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Chennai Jan. 24 The Finland-based AC drives manufacturer Vacon on Wednesday announced the opening of an office here, which, according to the company's officials, signifies a desire to seize a pie of the growing Indian market for the products.

AC drives are devices fitted onto AC motors to control the speed of the motor. This results in optimising the use of electricity. An AC drive is, therefore, an energy saving device. ABB is the world's leader for the product, followed by a range of companies, including Rockwell, Mitsubishi, Danfoss, Schneider and Emerson.

In 2005, Vacon ranked 10th in market share, with 3.5 per cent of the market. But the company is only into AC drives and no other products.

The Indian market for AC drives has been estimated at Rs 1,200 crore and growing at a rate of 15 per cent.

At a press conference here, Mr Vesa Laisi, President and CEO, Vacon, said that the drives would be found useful anywhere there is a motor that runs on alternate current. He said that half the world's consumption of electricity was from the industry and motors accounted for 60 per cent of the industry's consumption, or, one-third of all the electricity consumed in the world. The market for drives is, therefore, huge, he added. In India, Hi-Rel Electronics has been representing Vacon. One of Vacon's successes was a Rs 13-crore order from Reliance for 270 AC drives connected to a load of over 20 MW. Vacon's customers in India include IPCL, Bombay Dyeing, Dharani Sugars, CPCL, TNPL, HNPL and L&T.

Mr Heikki Hiltunen, Executive Vice-President, Vacon, said the company had a scheme for letting customers pay for the drives over a period of time, from the savings they would make by using the product.

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Finland co Vacon opens office in Chennai

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