Tractor and automobile transmission manufacturer Carraro Group plans to expand its production capacity in India.The euro 668 million (Rs 3,874 crore) Carraro will also use India as a base for its high design development projects."The company will invest euro 15 million (about Rs 85 crore) to expand the capacity of its transmissions manufacturing from 20,000 now to 35,000 in the next coupel of years. Some of the products planned to be manufactured at the expanded facility are being relocated to India from locations elsewhere in the world," Mario Carraro, chairman of Carraro Group, said."We will continue to invest strongly in India, because of the high quality of production, to make India the hub to service the company's markets in the Asia Pacific region," Carraro said, adding that the company considers India a rapidly growing market.Carraro India was started in 1999 as a joint venture between Carraro and Escorts of Rajan Nanda Group. The company manufactures axles and drivelines for tractor and farm equipment and transmissions for industrial applications. The Carraro Group has since taken over the Nanda's stake in the company and runs the operation as its Indian arm. The group has also set up Turbo Gears India that manufactures gears for diverse applications. About 70% of the group's production in the two Indian units is exported to global customers like Deere & Company, USA and Caterpillar. The company is also an OEM supplier to many Indian tractor manufacturers including Mahindra & Mahindra, TAFE, New Holland and Escorts.Earlier in the day, the group's engineering design unit Carraro Engineering Technologies India was inaugurated. This global design centre, set up at an investment of about Rs 6 crore, is meant for R&D of high-end futuristic products for the world market.
