Zhong Bu to set up its first plant in India

CHENNAI: Singapore-based Zhong Bu, which manufactures adhesives and related products for the footwear industry, will be setting up its first factory in India in central Tamil Nadu. The facility in the Phoenix-Kothari footwear park at Perambalur is coming up with an investment of Rs 70 crore and generate employment for 200 persons, sources privy to the development said.

A statement here said the foundation stone for the maiden factory in the non-leather footwear component cluster inside the footwear park will be laid during the upcoming Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet (TNGIM) on January 7. In a statement, J Rafiq Ahmed, chairman, Phoenix Kothari Footwear Ltd. said, "Our aim is to get the factory on stream within six months from the date on which the foundation is laid." Zhong Bu is into the production and sale of high-quality adhesives and related products for the footwear industry. It has production plants in China, Vietnam and Indonesia with research and development facilities and technical service capabilities.

The non-footwear component cluster is likely to house 30 factories. "We are getting a number of overseas players into the component cluster," Ahmed added. Phoenix Kothari Footwear Ltd has already tied up with 21 companies to set up facilities in the component cluster. These would be formalised during the GIM.

The statement further said that this is, perhaps, the first time that a non-leather component cluster is taking concrete shape in the country. Only China has a non-leather component cluster in the world, it added. According to Ahmed, the Perambalur component cluster was a significant national initiative in the post-Covid era and in the wake of the China Plus One strategy pursued by global manufacturers. “Tamil Nadu will be the next Vietnam," he said.