Escorts to cut frills to turn more lean, profitable
Escorts, an engineering conglomerate with interests in agri-machinery, construction & material handling, railway equipment and auto components, is undertaking a slew of measures to become more lean and profitable. It is planning to rationalise its workforce to control costs, modify its product mix, find synergies in back-end activities including raw material sourcing, improve production efficiencies and enhance technology and brand tie-ups globally.
Last year, Escorts decided to merge three group companies — Escorts Construction Equipment, Escorts Finance & Investments and Escotrac Finance Investments & Leasing — with itself. The intent was to streamline the group structure and integrate various businesses. As part of the streamlining process, areas like human resource, raw material sourcing and IT support were taken up on a priority basis. “Post the merger, Escorts has been on an aggressive cost cutting mode,” Nikhil Nanda, joint managing director, Escorts, told FE. “We have been identifying areas of synergies and rationalising processes.” Escorts spent R419.78 crore on its workforce in the year ended September, 2012.
The company is also aiming to save cost and create space for newer businesses by releasing operational space at its four plants in Faridabad, Haryana.
“The plan is to vacate one-third of our operational space at our four production sites in Faridabad to save cost and at the same time enhance production efficiencies,” said Nanda. Moreover, the group plans to utilise the released space for other alternative business opportunities in the farm and crop solutions business. Currently, Escorts has a production capacity of 95,000 units at its
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