L&T aims at Rs 1500 crore turnover from China

Larsen and Toubro's (L&T) has drawn up major plans for China. The company is targetting to spin out a Rs 1,500 crore turnover from the country in the next three years.

Having opened an office in Shanghai, L&T will soon be opening another office at Beijing, A M Naik, chairman and managing director, L&T, told media persons here today, on the eve of celebrating the diamond jubilee of its construction business - Engineering, Construction and Contracts (ECC) division.

On its anvil is a plan to set up a rubber processing machinery plant in China. The company is looking at China as a sourcing ground for various components. Of the Rs 1,500-crore turnover it is targetting, Rs 700-crore will come from export of hi-tech machinery to that country.

Back home in India, L&T is investing Rs 60-70 crore on setting up two new facilities, one for manufacture of plastic processing machinery and the other for defence machinery. The plants will come up a little from L&T's current facilities at Chennai in Manapakkami and will employ about 700 people to begin with.

L&T Demar plastic divn will be setting the new plant 10 kms away from Manapakkam. This new plastic machinery plant is expected to go into commercial production in a year's time.

The target is to make 500 machines in the first year of production for a turnover of Rs 150 crore. The plan is to double the capacity in the next two-three years, of which 40 per cent will be earmarked for exports.