Wabco India’s assembly plant in Lucknow is expected to start operations by March-end. Wabco, which manufactures air brakes for commercial vehicles, hopes the Lucknow unit will cater to its customer base in the North.

Around 25 per cent of commercial vehicle production happens in the North, so it makes sense to have a unit there, according to P. Kanniappan, Whole-time Director, Wabco India.

Clients in North

Currently, Wabco India serves clients in the North through its Chennai facilities (at Ambattur and Mahindra World City).

The Lucknow facility, located on 10 acres, will cater to Swaraj Mazda, Tata Motors (Lucknow unit) and Ashok Leyland, which has a facility in Pantnagar. Around Rs 20 crore has been invested in this plant, construction of which started a year ago.

The project is on track, despite the slump in the commercial vehicle (CV) industry, said Kanniappan. “There has been a major drop in volumes and demand. One cannot do much about this but we have to ramp up for the future.”

Kanniappan expects the CV industry to start picking up from September.

Wabco India also supplies electronically controlled air braking systems to high-end cars. This is a small business and commercial vehicles will continue to be the staple, said Kanniappan.

Export potential

While the domestic market is dull, exports are showing some stability, he said. Wabco India supplies to its plants worldwide and to customers such as Volvo and Renault. In September, it began exporting from a dedicated export unit at Mahindra World City.

Wabco India is a fully-owned subsidiary of Belgium-based Wabco Holdings, after the parent acquired the TVS group’s stake in the Wabco-TVS joint venture in 2009. Even after the two parted ways, the company was allowed to use the ‘TVS’ name till 2011.

swetha.kannan@thehindu.co.in

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