Same Deutz-Fahr Group (SDF), one of the leading manufacturers of tractors, agri machineries in the world, is betting big on India. The company, which has been active in India for last seven years or so for its high-end tractors, has decided to make its engine manufacturing facility at Ranipet near Chennai as its global sourcing hub for engines, particularly to the European markets.
Taking advantage of Indian expertise, engineering skill sets and cost-effective production capabilities, the Italian tractor major also decided to make India as the strategic hub for exports too, apart from making it big in the Indian market. Addressing the media at its plant site on Saturday to announce the group?s entry into the low-end segment, i.e., 35 HP segment, Vittorio Carozza, chairman of SDF Group, said, ?India is a strategic market for us. We are not in India to compete with domestic players. Rather, we will create a new market with our high-end, high-quality products. Incidentally, this segment – the above 50 HP – has been growing over 100% in the last two years to 60,000 units a year as against 25,000 units and continue to do well in the years to come.?
According to Francesco Carozza, vice-president of overseas business unit of SDF Group and chairman of SDF India, ?We want to make Ranipet engine plant as the sourcing hub for our global markets. We have decided to close down our Italian engine plant which produces Euro II and Euro III engines and will source the same from our Ranipet plant. We will use our Italian engine plant only for Euro III and above standards,? he said. ?We are exporting 6,000 units of engines from our Ranipet plant and the same will be scaled up to 15,000 units in next three to four years. Similarly, we will export 30% of Indian production to European and Far East markets, apart from African region too.
?We have acquired 14 acres of land adjancent to our existing facility at Ranipet which will be utilised for our future growth prospects, including expanding tractor and engine capacities and we will be investing around euro 5 million over the next two to three years for the same.?
According to Gopi Nambiar, Managing Director, SDF India, ?We have set an ambitious target to sell 10,000 tractors by 2012 as against 2009?s figure of 3,700 units.