Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 22: Godrej Appliances, one of the largest players in the home appliances segment is investing Rs 200 crore in the expansion of its production capacity at its Shirwal manufacturing plant.
This latest announcement takes the tally of Godrej Appliances’ investment in capacity expansion to Rs 400 crore. Last year, Godrej Appliances began work at its Mohali plant, with an investment of Rs 200 crore.
To be operational by the end of 2019, the new factory shed will sprawl over an area of 1.6 lakh sq. feet and augment production capacity of its premium products including approximately 3 lakh high end frost free refrigerators, 3 lakh fully automatic washing machines, 1 lakh power efficient chest freezers and half-a-lakh medical refrigerators with patented Surechill technology. This will take Godrej Appliances’ total production capacity, both at its Shirwal and Mohali plant, to approximately 46 lakh units annually and generate additional employment for 400 people.
The latest investment is a strategic manoeuvre towards re-invention of the brand by shifting its focus from being a mass appeal brand towards premiumization. With this expansion, Godrej Appliances will be the first in India to manufacture high-end refrigerators in India. Dedicated assembly lines will be laid out for various categories as well as a technologically advanced ‘multi-category’ manufacturing line which could be used to manufacture different product categories on the same line.
Kamal Nandi, Business Head & EVP, Godrej Appliances said, “Through this expansion, we aim to take brand Godrej to even greater heights while showcasing the strength of Indian design and manufacturing expertise at its best. With construction expected to commence by the end of the month, the proposed expansion once complete will allow us to meet the increasing demand of premium products from Indian customers and expand our footprint to an even larger area.”