Pune based components joint venture Plastic Omnium Varroc is bullish about the Indian automobile market as global automakers set up more manufacturing plants in India and it plans to add just-in-time facilities in adjacent supplier parks.
The supplier is a joint venture between Plastic Omnium Auto Exterior in France and Varroc Polymers in India that produces thermoplastic and thermoset exterior parts such as bumpers, fenders, tailgates and front end modules at its Chaken (Pune) facility in a growing ‘auto hub’ here.
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The JV is working on several car projects with Indian automakers.
“We are supplying plastic components for GM’s Beat and also working on forthcoming models from Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and VW,” said chief technical officer Bertrand Chaize during the Plastimotive 2011 event in Pune.
“The JV is working on a new, yet to be named M&M MUV [multipurpose utility vehicle, a category for which several international automakers including Toyota have developed models specially for India – ed].
The JV already supplies plastic parts for M&M’s current Gio and Maximo, noted chief marketing officer BP Shiv.
The 60-40 JV (the French partner is the majority stake holder) was signed in 2008 and a plant to European standard begun in 2009 and opened in 2010 at Chaken to cater for global OEM setting up in India.
“We have started manufacturing fenders from July 2010 and soon after began production of tailgates and composite flooring for the OEMs,” Chaize said.
Plastic Omnium has a JV with an OEM in North India manufacturing plastic fuel tanks for its upcoming models and another 100% independent operation down south at Ranipet also making plastic fuel tanks (currently supplying Toyota) to cater to the auto hub in the south and elsewhere in India.
The company is talking with other OEMs and will not hesitate to open more just-in-time facilities in other important hubs in northern and southern India.
“We are looking for new projects and hope they will come through,” Chaize said.
“Some more OEMs will announce their India plans in the next two to three months and we are already in touch with them. Once they announce their plans, we’ll react accordingly,” said Shiv.
Plastic Omnium has 96 plants in 27 countries and 14 R&D centres worldwide. Its Indian partner has 20 domestic and international production facilities and three R&D centres.
