although smaller than the industries in west and north india, the south india corrugated industry has developed rapidly over recent years. currently, there are approximately 800 manufacturers in the south of the country, of which 400 are small plants, and 150 to 200 are mediumsized factories. small plants usually have 10 to 30 employees with an equipment buying budget of around inr 4,000,000 usd 64,000.  over 20 of the major companies operate in cities like mumbai, chennai and bangalore. the number of paperboard plants is roughly the same as that of box makers.