Fedders Lloyd on comeback trail

NEW DELHI: Fedders Lloyd, an air-conditioner brand that had virtually disappeared from shop shelves over the last few years, is now readying to come back with a bang. And besides making a serious bid for the household AC segment, the company is also planning to enter into other areas of air-conditioning and refrigeration, beginning with water coolers.
A serious player in the institutional segment, with a considerable hold in the railways, defence and government institutions, Fedders Lloyd is now ready to launch ACs for the household segment in another couple of months.The Rs 170-crore company, which has been selling only around 15,000 AC units in the retail market, has now set up a 1.5 lakh unit capacity plant for the segment.
Set up in Guwahati in collaboration with Amtron, a government of Assam undertaking, the unit will go on stream next month. "We are making brand new models to enter the segment and are planning to increase our current presence in outlets from about 85 to at least 450 by the next season," says R Krishnan, CEO, Fedders Lloyd Corporation.
This late entrant in the crowded AC market is planning to sell on specialist planks. "We will offer products with USPs like anti-corrosion and pollution resistance," says Krishnan. The ACs will also have a demonstrable capacity testor which, Krishnan says, will soon become an issue of concern. The prices will be extremely competitive too, he says.
The company, which has been restructuring itself in the recent months, is planning to enter into several new areas of business. One is water coolers.