Japanese special purpose vehicle manufacturer Kyokuto Kaihaitsu Kogyo Co. Ltd and The Mithra Group started production at their greenfield plant located about 30 km from Vijayawada.

The companies had formed a venture in February 2010 and have begun to produce truck mixers and tipper truck bodies.

The facility set up on a 15-acre site at Veerapanenigudem has initial production capacity of 500 truck mixers and 1,000 tipper trucks.

Kyokuto through this venture seeks to expand its product line in the special purpose vehicle spanning construction, mining and other infrastructure projects.

Commenting on the commencement of commercial production, Maganti Subrahmanyam, Chairman, The Mithra Group, said, “This venture will support the needs of construction and infrastructure projects by introducing superior technology and products.“

Takaaki Fudetani, President and CEO Kyokuto, said, ”We expect to make a significant contribution to the construction and infrastructure sectors by introducing technologies developed by us over half a century.”

The market for truck mixers is around 4,500 units and 6 cubic meters constitute 90 per cent of this segment. The truck mixer market is expected to double and reach 9,000 units by 2016.

The venture plans to introduce higher capacity variants in India.

The tipper truck industry of about 55,000 units is projected to grow to over 90,000 units by 2015.

While starting with an output of 400 units in next three months, the venture is seeking to garner sales of 3,000 units by 2015.

Kyokuto is a diversified Japanese enterprise with three businesses, including special vehicles, environment management related vehicles and solutions and parking infrastructure.

The venture has 51 per cent stake by Japanese company.

The venture expects to supply to leading manufacturers such as Ashok Leyland, Volvo, Diamler and Scania among others.

>rishikumar.vundi@thehindu.co.in

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