Pcs Aqua, U-Long In Car Refrigerator Venture

PCS Aqua Systems Pvt Ltd has tied up with Taiwan-based U-Long Ltd to set up a $1 million production facility for manufacturing car refrigerators in Chennai.

PCS managing director P C Chugh said, while his company would contribute 49 per cent of the above investment, the balance 51 per cent would come from U-Long.

Construction work on the facility has already begun and the plant would commence trial production of car refrigerators by March 2002, he added.

Meanwhile, PCS has also signed an exclusive marketing agreement with U-Long, which enables the former to introduce the latter's new range of car refrigerators in the Indian market under the Tropicool brandname.

Chugh, who was here on Saturday to launch the Tropicool car refrigerators in the Gujarat market, said that his company is targeting a sale of 2,500 units of Tropicool worth Rs 2.5 crore during the current fiscal.

Saying that this would give his company 50 per cent of the market share in the car refrigerators segment, Chugh revealed that this being the first-of-its-kind branded car refrigerator the potential is tremendous as this is an untapped and virgin segment in India.

Currently there is no branded car refrigerator produced in India and the ones that are available are imported ones, mostly from China through the grey market route, he pointed out.

PCS, which already has 20 distributors across India marketing its water coolers and water dispensers, plans to enlist another 30 distributors this year, so as to aggressively promote the Tropicool car refrigerator.

PCS is currently negotiating a very big order with Ford India, which envisages supplying the product to the car manufacturer as original equipment to be fitted in their latest range of cars.

Refusing to divulge further details about its proposed deal with Ford India, Chugh said that the relevant commercials, including the price, royalty, etc would be finalised with Ford on June 15.

Emphasising that this product has huge export potential, Chugh said, "Once the manufacturing of the Tropicool car refrigerator starts at the Chennai factory, PCS would also start exporting them to US, Middle East, etc. Currently these markets are being catered to from the Taiwan factory of U-Long, wherein the labour costs are 30 per cent higher than that in India."

Elaborating on the features of Tropicool he said that as it works on thermo-electric chips, no gas or compressor is required. Moreover it is CFC-free and therefore environment-friendly.

Priced at Rs 12,500, it has a temperature controlling system that can obtain from -5 to -20 degree centigrade for cooling and 30 to 60 degree centigrade for warming.

Having a capacity of 12 litres each, they can be used in cars, ambulance, trucks, on travels and picnics as well as in offices and for domestic purposes, Chugh added.