Berger Paints plans new plant in south India

Kolkata, Aug 7, Berger Paints India is planning to set up a greenfield plant in south India, a top company official said here Friday.

“We will set up a water-based paints plant in south India on an investment of Rs.100 crore. It will have a production capacity of 100,000 tonnes per annum,” said Kuldip Singh Dhingra on the sidelines of the company’s annual general meeting.

The major paints maker will set up the plant either in Karnataka or Tamil Nadu over the next two years, Singh told reporters.

The new venture will be funded through internal accruals and conversion of warrants.

The company is investing in water-based paint as the segment is growing faster than the solvent-based paints, Dhingra said.

According to him, while the annual industrial volume growth of the water-based segment is around 15-17 percent, that of solvent-based paints is only 8 percent.

Eighty percent of the company’s business is decorative coatings, with the remaining 20 percent being a mixed bag of protective, automotive, general industrial and powder coatings.

The company is also putting up a Rs.5-crore plant in Goa to make 500 tonnes of resin annually, which would be commissioned by December.

Emulsion and resin are used for making water-based and solvent-based paints.

Berger is also setting up an emulsion plant in Gujarat next to its existing facility at a cost of Rs.26 crore.

The plant, with an annual production capacity of 2,000 tonnes, will be commissioned by April 2010 and will help bring down yearly cost of inputs for water-based paints by 15 percent.

Source : http://www.worldlatestnews.com/business-news/berger-paints-plans-new-plant-in-south-india-54235

Bosch sets up manufacturing facility at Chakan plant

Written by Ganesh
Friday, 08 January 2010

New Delhi – Bosch has established a new manufacturing facility for its ABS antilock braking system at the Chakan plant in Pune, India. Rs. 60 crore has already been invested in the facility, with a further Rs. 40 crore earmarked for the period between now and 2012.

The new site covers approx. 4,300 square meters and is part of the Bosch international ABS manufacturing network. The ABS production facility at Chakan has a production capacity of 300,000 units per year, or 1,000 per day in 3 shifts and will cater to local demand.
Bosch is the only automotive supplier to manufacture ABS in India for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles.

The localization of ABS manufacturing in India by the Bosch Chassis Systems Control division follows the establishment of an engineering and sales team in 2007.

Chassis Systems Control India is a part of Bosch Chassis Systems India Limited which produces further braking components such as calipers, drum brakes, master cylinders and boosters for Indian vehicles.

“Ensuring that personal mobility is safe is essential, and an area in which Bosch has pioneered several technologies that are standard or common equipment in today’s cars,” said Bernd Bohr, member of the Bosch board of management and chairman of the Automotive Group at Bosch, at the 10th Auto Expo in New Delhi. “The new ABS manufacturing site has strengthened Bosch’s standing as a trusted local partner and supplier. With ever more people in India owning a vehicle, we are confident that demand for safety technologies such as ABS will grow in the coming years.”

Around 75 percent of all vehicles produced worldwide have ABS on board in India, every fourth locally produced vehicle is equipped with the system.

A 2009 survey of 594 car owners in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata revealed that 84 percent of respondents considered safety important when buying their last car. Moreover, nearly every second interviewee considered ABS more important than the airbag, and second only to the seatbelt. While the awareness of Indian motorists is high, today’s availability of ABS in the market is limited.

In India, the ABS installation rate in locally produced passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (incl. vehicles for export) is estimated at 25 percent.

“As the market survey indicates, safety is also a priority for Indian car buyers,” said Andreas Berg, regional president of Chassis Systems Control India. Our associates collaborate with all automotive manufacturers to continuously improve vehicle safety and increase the availability of safety systems."

In 1978, Bosch was the world’s first company to launch ABS with electronic control. The system makes braking safer, as it prevents the wheels from locking. Even when braking hard or driving on slippery surfaces, the car does what the driver wants. The vehicle remains stable, and the driver can evade obstacles. Moreover, ABS reduces braking distance. Today, some threequarters of all vehicles manufactured worldwide are equipped with ABS, and this figure is expected to rise to 80 percent by 2012. In the US, Europe, and Japan, ABS has been standard equipment for many years, and is increasingly being superseded by ESP®, the electronic stability program. The Brazilian government has made ABS mandatory for all vehicles from 2014 onwards. In 2009, Bosch produced its 200 millionth ABS system.

Source : http://www.machinist.in

Renault confirms its commitment to India and revives investment plans

Written by Anand
Wednesday, 06 January 2010

New Delhi: French carmaker Renault today confirmed its commitment to India. Mr. Katsumi Nakamura, EVP – Asia/Africa for Renault s.a.s, said that investments that were earmarked for India, but were frozen for a while, are now back on track.

"The Renault Nissan Alliance greenfield manufacturing facility in Chennai is well on track and is a key asset for our ambitions in India," he said emphasising that India will be seeing a re-energised Renault very soon. The company also announced the launch of several cars from their portfolio in the Indian market.
"Our plan involves introduction of several new cars within 18-24 months and a full range in a 48-month timeframe. These cars will be produced in Chennai and we plan to launch the FLUENCE and the KOLEOS models in 2011," said Mr. Marc Nassif, Country General Manager and MD of Renault India.

"Our range will have Small to Luxury cars and will be mix of Renault models and shared platform cars within the Renault-Nissan Alliance, including a Crossover. We are also close to finalising our plans for a distribution network and will definitely be in a position to announce our plans in the 1st week of February 2010," he added.

Renault, which is participating in the ongoing New Delhi AutoExpo 2010 exhibition, has displayed the Twizy here to demonstrate the advanced technology and level of preparedness that Renault has in Electric vehicles.

Mrs. Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi unveiled the Renault “TWIZY” Concept Electric car yesterday, at her residence in New Delhi. The 2-seater “Twizy” is one of four full electric cars that Renault unveiled in September 2009, and is being displayed outside Europe for the first time

Source : http://machinist.in/