Amara Raja Batteries has hinted that it is considering setting up a plant either in the North or the West.
It is at an advanced stage of commissioning a 6 million units a year four-wheeler battery plant and another plant by December 2015.
Ramachandra Galla, Chairman, said: “Though no decisions have been taken as yet on the new plant, it would be necessary to cater to the large market out there and also the original equipment manufacturers.”
Speaking on the sidelines of a CII event here, Galla said their 6-million-units per annum battery plant, at an investment of ₹500 crore, is set for commissioning by early January and would be fully operational before the financial year end, taking the capacity of four-wheeler batteries from 6 million to 12 million. Another plant, which is being set up with an outlay of ₹500 crore, would be ready by December 2015.
Galla said the company business had been growing at about 15-20 per cent in the first two quarters and he hoped that it would be able to achieve similar growth in the second half. He said exports account for about 15-17 per cent of the overall business. But with fresh capacity coming up, the company is keen to expand export volumes to South-East Asia, West Asia and the African markets.
Solar biz When asked about the company’s entry into solar energy segment, Galla said that Amara Raja Power Systems, a group entity, which is into power control systems, had begun to take up pilot projects and is looking at a bigger role in the emerging sector.
“This Group company is working on solar projects at the company’s manufacturing site and sees the solar energy segment as a new business opportunity,” he said.