Greaves Cotton plans to expand construction equipment, diesel engine range

Chennai, April 27 (IANS) Expanding itse construction equipment product range with a technical tie-up with a Korean company and looking at different four-wheeler makers to power their vehicles with its diesel engines are some of the strategies that Greaves Cotton Ltd is now looking at, said a top company official Friday.

The multi-product company is also looking at newer applications for its diesel engines, and increasing localisation of its agricultural equipment.

"We have signed a technical tie-up agreement with Samil of (South) Korea to make construction equipments like boom pumps, stationary concrete pumps and others. It will take sometime for the company to roll out the new products for which the agreement with the Korean company has been signed," managing director and CEO Sunil Pahilajani told IANS here.

He said Greaves Cotton would now be able to offer the market technically superior products and grow this business in a major way competing with majors like Schwing Stetter and others.

Greaves Cotton rolls out construction equipment products like transit mixers, concrete pumps and batching plants out of its Gummidipoondi plant near here.

According to Pahilajani, there is a possibility of the Korean company sourcing the products from the company provided the quality parameters are met.

Meanwhile, Greaves Cotton is expanding its automotive diesel engines capacity to around 500,000 per annum from the current 390,000 units to meet the growing demand from three and four wheeler small commercial vehicle makers (passenger and goods carriers).

"The expansion at Aurangabad and Ranipet plant together involves an outlay of Rs.100 crore," Pahilajani said.

He said the company is now looking at the possibilities of supplying diesel engines for other kinds of vehicles like cars.

"We are exploring that avenue though nothing concrete has emerged. We have the capability to make diesel engines for cars," he added.

Not foreseeing any major problem for the company's diesel engine sales due to the slowing down of three wheeler segment, he said: "The segment is still growing only that the growth rate has come down. We are in three and four wheeler segment and looking at other avenues as well. That is our de-risking strategy."

"Our sales mix of automotive diesel engines will change. This year we expect 20 percent of our diesel engines going in for four wheelers and balance to three wheelers. The sales mix would change in the future and accordingly would our product mix," executive vice president and CFO A.K.Sonthalia told IANS.

In the automotive segment. Greaves Cotton is also present in tractors segment where its industrial engines are finding space.