Mumbai: The largest manufacturer of lead acid storage batteries in South Asia, Exide Industries Limited, plans to enter the lead smelting and recycling business in India and is is in discussions with local smelters to enter into a strategic alliance with equity participation.

The company''s board of directors, which met in Mumbai, today, has approved an initial investment of up to Rs25 crore by way of equity participation.

T V Ramanathan, managing director and CEO, Exide Industries, said, "Such an acquisition, as and when it materialises, would be a significant step towards enhancing the amount of recycled lead and lead alloys used by the company, and hence would help to reduce our dependence on imports of high cost lead. In a scenario where the price of lead has been highly volatile, having an equity stake in a local smelter would be a significant step towards increasing the reliance on domestic sourcing of recycled lead."

Commenting on the future prospects of such a move, P K Kataky, director, automotive, Exide, said, "This would open up an opportunity for the company to enhance the volume of scrap battery collection from the dealers."

Exide says it has been at the forefront of the movement to collect scrap batteries as required by the regulatory framework. The entry into smelting will help further its commitment to protect the environment, through use of recycled materials, which is part of its corporate social responsibility initiatives.

With seven manufacturing plants located across the country, Exide Industries Ltd. is the country''s largest producer of lead acid storage batteries both for automotive and industrial applications. Its range of products covers from the smallest batteries required in motorcycles to the giant batteries powering submarines.

In automotive batteries, the company controls a market share of over 80 per cent in the original equipment business and above 75 per cent in the branded replacement market, while for industrial batteries, Exide has an over 50 per cent share.