UM India to set up 2nd mfg plant in Maharashtra

UM Lohia Two-wheelers, the domestic partner of the US-based UM International, will set up its second manufacturing and new R&D facilities in Maharashtra.
The company already has one manufacturing facility in Kashipur in Uttarakhand.
"For expansion we are looking at setting up another manufacturing facility and a new R&D centre. We haven't finalised the place, but it's going to be in Maharashtra for sure," UM India director Jose Villegas told reporters here today.
"During the next three years we will invest Rs 100 crore for the new R&D facility which will develop new platforms and the new manufacturing plant. We are developing a strong products pipeline here," he said.

The company today launched the new Renegade Commando Classic and Renegade Commando Mojave bikes in the city.
The Kashipur plant has a capacity of 5,000 units per month and the new plant is going to be built for a capacity of 10,000 units per month with a possibility for further expansion, Villegas said, adding the second plant will come up in 18 months.

To a query, he said, "currently, localisation of components is 72 per cent. Our target is to localise 100 per cent of the bikes in the next 12-15 months. We are enhancing capacity with new models and new capacity engines."

The company has sold 10,000 motorcycles in the country over the past 10 months and it has set a target to sell another 10,000 units more by December end and to sell a total of 28,000 units by March 2018, he added.
"The Western and Southern markets are important for us with 60 per cent of sales coming in from these regions," Villegas said.
He said they are already exporting bikes to Nepal, Bhutan and soon it will be exported Bangladesh from the Kashipur facility and "we will start exporting to Europe from March-April next year.