"We have received necessary approvals from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB)," Lapp Asia Singapore director Volker Nies said.

According to him, the cable production unit in Karnataka, for which the company has acquired around 10 acres of land, is likely to go on stream shortly. The project cost will be funded internally. At present the group, which was set up in 1957, has 32 subsidiaries worldwide with more than 1,800 employees.

Lapp Kabel India plans to increase the number of distributors in the country in a phased manner from the present 36. The company has also decided to unveil its products in all the four main regions of the country and will be appointing four managers to look after thesales and marketing operations in each region. Initially Lapp Kabel will open regional sales offices in New Delhi and Mumbai, in addition to a warehouse in Bangalore. However, the corporate office, which houses the technical and administrative team of the company, will be located close to its manufacturing facility at Jiggani due to strategic reasons. Lapp Kabel will source PVC, one of the raw materials for producing cables, from Indian players, he added.