Vijayjot Plans Seats Unit Near Calcutta For Ambassodors

The Samsons-owned Vijayjot Seats, one of the countrys leading automobile seating systems and interiors company, is planning to set up a seat-manufacturing facility adjacent to the Hindustan Motors assembly plant at Uttarpara near Calcutta.

The company is currently awaiting for the state governments approval to set up the unit, which will manufacture and supply polyurethane seats with various options such as bucket seats, complete bench seats and split bench seats for the Ambassador model of Hindustan Motors.

A decision to this effect has been taken following Hindustan Motors on-going Rs 75-crore modernisation plan at its Uttarpara unit.

Vijayjot Seats at present supplies seats to the Ambassador and the Contessa models of the C K Birla-controlled Hindustan Motors from its existing Baroda plant in Gujarat. With technical assistance from a leading Japanese company, Namba Press, it will also supply seats for the Lancer model, the latest product of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, which will be produced by Hindustan Motors in technical collaboration with the Japanese auto major.

 

To begin with, the company is planning to manufacture 10,000 seats and proposes to raise the quantum of production depending on the operating environment in the state.

The management hopes to achieve a turnover of Rs 10 crore in the first year of its operation. Once substantial volumes are achieved, the company also plans to set up manufacturing facilities for polyurethane as well as metal frames and trims. According to industry sources, the government should give Vijayjot Seats the licence to set up the facility at the earliest as it will encourage more automotive component manufacturers to set up ancillary units in the state.

It is felt that West Bengal should follow the example of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka which are actively developing their states as destinations for automotive components manufacturers by giving liberal incentives and tax breaks.

Uttarpara could become one such hub for such manufacturers if the government promotes more such ventures actively in the near future, analysts said.

On the other hand, Hindustan Motors has been assiduously pursuing vendors to set up facilities near the Uttarpara unit in order to streamline logistics and reduce costs.

Its single-handed efforts appears to have borne results with the decision of Vijayjot Seats to come into West Bengal.