Bosch And Siemens To Set Up Rs 150cr Production Facility

Siemens AG's wholly owned subsidiary Bosch and Siemens Home Applicances Pvt Ltd (BSH) plans to set up a manufacturing unit in western India with an investment of approximately over Rs 150 crore.

"BSH has decided to enter the middle-class segment with introduction of a front-loading washing machine within a range of Rs 20,000 by next month," BSH India managing director Vipul Raval said.

Siemens AG has decided on a major thrust in its home-appliances business in India and has proposed investments of around DM 140 million for expansion. The company plans to introduce its entire international range of home appliances in the country and make it a hub for the Saarc region.

 

The investments will be routed through BSH,while Siemens will be expanding its base in the country by introducing washing machines in the mid segment of the market. With market shares of more than 50 per cent and 60 per cent in the premium segment in Mumbai and Chennai, the company will be doubling its production for the mass segment, which forms 40 per cent of the washing-machines market.

Raval said the company will be investing DM 100 million in refrigerators and between DM 30 million and 40 million for washing machines. Executive vice-president, international sales and member of the board of management, Hans Peter Haase, said they had acquired land to set up a unit in the country but the products have not been decided.

The company had entered the high-end niche market in India, which forms 13 per cent of the market, with an imported fully-automatic washing machine, Siemens WM 1000. This was followed by other home-appliances models such as Siemens WD 1000 Washer Dryer, the Siemens Ducted Air Tumble WT 21 and the first Digital Display frost free refrigerator. The strategy, company officials said, was to enter and consolidate the high end of the market and then enter other segments.

BSH Home Appliances will be looking to expand its operations in the northern region of the country by next year. Raval said that this region was not being concentrated upon till now owing to problems in building an after-service network.

The other reason is that there is a huge market for 165-litre refrigerators whereas BSH produces the 335, 370 and the 400 litres models.