Auto component manufacturer India Pistons has signed an agreement with Germany-based Mahle GmbH to form a 50:50 joint venture - Mahle India Pistons.A statement issued by India Pistons today said the company's plant at Maraimalai Nagar near Chennai has been hived off as an independent entity for launching the proposed JV.The financial terms of the joint venture were not disclosed. The company said substantial investments will be made over the next three years in the JV, which will primarily focus on making pistons for engines requiring future emission norms such as Euro IV and above. It will also produce advanced design pistons like oil-cooled gallery pistons for diesel engines.Mahle India Pistons envisages doubling the present production capacity of 3.2 million pistons at Maraimalai Nagar plant over the next three years. By 2008, it expects to employ 300 people, and is aiming at a sales turnover of Rs 160 crore. India Pistons, a key member of the Rs 5,200 crore Chennai-based Amalgamations Group, has strong presence in the OEM and after-market segments. The total turnover of the company and its associates is expected to touch the Rs 400 crore-mark by the end of this financial year. The Mahle Group is one of the 30 largest automotive suppliers worldwide with over 40,000 employees in 110 production plants, and a sales turnover of over euro 4.3 billion in 2006.
