WCA March 2020

India Insight

New reels facility GMP Reels India, part of GMP Slovakia, has moved to a new, larger plant in Nashik, Maharashtra. The facility has a manufacturing area of around 3,000m 2 , and is equipped with presses, straightening machines and a paint booth. Two balancing machines are capable of balancing reels at speeds up to 50m per second. GMP Reels India www.gmp-slovakia.com Fundraising plan Wire and cable manufacturer KEI Industries Ltd is to raise financing by selling shares to qualified institutional buyers. “The funds raised will be utilised towards capacity expansion, and debt repayment,” company sources revealed. Founded in 1968 as a partnership firm under the name Krishna Electrical Industries, the company makes a range of cables, house wires and stainless steel wires at its manufacturing facilities in Bhiwadi, Chopanki, Pathredi and Silvassa. It is also involved in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work in the power distribution sector. KEI Industries Ltd www.kei-ind.com Judgement against subsidised copper rods India may impose anti-subsidy duties on continuous cast copper wire rods from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam after a probe concluded that subsidised imports have had a negative impact on domestic producers. The commerce ministry’s investigating division, Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), began its investigation in September 2019 after Hindalco Industries and Vedanta Industries (Sterlite Copper) filed an application on behalf of the domestic industry. The directorate recommended the imposition of definitive countervailing duty (anti-subsidy duty) to be applied for a period of five years, but the final decision will rest with the finance ministry. “The domestic industry has suffered material injury due to subsidisation of the product. The injury has been caused by the subsidised imports of goods originating in, or exported from, these countries,” said the DGTR. The directorate has recommended duties of between 2.47 per cent and 10.27 per cent on the landed value of the product in India. Directorate General of Trade Remedies www.dgtr.gov.in

New India wiring facility GKN Aerospace India has opened a new manufacturing facility in the state of Maharashtra. The site will focus on the assembly of wiring systems for commercial aircraft and engines, including the Airbus A320neo, Boeing 737, 777X and Boeing 787. The Pune facility will operate alongside an existing joint venture in Bangalore, supplying wiring systems to the defence market. GKN Aerospace has invested $10 million in the site and in its equipment. The company expects to recruit 800 new employees within eight years, including a significant number of female operators and engineers, and will provide on-site training for the workforce. John Pritchard, CEO of aerostructures and systems, Europe and Asia, said: “We are really proud to open this facility in Pune. “This is a true demonstration of our enduring partnership with India and of the solid growth of the Indian aerospace industry and of our EWIS [electrical wiring interconnect system] business. “Collaboration with the local authorities and support of the regional government has been vital.” GKN Aerospace www.gkn.com Growing demand sparks new facilities Panasonic Life Solutions India Pvt Ltd will build a new factory to produce wiring devices, electrical wire and switchgear. The factory, in Sri City Industrial Park in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, will be Panasonic’s fourth electrical equipment material production base in the country, and is scheduled to start production in autumn 2021. The Indian economy is expanding dramatically, with continuing population growth, and GDP forecast to grow 6 per cent every year until 2030. Demand for electrical equipment such as switches, sockets and switchgear is growing with the increase in office and housing construction. Panasonic has production bases in Haridwar, in the north, and in Daman and Kutch in the west area, but had no production base in the south. The new factory in Sri City will give the company greater access to this promising growth area. The new factory is scheduled to begin production of wiring devices in 2021, later adding fans, switchgear and electrical wire. Panasonic Life Solutions India Pvt Ltd www.lsin.panasonic.com

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Wire & Cable ASIA – November/December 2016 March/Ap il 2020