New Delhi: Voltas, a Tata group company, is taking steps to enhance its production capabilities to meet the increasing demand by commencing the construction of a new Rs 500-crore room AC manufacturing plant in Tamil Nadu. The forthcoming factory, situated in Madharapakkam within the Thiruvallur district, will span 150 acres. Over the next few years, Voltas plans to invest more than Rs 500 crore in room AC manufacturing.
The ceremony for the project’s groundbreaking, known as bhoomi pujan, was conducted by the company’s leadership team, including Noel Tata, the chairman of Voltas, and Pradeep Bakshi, the MD & CEO. This new facility will ensure that Voltas products remain competitive on a global scale and serve as an expansion of the existing plant in Pantnagar.
Pradeep Bakshi, the MD & CEO of Voltas, expressed, “This new facility will play a significant role in increasing our capacity to meet the growing consumer demand across India and will aid in our expansion, particularly in South India.”
Expected to be fully operational within the current fiscal year, this facility will be Voltas’ fifth manufacturing plant, joining the ranks of Pantnagar, Waghodia, and Sanand. The company anticipates that this plant will generate employment opportunities for approximately 1,500 individuals, benefiting the local communities in and around its vicinity.
In the fourth quarter of FY23, Voltas’ product business demonstrated favorable performance, with growth observed across all product categories despite heavy rains and subdued consumer sentiments towards discretionary spending. The company’s consolidated total income for the quarter reached Rs 3,003 crore, marking an 11% YoY growth compared to Rs 2,704 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. The Profit After Tax (PAT) amounted to Rs 143 crore.
During an earnings call, the company’s management revealed that their upcoming capital expenditure (capex) is projected to range between Rs 350 crore and Rs 500 crore. Voltas aims to focus primarily on capacity expansion and backward integration. With this capex, the company plans to nearly double its AC production capacity to two million units while scaling up commercial refrigerator production to 500,000 units from 250,000 units.