Africa Geared Up For Sonalika Group Offer

By By: Vicky.in

Published: Friday, March 18, 2011, 14:22 [IST]

The tractor maker from India, Sonalika Group is gearing up to erect two assembly lines in South Africa in a bid to boost its revenue by double. The process will involve an investment of Rs800 crore and will be complete in three years tenure. The company is engaged in farm equipment business with the ally of International Tractors Ltd and the move for Europe market may be effected with the JV or support from local firm, it is learnt. The President of ITL said there could be initial installation of regional assembly hubs in East Africa and South Africa.

The company is presently searching for ideal countries and locations to have local segments and the process will be over in another three months, he added. The probable countries comprise Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia for these two assembly facilities.

Once these facilities start the production the set up capacity will be 2000 annual units on single shift basis and this will be upgraded on demand. The upgrading will be either by means of the second shift or one more assembly line. As of now, there are three assembly lines for Sonalika each in Nigeria, Cameroon and Egypt. The company is keen on this matter and the final decision will be arrived in another three months, he said, since the target to reach the shores of Europe is this year. On the other side, the homegrown firm"s move is to enter into Argentina to make it the regional hub for the Latin America. He said the company is currently engaged in operations in the lands of Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Chile through exports from Argentina.

The current revenue picture for the company is Rs400 crore from export for this FY which is to be doubled in another three years.