UK eyes biz tie-up with Rajkot-based auto industry

Taking a note of automobile ancillary sector in Rajkot, the British Deputy High Commissioner for Western India, Peter Beckingham and his team maintained that there were good business opportunities in auto component sector in the city.

"We are here to explore two way business opportunities in Rajkot. As the city is known for auto components manufacturing, we see good potential in this sector. There are many business ties that can be developed between Rajkot and UK on the automotive front," said Peter Beckingham, British Deputy High Commissioner for Western India. He also indicated a possible tie-up between UK and Rajkot companies in near future.

The team of top British officials visited more than 20 companies in Rajkot including Captain Tractors, Amul Industries, Jay Well Techno and Jyoti CNC.

The delegation also met officials and members of Rajkot Engineering Association (REA) and Rajkot Chamber of Commerce and Industries (RCCI) and discussed about business opportunities between Rajkot and UK.

It may be mentioned here that according to a recent survey conducted by UK India Business Council (UKIBC) on the emerging tier-2 cities of India, Rajkot finds place among the top 12 cities listed in the survey. "Gujarat is very important business destination in India and we are interested to explore more opportunities in Gujarat. As far as Rajkot is concerned, city is having skilled entrepreneurs with some already doing business with the UK," Beckingham said. “Rajkot is having a large number of auto components manufacturing units, but most of them are small and medium sized units. In this condition, we are also looking for technological tie-up between UK and Rajkot," said Milind Godbole, senior trade and investment advisor, British Deputy High Commission, Mumbai.

The Commission will also invite REA and RCCI to visit UK to find out similar opportunities there. Besides auto sector, the Commission is also exploring educational tie-up with Rajkot-based educational institutes.

Rajkot has more than 500 auto component manufacturers with a net turnover of around '1,500 crore. The auto-component industry in Rajkot grows at a rate of 15-20 per cent per year, industry sources claimed.