It was in the year 2010 that the Government de-reserved lighting fixtures from the small-scale industries’ (SSI) list. Havells India, which was then making ceiling fans, lights, cables and CFL lamps, grabbed the opportunity.
“We were the only company to have taken advantage of de-reservation. Since we had taken over European company Sylvania in 2007, we had access to the best technology in lamp sources, with four plants in Europe and two in Latin America,” Anil Gupta, Joint Managing Director, Havells India, told a media team visiting the plant.
Two years down the line, Havells has unveiled “India’s first large-scale state-of-the-art lighting fixture plant” in Neemrana, Rajasthan.
The $1.3-billion company, which invested Rs 100 crore in setting up the plant, is targeting a revenue of Rs 500 crore in five years, and Rs 150 crore in the first year. The plant started commercial production about a month back.
The modern plant, spread over 2,00,000 square feet, has installed automated machines imported from Germany, Japan and Italy, including a robotised box-bending machine, that assures absolute product accuracy. To reduce exposure of workers to hazardous substances, the company said it has imported an eco-friendly automated powder coating paint shop from Switzerland. The company said the plant was ‘zero-discharge’ and recycles the water used. Havells, which has Philips, Crompton and Bajaj as its rivals in India, said revenues from India accounted for about 60 per cent of its Rs 7,000-crore turnover.
On its future plans, the company said it would look at solar water heaters for domestic use in the near future and also LEDs.
“Until now, the Indian consumer was heavily dependent in Chinese imports as the sector was restricted to SSIs. We plan to cater to both the consumer and industrial lighting segment, both in India and abroad,” the company said.
Acquisitions
As regards acquisitions, Gupta said, “We will think about it only if there is a new product category or a new geography, say, China.”
Havells has 14 manufacturing plants in India, including Haridwar, Baddi, Noida, Faridabad, Alwar, and six plants across Europe, Latin America and Africa. It owns brands such as Crabtree, Sylvania and Concord.
(The visit to Neemrana was arranged by Havells India)
aditi.n@thehindu.co.in