacturing mobile phone batteries and mobile recharges...it will involve an investment of Rs 8-10 crore," Delhi-based company's Director, Pankaj Sachdeva told reporters here today.

However, he said the company has not finalised the location for new facility but it plans to ramp up mobile batteries and rechargers' capacity by 10 million and 2 million per annum.

Currently, PM Powerpack has a manufacturing facility at Parwanoo in Himachal Pradesh with installed capacity of 20 million mobile batteries and 2 million rechargers.

Asked about the size of the mobile phone battery market, Sachdeva said the 'after market' battery size for mobile phones is about 20 crore per annum, valuing Rs 3,000 crore. "Out of which only 20 per cent (Rs 600 crore) is organised market," he said.

Noting that the demand for mobile batteries would grow immensely, he said the smart phones would constitute a significant portion of country's mobile handset market by 2015.

He said the annual mobile handset sales would grow to 280 million by 2015 from 200 million in 2012 while sale of smart phone was expected to jump from 20 million in 2012 to 70 million by 2015.

The company, which makes 'after sale' battery for leading mobile brands including Samsung, Nokia, has also started exporting mobile phone batteries to Africa as part of plans to have presence in overseas markets.