Hyundai arm to step up localisation

‘From 45 per cent now, we will increase it to 60 per cent by 2015’

Hyundai Construction Equipment India (HCEI) , a subsidiary of Hyundai Heavy Industries, is planning to increase the indigenisation at its Chakan unit near Pune.

“From 45 per cent now, we will increase indigenisation to 60 per cent by 2015,” said Dheeraj Panda, Head Marketing and Key Account Management, HCEI. The unit now makes excavators up to 34 tonne capacity and assembles imported units of higher capacity.

Targeting mainly the road construction and quarrying segment, the company has been able to beat the downturn in the Indian mining industry to clock a 20 per cent growth in sales, Mr Panda said, adding that capacity utilisation was about 60 per cent.

“We have a capacity of 5000 units which is scalable up to 10000,” he said.

Besides its manufacturing facility, the company also has an assembly and fabrication line at Chakan.The unit services the Sri Lankan market too, Mr. Panda said, adding that efforts were now on to appoint a dealer in Bangladesh.

Mr Panda, who was here in connection with the International Mining and Machinery Exhibition said that by next year the company hoped to improve by a notch. Its current position is third in its segment.