L&T and Case of Mauritius have equal equity participation in the joint venture, L&T-Case Equipment Ltd. Case is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Case Corporation.

The new joint venture company will take over the existing manufacturing facilities of L&T at Pithampur, near Indore in Madhya Pradesh as a going concern for approximately Rs 29 crore effective October 1, a statement from L&T said.

L&T managing director & CEO AM Naik, while inaugurating the new joint venture company said: ``This strategic alliance would benefit the customers in India as it will make available to them world class products that would improve their productivity.

Equipment maufactured by the JVC would also be considered for export in due course. The venture has a bright furture as it is bringing together the technolgical prowess of a world leader, Case, Coporation, with superior marketing and product support capability of L&T.''

The Pithampur works manufactures backhoe loaders and vibratory compactors and the joint venture company will continue to make these, the statement said. The JVC would continue to manufacture these products at Pithampur and L&T will continue to market these products and also provide after sales product support, the statement added.

Case Coporation is a leading worlwide designer, manufacturer and distributor of agricultural and construction equipment. It offers a broad array of financial products and services. Case is the world's largest manufacturer of backhoe with more than 20 per cent share worldwide and has manufacutring plants in the US, the UK, France, Germany and Brazil. Headquarterd in Racine, Wiscosin, the US, Case registered revenues totally $6.1 billion in 1998. Case sells its products in 150 countries through a network of approximately 4,900 independent dealers.