Rane group to set up Uttaranchal unit

Two Rane firms will supply steering gears, columns to Tata Motors Ace.

Two Rane group companies "� Rane Madras and Rane NSK "� will set up a manufacturing facility in Uttaranchal to exclusively cater to the Tata Motors plant in the tax incentive state.

The Rs 1,200 crore Rane group of companies supply auto components for two-wheelers, cars, tractors and large commercial vehicles.

L Ganesh, group vice-chairman, said, "We have identified a place near Rudrapet in the proximity the Tata Motors plant in Uttaranchal. Rane Madras and Rane NSK will be supplying steering gears and steering columns to the Tata Motors Ace "� the one tonne light commercial vehicle."

The capacity of the manufacturing facility is yet to be decided and is largely dependent on Tata Motors. The initial investment is expected to be Rs 12 crore, he added.

Ganesh further said, "We also plan to supply to Mahindra & Mahindra when the maker of commercial vehicles would have its presence in Uttaranchal."

With car and vehicle makers expanding capacities, auto component manufacturers are also expanding their facilities to meet the anticipated rise in demand.

As it offers a 10-year tax holiday for companies to set up their facilities, Uttaranchal has been a more attractive destination for auto companies than the state of Himachal Pradesh, for instance.

Uttaranchal will be the second location for Rane NSK Steering which already has one manufacturing plant in Chennai.

The nine-year-old Rane NSK Steering is an equal partnership company between the Rane group and Japan NSK, which manufactures solid steering, steering columns, energy absorbing columns, collapsible columns used in cars.

Rane Madras has three facilities in Chennai, Mysore and Pondicherry that produce steering linkages, ball joints, axial joints, suspension joints and manual steering gears, which are widely used in cars, commercial vehicles and tractors.

Another Rane group company, Rane Brake Linings, which makes brake linings and disc pads, is also scouting for a suitable location in south India to set up another facility, in addition to its existing plants in Chennai, Hyderabad and Pondicherry.

Sundram Fasterners, which manufactures fasteners, also expects to start production at its Uttaranchal plant from early 2007.