The Hindu Business Line : Foseco India eyes 10 pc of global turnover pie

PARTNERING with customers to reduce process costs, involving its employees through the Kaizen method and achieving a growth rate higher than industry standards is what Foseco India Ltd is focusing on for the current calendar year.

Talking to Business Line, Mr Ram Savoor, Chairman, and Mr David Hughes, Managing Director, Foseco India, said the solutions partner marketing strategy, which was rolled out a year ago, has now started showing results. The plan has been rolled out across its 250 direct customers and its entire dealer network.

"The idea is to partner with customers and showcase to them the different processes that could be utilised to reduce their cost of the product," Mr Savoor said.

The Kaizen method was launched this calendar year to take forward its continuous improvement programme involving its employees.

Mr Hughes said the company had expanded capacity at its Pondicherry plant during the last calendar year by 100 per cent with an investment of nearly Rs 1 crore.

Capacity utilisation at the plant at present has been close to 60 per cent. At Sanaswadi in Pune, whose expansion was carried out in 1999-2000, the capacity utilisation has been close to 40 per cent, he said. The Sanaswadi plant catered to the markets of Japan, China, ASEAN countries and West Asia. Exports grew to Rs 26.44 crore for the year ended December 2003 from Rs 19.45 crore for December 2002. Foseco India currently contributed nearly 7 per cent to the company's global turnover; Mr Hughes said it was targeting 10 per cent.

The Chairman, Mr Ram, said trading environment improved in2003. Passenger car and commercial vehicle volumes continued to grow while the decline in the depressed agricultural equipment sector had been stemmed. Production in other key market segments served by the company (steel valves, pumps and railway castings) remained at its 2002 level. He said sales of products and services for the year ended December 2003 touched Rs 86.5 crore against Rs 78.5 crore for the year ended December 2002 — an increase of 10.2 per cent. Profit before taxation increased 52 per cent to touch Rs 17.91 crore (Rs 11.75 crore). The company has declared a final dividend of 20 per cent for the year ended December 2003bringing the total dividend to 145 per cent, Mr Ram said.