Cummins India - Expansion Of Manufacturing Operations

Cummins India Ltd has informed that the Company inaugurated its expansion manufacturing facility at its Kothrud Plant in Pune on March 17, 2008.

This expanded facility has commenced commercial production of mechanical and electronic KV series engines ranging from 750 HP to 2250 HP to meet the demands of power generation, marine, construction, mining and locomotive applications and also specialize in assembling, testing and up-fit of high horsepower engines as per customer requirements.

Sintex Industries Mulls Rs 1800cr Investment For Expansion

Gujarat-based Sintex Industries Ltd mulls investment about Rs 1,800 crore over the next three years for expansion of its various units. The company which acquired Zeppelin Mobile System India in 2005 has also chalked out plans to set up two greenfield projects in Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh for manufacturing telecom shelters, which are installed at the base of telecom towers. Sintex is also planning to enhance the capacity of its over 75-year-old textile division, Bharat Vijay Mills, for an estimated investment of Rs 130-180 crore.

The company is also planning to enter high-end women shirting and upholstery and has introduced over 3,000 designs in Europe. In 2006-07, the textile division accounted for Rs 303 crore of the total Rs 1,100 crore. This share of 28 per cent is likely to come down to 20 per cent this year as the growth in textile year-on-year has been 4-5 per cent as compared with the company''s monolithic and pre-fabricated business where the growth is about 40-50 per cent. The textile division produces cotton structured dyed yarn fabric for high-end clients like Armani. The company has no plans to enter into branded products as of now, Patel said. It is sourcing designs for textile business from the UK and Italy and its entire production would be pre-sold. The company has set its eyes on emerging as a $3-billion company by 2012.

ICICI Prudential Plans Expansion In Tier B And C Cities

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd. has started to look beyond the metros and focus on tier B and C cities to expand its presence, in general, and deepen the gains from bancassurance arrangements, in particular. In an interaction with this correspondent, Tarun Chugh, Chief, Group, Bancassurance & Alliances, said tier B and C cities were grossly under penetrated territories vis-a-vis life insurance. ICICI Prudential was pushing financial product distribution companies hard to open offices in those cities. It was also going in for alliances with regional rural banks, co-operative banks and the like to beef up its bancassurance business. So far, the company had bancassurance tie-ups with 22 institutions. Around 37 per cent of the premium income for ICICI Prudential came from bancassurance route. The company wrote a premium income of around Rs.4,300 in 2006-07. Bancassurance was a tedious model unlike the agency route, where an insurance company controlled everything. The strength of a partner, requirements of a bank client and the level of relationship all mattered in a bancassurance model.