Bathroom-fittings giant eyes south

The $5.5 billion privately-held US-based Kohler Co, makers of bathroom fittings, is expanding its retail network in Bangalore. It entered India in May 2006. The firm is also into power systems, furniture and premium golf courses.

The firm is now expanding its operations across south India. It is the only part of the country that has "three metros to its credit and all the three are among the fastest-growing cities," said Laura E Kohler, Senior Vice President (HR).

Kohler has so far been supplying through imports its products to many of the construction majors with big projects in Bangalore like Mantri Developers, Prestige Developers, Adarsh Developers and Total Environment.

The products which are "aspirational in nature" are at the top-end of the spectrum in India.

It is now setting up a manufacturing unit in Bharuch in Gujarat by investing $200 million on the wholly-owned facility. The plant is expected to be ready by 2009 and will manufacture vitreous China products.

Kohler has 35,000-odd employees across the world and over half of them are in the US. It has the Asia, Pacific as the focus area for its growth as the region has been seeing an year-on-year growth of 30-50 per cent over last few years.

Kohler Co. was established in the US in the 1873 by the great grand father of Laura Kohler. The firm has to its credit the reputation of having invented the bath tub. The first tub was bartered for 14 chickens and one cow.

Kohler is on a recruitment spree in India and is set to expand its strength from 300 presently, to about 1,000 by the end of 2008. The firm, which claims to have a global engagement of its employees, has three universities to train its employees in the US, China and the UK.

Kohler has 11 plants in the APAC region.