Surya Lighting Ltd, the Rs 900 crore (Rs 9 billion) steel tubes and lighting products company, has entered into an exclusive agreement with the UK-based firm Status International for export of lighting products.

The latter claims to be the largest independent lamp distributor in Britain.

Status International will source lighting products from Surya alone in India and further supply to retail chains in the United Kingdom.

Export of GLS and candle lamps from Surya Roshni to UK, a major market for the company, will take place only through this arrangement over five-years.

The 20-year-old lighting division of the company has an annual turnover of about Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion). It exports close Rs 18 crore (Rs 180 million) worth of lighting products annually.

Exports to Status International have gone up consistently from Rs 2 crore (Rs 20 million) in 2001-02, to Rs 7 crore (Rs 70 million) in the year after that.

During the current financial year, the company has already supplied Rs 6.5 crore (Rs 65 million) worth material to its UK partner. The total exports of the company stand at Rs 75 crore (Rs 750 million) on an annual basis.

"With this arrangement we expect our exports of lighting products to go up in the near future by at least 50 per cent," B D Agarwal, chairman and managing director of Surya Roshni said.

In the domestic market, the company is contemplating an expansion in its production capacity at its units in Uttranchal and Madhya Pradesh.

It plans to invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) over a two-year period. These expansions are to cater to a growing demand in the domestic market.

"We expect demand for lighting products to head northward. From a growth rate 4-5 per cent in the past few years, the market should catapult into a growth mode of at least 10 per cent for the next 5-10 years. This will be due to of greater availability of power supply, schools and a better lifestyle," Agarwal said.

After a gap of about two years, Surya is also starting promotional activities. It is restarting advertising on television and radio this year with an adspend of Rs 6 crore (Rs 60 million).