Daikin mulls setting up third manufacturing plant in India

HYDERABAD: Keeping in view of the increasing demand, Japanese air conditioner maker Daikin has plans for setting up its third manufacturing plant in India and is evaluating various locations and options, a top company official said on Wednesday.

The company is in talks with Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments in this regard, however, any decision on setting up the third manufacturing unit is likely to be taken only after March 2018, Daikin Airconditioning India Managing Director Kanwal Jeet Jawa said here.

"We have one manufacturing facility at Neemrana in Rajasthan. Already we have decided to put up a second factory also at Neemrana.. about 40 acre with an investment of Rs 600 crore plus. The second unit will be operational from September this year," Jawa said.

"With the second plant coming up, the production capacity will go up to 12 lakh room air-conditioners a year, from the present five lakh units," he said.

"Current capacity will not be sufficient after 2018.

So at that time we will take a call to set up it (third factory) either in Maharashtra or AP or Telangana," Jawa said.

Daikin Airconditioning India had a turnover of Rs 2,750 crore in last fiscal. It is expecting to clock a turnover of Rs 3,500 crore in current financial year.

The company, which enjoys over 60 per cent market share in variable refrigerant volumes (VRVS) is targeting to increase its market share from 15 per cent to 18 per cent in room air-conditioning segment. "We plan to have 10,000 dealers by 2020 up from 4,000 dealers currently," Jawa added.