Exclusive: Varroc to set up new plant in Chennai to boost polymer business

Component manufacturer Varroc Group is setting up a new plant in Chennai under its polymer division to supply parts to the two-wheeler, passenger car and commercial vehicle manufacturers located around the Chennai belt.

Without disclosing the investments made so far, Arvinder Gill, vice-president, business development, Varroc Group, told Autocar Professional that “we plan to manufacture seats, body parts, air filter assembly, mirror assembly for the two-wheeler segment and body parts for the passenger car and commercial vehicle segments at the upcoming plant in Chennai. The facility, which is currently under construction, is scheduled to commence production by November 2014.”

The company is looking to cater to the requirements of some South India-based clients such as India Yamaha Motor, Royal Enfield, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, Renault Nissan and others. It is to be noted that Yamaha is gearing up to begin production operations at its Chennai plant, which could start with rolling out the 113cc Alpha scooter by November 2014.

Interestingly, the Varroc Group is also eyeing the opportunity of potential exports from its upcoming facility in Chennai.

Furthermore, increasing its South India focus, the Varroc Group is also planning to add capacity and expand its operations at its Narasapura plant near Bangalore. Varroc was one of the many component suppliers which had set up their operations at Narasapura in Karnataka for Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) last year. The six-acre plant, which had commenced its operations in May 2013, also comes under Varroc Group’s polymer division as it produces and supplies seat assemblies to HMSI for the Dream Yuga, Dream Neo, CB Shine and Activa models.

Varroc claims that its Narasapura plant, which employs nearly 130 people, has an average production capacity of 5,500 units of seat assemblies per day.

“Currently from our Narasapura plant, we supply products including seats and plastic parts to our key customer, Honda. We are also expanding the production capacity to meet the increased demand.
We plan to add more customers once the current expansion is completed in the next few months. We are in discussions with OEMs and some Tier 1 customers. Bangalore is our growth area for South India and we will keep our focus on current clients and also grow by adding new ones in the Bangalore region including OEMs and Tier 1 customers,” Gill concluded. 

Photograph: Arvinder Gill, VP (Business Development): “We plan to manufacture seats, body parts, air filter assembly, mirror assembly for the two-wheeler segment and body parts for the passenger car and CV vehicle segments at the upcoming plant in Chennai.”