Haier India buys Daewoo Anchor

As a part of its localisation strategy, the $13.9 billion Chinese consumer durables major, Haier's Indian operations today announced the acquisition of Daewoo Anchor Electronics in India.

Daewoo Anchor's facility, spread over 40 acres in Ranjangaon, Pune, will give Haier access to a manufacturing capability of refrigerators, colour televisions and washing machines. Haier plans to upgrade the new facility and create a research and development facility for its refrigerator range.

The capacity of the facility is pegged at 35,000 units and Haier will begin operating in two shifts. Haier initially plans to manufacture its wide range of refrigerators at this facility in Pune. The facility is expected to have a headcount of over 500 people (including contract workers) and Haier could look at increasing headcount as the plant begins operating at full capacity.

Shi Zhiyuan, managing director, Haier Appliances (India), said, "Haier's target is to become one of the prominent players in the Indian market in a few years. We wish to achieve this by following a localisation strategy, where R&D, manufacturing and marketing activities are carried out locally." He added that during the company's presence in India over the last three years, Haier had localised product development and marketing.

"Earlier we had been using third-party vendors for our manufacturing requirements. With this acquisition, we will be able to achieve even better quality levels, faster response time, cost advantages and would be able to meet market demands and requirements in a more efficient manner," said Zhiyuan.

After the collapse of Daewoo in Korea some years ago, the Ranjangaon plant was bought by Daewoo's joint venture partner, switch maker Anchor Electronics in 2004. At present, the unit is believed to be functioning as a contract manufacturing facility. Anchor has reportedly invested close to Rs 100 crore in the plant from 2004-06 for capacity expansion, say industry experts.