Finnish industrial crane maker Konecranes is setting up a 1,000 units a year plant at Jejuri (near Pune) after acquiring erstwhile domestic partner, Mumbai-based WMI Cranes.
This facility will more than double Konecranes' capacity from 400 units a year.
The renamed company, WMI Konecranes India, will invest €15 million into the plant, which will be operational by late-2012. In 2010, the size of the cranes market was at around 10,000 units, which is expected to grow to 20,000 units by 2013.
“With the demand expected to double by 2013, India needs factories and investment for cranes. All our facilities will now be concentrated in one location – Jejuri,” said Mr Sami Korpela, Country Manager, Konecranes India, adding that the pricing will be on a par with domestic players.
WMI Konecranes is also planning to start a research facility in Pune. It has 100 people at its engineering centre, which designs cranes for project-specific applications. The company makes large electrical overhead travelling cranes from 250 kg to over 1,000 tonnes.
“We will concentrate on port equipment. We already have an order from Vizag and enquiries from others. We're also making a 1,000-tonne crane for Rs 300 crore,” Mr Gopal Vazirani, non-executive Chairman, said.
The company will focus on long-time service contracts with users in industries such as steel, power and automotive, where it will cover products of other competitors. Globally, service accounts for 40 per cent of its global business.
“In India service account for 10 per cent of the business, but it will definitely grow. We will offer a one-service contract to minimise downtime in factories, we want to offer preventive maintenance for all cranes. Globally, 75 per cent of cranes under service contract are of competing companies,” Mr Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO, Konecranes Plc said.
With plans for high localisation to keep costs low, the plant at Jejuri will now be used for machining of components. The company has facilities in Sanaswadi, near Pune, and Bhandup, Maharashtra, as well. It also plans to export to West Asia, South-East Asia and Africa
roudra.b@thehindu.co.in