Panasonic to invest Rs 295 cr in new electrical equipment unit at Sri City

The plant will be the firm's fourth producer of electrical equipment material in the country, and the first in the booming southern market

Panasonic Corporation announced a plan today to expand its manufacturing footprint in India, with a new factory at Sri City Industrial Park in Andhra Pradesh. The new unit, which will be set up at an investment of Rs 294.6 crore by Panasonic Life Solutions India Pvt Ltd, the sales arm of Panasonic Life Solutions Company, will manufacture wiring devices, electrical wire and switchgear. 

The unit will be Panasonic's fourth for manufacturing electrical equipment material in the country. It is slated to start production in 2021.

Stating that the Indian economy has been expanding rapidly in recent years, the company said that with GDP estimated to grow at six per cent a year through 2030, not only big cities but even middle-sized ones are expected to grow in the coming years. 

The demand for electrical equipment such as switches, sockets and switchgears is increasing in sync with the surge in construction of office buildings, condominiums and residences. Panasonic said its decision to set up the new factory was driven largely by the need to respond to the brisk demand, which its existing capacity would not be able to meet.

In India, Panasonic has production bases in Haridwar in the north, and in Daman and Kutch in the west, but no none in the south, which has strong purchasing power and great growth potential. 

The new factory at Sri City, which the company hopes will give it greater access to the southern market, is scheduled to start production of wiring devices in 2021. The unit will add fans, switchgear and electrical wire sequentially. Panasonic plans to expand sales by broadening the product line-up targeted at the middle class, which is expected to grow exponentially in the future.

The new factory will provide jobs to 600 people and will produce 8.6 milliom units a month.