Hitachi hopes to turnaround by March 2005

The Ahmedabad-based Hitachi Home and Life Solutions (India) Ltd (HHLI) hopes to turnaround by March 2005. The company, which has begun a cost cutting exercise, has embarked on a re-organisation plan. The plan, consisting of three phases, will span over four years.

"We have decided to spruce up our bottomline for the first two years. This will be followed by new innovative products and new product categories, while continuing with our brand positioning. We are aiming at a growth of 5 per cent over and above the industry rates," said Amit Doshi, vice president, marketing and service operations, HHIL.

The re-organisation strategy has already begun to show result, he said. During the second quarter of the current year, the company has reduced the net loss to Rs 2.19 crore from Rs 14.04 crore during the corresponding quarter of the previous year. "We should be back in the black by March 2005," Doshi told Business Standard.

"We merged the manufacturing facilities at Kadi and Silvassa to synergise our operations," he said. "HHLI is currently evaluating the consumer requirements in the export market. At the core of our successful strategy is the Hitachi philosophy to harness cutting-edge technology to offer innovative solutions based on actual user feedback," the company vice president said. He said that this was why Hitachi A-Cs are popular even with a 20 per cent premium over other brands.

HHLI currently exports to Middle-East, African and SAARC countries. Doshi said that the company expects to export 12,000 units this fiscal against 3,500 units exported during the last fiscal. "Last year, 10 per cent of our revenues were from exports, and exports this year will account for over 20 per cent of the total revenues," he said.

Vinay Chauhan, senior vice president, supply chain, said that the products for export are put through stringent tests. "Some of the most stringent tests are carried out at our facility, leaving no scope for error. We not only meet the Indian and international standards, but exceed them as well," he said.

HHLI's manufacturing facility at Kadi, one of the seven Hitachi Room A-C facilities worldwide, will function as the mother plant, while the Jammu plant and the new plant in Himachal Pradesh will work on a licenced basis.

The company, with 13 branch offices, has a nationwide sales, distribution and service network. HHLI has a total A-C production capacity of is over 1.70 lakh units.