One of the manufacturing units would come up in Karnataka itself where the company already has two units (Bangalore and Hosur) while the other is likely to be somewhere in the northern parts of the country. One unit would exclusively cater to the export market while the other would take care of retail and OEM segment. The sources said the company was in the process of finalising the locations and by end 2000 when the units were expected to be operational. Currently, Hirsch's two existing facilities together manufacture three million straps a year. With the new units in place, the production would go up to six million units.

Hirsch is planning to introduce a series of metal watch bracelets (both gents and ladies) in India manufactured by its recently acquired US-based bracelet major Speidel by the third quarter of year 2000. In India, Hirsch's clients primarily include Titan Industries, Timex Watches and a large number of OEMs. In India, Hirsch has over 1000 dealers and the number would be increased by 30 per cent during the year.