Business in Salem

Salem, the 5th largest city of Tamil Nadu state, is located on one side near Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu and on other side near Coimbatore, both major business cities. Also, surrounded by the mountains, it is one of the richest sources of bauxite, magnetite deposits and other minerals. Today, Salem serves as the junction for other cities, being connected with roads, by buses, trains and airport. Also, it has some major Indian Institutes of Education such as Indian Institute of Handloom Technology, which is second of its kind in the country.  Also, the city is one of the largest regional markets for the agro products, which are bought and sold in large quantities in the market.


Salem is also famous for its textile and sericulture industries. The city also exports various commodities such as Electronics and electrical goods, granites, information technology or IT, readymade garments, coir products, textiles, Salem stainless steel and yarn to other countries. With the space and other saturation in the metropolitan cities such as Chennai, the industrial groups are looking towards other cities like Salem for future expansion of their business. With its rich resources and the trained manpower due to the various prestigious educational institutes, Salem is growing fast and poised to catch up the other industrial cities.

Large Scale Business in Salem:

With its rich resources in Magnetite, Bauxite and other rich minerals, Mining is a big business in Salem. There are many companies such as SAGOSERVE, Burn Standard, Dalmia Magnesite Corporation, Salem Steel Plant, Tata Refractories, TANMAG and PowerGrid which provide employment to the people.

As the space and other infrastructure in the metropolitan cities such as Chennai is getting saturated and the services are at the premium, the big businesses are looking towards the potential of the other cities such as Salem, which is still growing for cutting their costs and increase the profit margin.

With its rich resources and excellent transportation, Salem is the best prospect from their point of view. Also, Salem is the home of large scale business such as the Steel Plant. Also, Salem hosts a large number of Chemical companies, which is related to the mining and steel industries in the city. Also, Salem has lot of companies, which are engaged building Lorries body for the automotive companies. Salem also have two power plants, thermal and Hydel which provides power to the state.

Small-Scale Industries in Salem:

With its abundance of mineral and other natural resources, the number of small scale industries is very large and increasing day by day. One of the notable examples is the Ammapet Weaver’s co-operative society, whose turnover is 2.40 crores. The main products of the weaver’s co-operative society are towels, dhotis, sarees, silk sarees and bed sheets.

The collection and sale of various agricultural products such as mangoes, tapioca which are also known as Kuchi Kilangu are the main part of the small scale industries in Salem. Some popular food items such as papads, chips, fryums, vermicelli and Noodles are produced from Tapioca and sold all over the country. Salem is also famous for its coffee. Coffee is cultivated in Yercaud hills and processed. Salem is the origin of Narasus coffee which is a popular brand.


The forests of Salem are rich with the Santalum species of the Sandal wood. One of the known buyers of sandal wood oil is Mysore Sandal Wood Company. Salem is the largest producer of milk in the state. The milk dairy has introduced many varieties of the milk products, which are very popular with the people.

Scope of Starting a New Business in Salem:

Salem is an ideal place for starting new business, whether you would like to start any type of business such as big, medium or small. You can also start business related to any sector such as agricultural, mining, industrial and service sector. You can also start export business in Salem. This is due to the fact that, Salem has most of the resources which will help you to start the business.

The first and foremost factor is the presence of the natural resources, which cost very little as it is present in the surrounding areas in abundant quantities, whether it is raw material for agro products, textile products or industrial products. The second factor is the presence of large educated and trained manpower due to the various universities and engineering colleges in Salem in various sectors. The next factor is the infrastructure which is needed and is available for starting a new business.

In addition to that, Salem is connected to the major cities of the country through various means such as roads, trains and air. Last, but not the least is the encouragement and the training by the govt. which is available from the authorities.