The Hindu Business Line : Timex shifts part of production to Himachal

TIME TO BOWL OVER: Australian cricketer, Brett Lee with Mr Kapil Kapoor, MD & Regional Director, South Pacific and India, Timex at a meet in the Capital on Tuesday. — Kamal Narang

New Delhi , May 4

TIMEX Watches Ltd has decided to shift part of its production to a new assembly facility that the company has set up in Parwanoo, Himachal Pradesh. At present, the company has manufacturing operations at Noida.

According to Mr Kapil Kapoor, Regional Director (South Pacific & India), Timex, the unit at Parwanoo would be used to make high-end watches and the decision to shift was prompted by the excise concessions that are available in the region.

At present, the excise duty applicable is 8 per cent for watches priced below Rs 500 and 16 per cent for over Rs 500. However, manufacturing units located at Parwanoo enjoy a 10-year excise holiday.

"The payback period from the new unit would be less than a year. We have invested about half-a-million dollars in the unit, which has a capacity of 750,000 units per annum," Mr V.D. Wadhwa, Vice-President - Sales and Marketing, Timex Watches Ltd told Business Line.

Incidentally, Timex's major component supplier Kamla Dials has its unit in Parwanoo.

The shift is part of Timex's strategy to reduce costs in India. The company is targeting to make operating profits in India this fiscal, with its financial restructuring complete.

Meanwhile, Timex on Tuesday announced the launch of a new Timex 150 Years Watch Collection in the presence of its brand ambassador Australian cricketer Brett Lee. The watches have been priced in the range of Rs 1,995 to Rs 2,595. The company is targeting a 21 per cent increase in its sales in 2004.

Small outsource centre in the offing

Timex is in the process of setting up a small-scale outsourcing centre at its Noida facility this year. The centre would serve as a captive unit for the parent company to outsource services such as software skills, graphic designing, accounting services and even legal services. The centre, which would initially employ about 40 people, is expected to be up in the next 12 months.

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