Hyundai plans foray into const equipment

The country's third largest automaker Hyundai Motor India is all set to foray into the construction equipment manufacturing business for which the company is scouting for land in Maharashtra.

The size of the investment is claimed to be in excess of Rs 500 crore as the project is expected to be declared as a mega project.

According to top sources in the Mantralaya, the company is in talks with the government for finalising land required.

"The company is looking to put up a manufacturing facility for construction equipment which could either come-up at Chakan, Talegaon, Ranjangaon or Nashik," said the source who did not wish to be named.

Hyundai officials are expected to make a final selection on the land and the proposal will be submitted to the government soon.

Hyundai is presently in the construction equipment supplying business in the country. Officials at Hyundai refused to comment on the issue citing that such decisions are taken at the headquarters of the parent company based in Korea. At present, Hyundai has a car manufacturing facility and is in the process setting up the second one.

Earlier, the company's subsidiary Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) had signed a distribution agreement with Tata Group-promoted Voltas for its line of construction equipment.

Since starting out in the construction equipment in 1985, Hyundai's Construction Equipment Division has emerged as a total construction equipment producer.

The division is present in 90 countries centering around overseas subsidiaries in Europe, the United States, and Jiangsu and Beijing in China.

The co-chairman of Hyundai Motor Company, Chung Mong-Koo, who was convicted and handed a prison term, had come to India last month to visit the company's plant in Irangattukottai near Chennai.

He inspected the progress on the second plant, coming up near the existing one, which is expected to start production by the third quarter this year.