After launching its first manufacturing facility in India at Sanand in Ahmedabad for home appliances, including refrigerators and washing machines, Voltbek Home Appliances Pvt Ltd is now looking at rolling out 2.5 million units annually by 2025.
Pradeep Bakshi, MD & CEO, Voltas Limited, said that while the plant had an initial annual capacity of 1 million refrigerators, the same would be ramped up to 2.5 million by 2025, apart from manufacturing other appliances.
"Our target is to achieve a 10 per cent market share in all the home appliances being manufactured from here by 2025. Going forward, we will not shy away from manufacturing products in other categories if needed," Bakshi added.
A joint venture between Tata Group's brand Voltas and Turkey's consumer durables player Arcelik through its brand Beko, Voltbek will manufacture and sell refrigerators in the first phase and washing machines, microwave ovens and dishwashers in the following phases under the brand name 'Voltas Beko'. While Voltas and Arcelik each hold a 49 per cent share in the JV, the remaining 1 per cent each comes from their parent groups Tata and Koc Holding.
Under the JV, while Beko will bring in its strong research and development as well as global sourcing capabilities, Voltas will contribute in terms of its local branding and distribution strength.
Leaning heavily on automation and Internet of Things (IoT), the plant claims to be India's first continuous assembly line for manufacturing refrigerators, packing one refrigerator every 15 seconds. The plant also boasts of 25 robots being set up for handling key processes. Backed by an investment of over Rs 1000 crore ($180 million), Voltbek’s Sanand factory is one of the first white goods appliances unit in Gujarat that the company stated will create an original equipment manufacturing (OEM) base for home appliances in the region, along with local employment opportunities.
"Our goal is to become a leading player and achieve double digit market share in the Indian white goods market over the next decade. We believe that our new factory will help us deliver this ambitious goal and make a significant contribution to Indian economy. Beko is a leading global player in home appliances industry and with our global expertise and tailor-made innovations, we will continue to meet and exceed Indian customers’ expectations," said Hakan Bulgurlu, CEO, Arçelik.
Already close to 0.5 million refrigerator units are expected to be sold by the end of current fiscal 2019-20. Going forward, in the second phase, washing machines will be rolled out from September 2020 onwards, followed by microwave ovens and dishwashers later.
Industry reports peg the consumer durables market in India to grow at 10–12 per cent per annum. During the last 10 years, the Indian major domestic appliances market grew by nearly 9 per cent, surpassing the overall 3 per cent growth of the global white goods market.
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