Voltas unit in Pantnagar to start soon

The second phase of the Pantnagar Voltas plant, which will manufacture air conditioners, would be operational in three months. The plant, which has come up at an investment of Rs 120 crore, would cater to both domestic as well as export market.

The new unit would help in cutting the logistics cost substantially for the northern market as north and south India contribute maximum to the sales volumes.

According to Pradeep Bakshi, general manager sales and marketing, Voltas Ltd, the Unitary Products Business Group of Voltas registered a growth of over 30 per cent in sales of its room air conditioner business.

He added the sales volume had jumped from around 200,000 units in 2005-2006 to over 260,000 in 2006-2007, ahead of the industry growth rate of 20 per cent.

Voltas has also taken the lead in complying with the government's energy efficiency-labelling programme, by launching India's first full range of star rated air conditioners.

The portfolio includes star-rated AC models, both splits and windows, ranging from high-rated five star units for the discerning buyer, to the basic one star models for the mass consumer.

He explained that the higher rated models would be priced a bit higher, but would recover the high initial cost for the consumer through savings in electricity cost within the year.

"A consumer can save about Rs 570 per month on his energy consumption," he said. He also said these products would not only conform to the energy efficiency requirements of the bureau of energy efficiency but would benefit the user in terms of energy saving as compared to an unlabelled product.

Voltas launched 17 new models this year. Votas invests around 2 per cent of its turnover in beefing service infrastructure.