Buoyed by the demand for air-conditioners in the country, and an estimated sharp growth in demand in coming years, consumer durables maker Godrej & Boyce Co Ltd is planning to set up an additional production line in the next fiscal to make air-conditioners at its existing facility at Mohali in Punjab.
Currently, the company makes refrigerators and washing machines at the Punjab unit.
"The overall consumer durables industry is likely to grow by 15-18 per cent this year. Godrej expects 30 per cent growth this year mainly driven by AC sales. Therefore, next year we will require additional production line for AC manufacturing at our Pubjab unit," said Kamal Nandi, business head & executive vice president, Godrej Appliances.
Nandi, however did not share the exact capex required for the expansion.
Godrej had registered a turnover of Rs 3,000 crore in 2015-16, which is likely to get closer to Rs 4,000 crore by the end of the current fiscal. Currently, the refrigerator segment holds about 60 per cent share in the total turnover, while washing machines segment has 15-16 per cent share.
"Our market share in AC segment will grow from 20 per cent at present to about 25-26 per cent next year. And that of refrigerators will come down. Currently, we have an installed capacity for 300,000 AC units per annum at our Shirwal plant near Pune," he said.
Nandi mentioned that the company will have more products in the five-star-plus category. "We have portfolio expansion plans in place. In the AC category, inverter AC segment holds 10 per cent share in the overall AC market, and it is growing at a robust 40 per cent rate," he said.
"Currently, Godrej is fourth largest player in this segment after the American and Korean brands. We are the first Indian company to be among the top five players in appliance business and we are aiming to be among top 3 in the next 2-3 years," Nandi added.