Bosch will invest Rs 2,300 cr - July 17, 2008

German auto component giant Bosch is betting big on India. The company has committed investments of Rs 2,300 crore till 2010 in India. It is bringing in many advanced products and technologies that are currently available only in European markets.

These products include anti-lock braking systems (ABS), electronic stability programmes (ESP) that prevent vehicles from skidding on wet surfaces, direct injection systems that improve fuel efficiency, and second-generation common rail diesel systems that are being tested on the Tata Nano.

In ABS and ESP, Bosch hopes to become one of the largest suppliers in India by March next year after production of these products begins at its Chakan facility.

Managing director V K Viswanathan said though ABS is not mandatory for vehicles in India, multinational car companies are installing it not only in luxury cars, but also small cars like Hyundai i10. "We are setting up a dedicated facility at Pune for catering to the demand."

Currently, Hyundai sources ABS systems from Bosch's South Korean arm and Honda from Bosch worldwide. The new Toyota Corolla may soon source these systems from Bosch India.

On second-generation common rail diesel systems, Viswanathan said the Scorpio CRDe 2.2 and Swift Dzire cars already use Bosch's systems in India. The company is modifying these for the Tata Nano, with supply beginning next year. He said the company is contemplating a foray into ultra quiet alternators and multimedia car navigation systems. The former may be manufactured at Bosch's facility near Bangalore.

The group has four companies in India — Bosch Ltd (earlier Mico), Bosch Rexroth, Bosch Chassis and Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions. The group's turnover last year was $1.3 billion.

Viswanathan said he expected the company's topline to grow 20-25% year-on-year. Of the Rs 2,300 crore investment it has planned, Rs 850 crore has been pumped in during the last two years.

Bosch's auto component business contributes 82-84% to its topline. But its non-auto businesses are growing at a much faster clip of 30-35%, he said. The non-auto businesses include electronic power tools, security technology, packaging machines, hydraulics and pneumatics and packaging machines.

Whirlpool To Invest $15-20m In Indian Arm

Pune: Home durables maker Whirlpool Corporation will invest $15-20 million in its Indian subsidiary, Whirlpool of India Ltd (WIL), over the next 12 months to enable expansion of its range of higher capacity refrigerators and washers.

The company which recently invested approximately $5 million to set up a new line for manufacture of large frost-free refrigerators at its Ranjangaon facility expects to introduce a 500-litre refrigerator in the coming months.

Elaborating upon their business plan, Tamal Kanti Saha, Vice-President (Sales), WIL, said that the focus would be to push sales of its frost-free refrigerators by 30 per cent during this fiscal. Currently WIL claims second position in the frost-free segment of the Indian refrigerator market with a 23.2 per cent share, while it says it is market leader in the direct cool segment with a 25.6 per cent share.

Notching up

During the nine months ended December 2007, WIL, which earns around 70 per cent of its revenue from refrigerator sales, notched a turnover of Rs 1,389 crore and expects to close the previous fiscal at around Rs 2,000 crore, Saha said. It is targeting overall growth of 25 per cent during the current fiscal on the back of a host of newly-launched products like the ‘Genius’ and ‘Fusion’ range of refrigerators and ‘Professional’ range of washing machines and frost-free fridges. In addition to introducing newer, more India specific products, WIL is also increasing the ad-spend from Rs 70 crore last year to Rs 77 crore this year.

Among the other growth-drivers for the company will be the recently introduced water purifier, air-conditioners and microwave ovens, which it only markets in India. “We sold 100,000 air conditioners and 50,000 ovens last year,” Saha said, adding that the target is 100 per cent growth in these numbers during this 2008-09.