Hitachi’s Gujarat plant gutted; no casualties reported

Hitachi Home and Life Solutions (India) Ltd’s air-conditioner plant at Kadi in Mehsana district of Gujarat was gutted on Wednesday night. The company said it plans to resume production in about eight months, before the next summer season.

No casualties were reported so far in the incident.

Mr Amit Doshi, Executive Director, told

Business Line on Thursday evening that the company, having access to its 10 manufacturingfacilities across the world, would maintain supplies in the Indian market. “The current summer season has ended. By the next season, weare likely to resume production. We had put up the existing unit in seven-and-half months and hope to restore it in a like period.”

He, however, said the company is yet to assess the extent of losses and ascertain the cause of the fire. He also did not say anything about the kind of total investments the company had made so far in the Kadi plant.

According to reports from Mehsana, nearly 70 km from Ahmedabad, most parts of the plant, spread over nearly 24,000 sq m, were gutted in the huge inferno. “Except metal structures, the whole plant was almost gutted,” said Mr M.F. Dastoor, Chief Fire Officer,said.

The Kadi plant had a capacity to manufacture three lakh air-conditioners a year at two units. The second unit, with 80 per cent of this capacity, has been completely destroyed. The company had invested Rs 50 crore in expansion of the unit only last year.

Hitachi India now plans to get increased supplies from its first unit at Kadi and also from its Jammu plant which has a capacity of one lakhunits.The company was facing some labour unrest from a section of employees who wanted better wages. Nearly 800 employees work in the plant, the reports said.The plant was started in 1991 and it launched the Hitachi air-conditioners in India in 1999.

On Thursday, Hitachi India’s share price closed 1.66 per cent down at Rs 124.60 on the BSE.