Blue Star, an air conditioning and commercial refrigeration company, plans to set up two new facilities to expand its manufacturing capacity.
Addressing media persons at the launch of new Blue Star air-conditioners, B Thiagarajan, Executive Director and President – AC&R Products Business, said the new facilities, one in Jammu and the other at Sri City, near Tada, about 60 km to the North of Chennai, will increase the production of room ACs by around 5 lakh units. The company now has a capacity of 4 lakh units. .
“As significant percentage of sales come from the southern region, the unit at Sri City will help us bring down transportation cost that account for about 7 per cent,” Thiagarajan said. The two facilities planned at a cost ₹150-175 crore will be operational by 2017.
The company is collaborating with academic institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology – Madras, to improve efficiency of appliances and develop solar-powered ACs. The partnership will also look into making indigenous components for production.
CP Mukundan Menon, Executive Vice-President – AC&R Product Sales Group, said Blue Star will strengthen its online presence and will tie-up with e-commerce players directly.
To further promote the brand, Blue Star platinum stores that will showcase the company’s products and services will be launched in New Delhi this year. There are plans to open similar stores in Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Kolkata at the investment of ₹1 crore each.