Jamna Auto to set up 2 plants in South India

Auto component maker Jamna Auto today said it will set up two new manufacturing units at Hosur and Chennai to produce parts for commercial vehicles, entailing a total investment of Rs 80 crore.

The Hosur facility is being set up to manufacture parabolic springs and the plant is expected to go on-stream in December 2011, the company said in a statement.

The new plant at Chennai will manufacture air suspension, bogey suspension and lift axles and commercial production is expected to commence from July, 2011, it added.

"Both the plants are being set up at a project cost of Rs 80 crore," the company said.

Jamna Auto has gone for major capacity expansion for parabolic springs to meet the demand of major commercial vehicle manufacturers -- Daimler India, Renault-Nissan, Leyland-Nissan and Ashok Leyland -- it said.

Tata Motors' requirement of parabolic springs is being met from the company's Malanpur plant in Madhya Pradesh, the company added.

Explaining reasons to set up the two new plants in South India, Jamna Auto CEO Randeep Jauhar said the region has been a key region for these auto makers.

"As a strategic initiative, we have decided to expand our manufacturing presence in this region. It will not only enable us to gain proximity to our customers but would also enable us to provide cost-efficient quality products," he added.

The air suspensions to be produced at the Chennai plant will be made in technical collaboration with Ridewell Corporation, a leading suspension manufacturers in USA and is aimed at meeting the increasing demands from low floor buses.

The company has already acquired land near Chennai and prototypes developed are undergoing rigorous trial.

Jamna Auto said it recorded a consolidated sales turnover of Rs 661 crore and profit after tax of Rs 11 crore for the financial year 2009-10.

In the first nine months of the current financial year 2010-11, the firm posted a consolidated turnover of Rs 696 crore and profit after tax of Rs 25 crore.