Noida-based Knam Group expanding rice mill, making it state-of-the-art facility

Noida-based Knam Group, which manufactures and supplies basmati and non-basmati rice through its arm, Goyal Rice Mill (GRM), is expanding its rice mill in at Ladwa near Kurukshetra in Haryana and making it a state-of-the-art facility. 

Group’s CEO Amit Goel told businessline in an online interaction that the company acquired a small piece of land in 2019 with a “complimentary” rice mill license to process 20 tonnes a day. The group expanded the plant in 2021 with a capacity of 150 tonnes.

“In 2024, we thought to take the plant to the next level. We are now commissioning the third plant and it should go on stream by June this year. We will be doing around 600 tonnes a day from June,” he said. 

Inhouse seedlings

The company, which is one of the leading paper trading companies in the country, has got the machinery from Japan for the rice mill, where at least 80 Ladwa locals are employed. 

The group also has an ambitious plan to expand into barley, Quinoa and Couscous, which is a type of North African Semolina made from Durum wheat. 

Goel said the group has begun growing inhouse seedlings. “For instance, this year, we are doing seedlings for the paddy. We will be distributing the seedlings to farmers to grow the same paddy,” he said. 

The company, with an annual turnover of ₹700 crore, wants to pack all its rice brands —Naman, Shahi, Khitma and Mother —in India and distribute it globally. The company’s rice varieties are pesticide-free, the group’s CEO said. 

Low GI basmati

Knam, which has offices in seven different regions across the world, is spending a lot on research and development (R&D). As a result, it has launched a low GI (glycemic index) rice that has been certified by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibrating Laboratories (NABL).  

“We at Knam are doing low GI basmati. It is already there in the market.  We have done R&D on brown rice, which is normal and easy to digest. It is becoming popular. In the future, we would like to promote such products,” said Goel, who made a foray into business by trading metals in 2009. 

The company, which exports only super premium quality rice, exported 16,000 tonnes of rice last fiscal year. “We are 100 per cent compliant with rice quality specifications. We are compliant for rice exports to China, though we don’t export to that country,” he said, adding that it has farmers cultivating rice in about 10,000 hectares for the company.  

Shawarma paper

On the paper business that has a strong presence in the Middle East and Europe, the company’s CEO said it is producing paper by investing in different paper mills. “We will keep introducing new products with innovations, whatever possible. In paper, we want to focus on trading only. Rather than jumping into any production side. We have no desire to do it. Capturing new markets is one of the things we want to do, he said.

Knam, which does forward and backward integration, manufactures paper, converts it into a final product and delivers the products.  “We are into a special kind of paper cups, sandwich wrapping paper. And we do some pulp for very high grade textile industry. We also export Salmica (a brown, wrinkle-patterned glossy single-sided sunmica paper used for making paper plates),” Goel said. 

The company also markets the paper used for wrapping Shawarma in the Gulf. “If you go to Kuwait or Saudi and eat a Shawarma, there is 75 per cent chance that it would be wrapped in a paper from us,” he said. The value-chain starts from providing waste paper. 

“What we trade is all recycling and recycled,” said the company’s CEO.

TNPL dealer

For Knam, which trades a small volume in plastics, Kuwait, Egypt and Saudi are the biggest markets. The company’s paper products are available across 37 countries, including Austria, Switzerland, Canada, France and the US. It also trades in tyres and roofing sheets. “We buy from China and supply to Africa,” he said, adding that it does writing, printing, packaging, sweet boxes, shoe boxes and paper used for books and pharmaceuticals. 

“We are an authorised dealer for big companies such as Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited (TNPL). We are the authorised dealer for three countries for TNPL,” Goel said.

Knam has made strategic investments in three paper mills —all in Gujarat, with one in packaging, another Shawarma and the third in duplex port paper. “It makes a super value proposition for us to invest in strategic partners where we can get a quality paper and can export it,” said Goel.