Havells India Ltd unveiled India’s first large scale lighting fixture plant on October 27, 2012, at Neemrana, Rajasthan. “The state of the art plant is based on technology from Sylvania and is comparable to one of the company’s best plants in France,” said Anil Gupta, joint managing director, Havells India Ltd
Srabani Sen
Tuesday, November 05, 2012: A US$ 1.3 billion electrical goods company and a major power distribution equipment manufacturer, Havells India has set up this plant with an initial investment of about Rs 1000 million, in an effort to strengthen its position in the fast growing lighting fixtures market. The plant will manufacture over 60 designs and about 300 SKUs, and employs about 250 people. It will cater to both consumer and industrial lighting applications.
The plant is equipped with the latest machines from Japan, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, including a robotised box-bending machine, which is “…the first in north India and the third in the country,” according to Ajay Bhanot, general manager, Havells India. “The eco-friendly paint shop, coupled with the fact that this is a zero discharge plant, adds to the company’s green thrust to save the environment,” he adds.
Spread over 121,405.7 sq m (30 acres) of land and with over 18,580.5 sq m (200,000 sq ft) of working space under a single roof, the plant can manufacture customised lighting solutions. “We can shift from making standard fixtures to customised ones very smoothly and with ease,” says Ajay Bhanot.
Some of the products manufactured in this plant, like the ‘Rana’ fixture, which has a 92 per cent colour rendering index (CRI), have been patented. The plant and the products comply to RoHS standards, which are required in order to export to the European markets. The same products are sold in the domestic market too, although complying to RoHS standards is not mandatory in India. “From this plant, we are expecting a turnover of Rs 1500 million in one year and Rs 5000 million over the next five years, and exports will contribute a good chunk of this revenue,” informs Anil Gupta.
When asked how Havells lighting solutions are priced when compared to its nearest competitor Philips, Anil Gupta says, “Some of the solutions are priced the same as Philips’ options, while some others are higher than Philips’ solutions. But with the volumes going up, better designs and advanced technology, the prices will come down in a couple of years.”
While Anil Gupta refrained from getting into any major acquisition deals, he said that the company is open to joint ventures to penetrate new emerging markets across the globe. And when asked about what sets Havells India apart from its competitors, he replied, “Our energy efficient products, our commitment to the environment, better after-sales services than our competitors, and our capability to execute our ambitious vision makes us unique.”
Havells has 12 manufacturing units in India located at Haridwar, Baddi, Noida, Faridabad, Alwar, Neemrana, and six across Europe, Latin America and Africa.
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