Fedders plans to re-enter India with range of ACs

NEW DELHI: Fedders International, the $373 million US-based company that bowed out of Indian airconditioning market in the mid-70s, is planning a re-entry this summer. In a 50:50 manufacturing joint venture with Voltas, Fedders will offload a range of window and split ACs into the 7.2 lakh unit Indian market from their facility at Dadra. Fedders International will also be importing some specialised air-conditioning, air-cleaning and refrigeration products for specific target segments.Daryl G Erbs, group v-p, Fedders says: "We have been studying this market for five years now. While our JV with Voltas was signed in October 2001, we will be introducing the Fedders brand, with focus on the north and west, this year." The Dadra facility's current capacity is 2 lakh units. Fedders International, which already has a strong manufacturing base in China, is also looking at India as a global sourcing base in about a year's time, says Erbs. "We could supply to almost every market like the US, Middle East and Africa from here," he adds. Meanwhile, the company is planning to import the high-end ACs for both household and institutional segment to meet the small demand at present. On another front, Fedders International is in litigation with Fedders Lloyd, the BR Punj group AC company it was in partnership in the sixties and seventies, for the Fedders name. A court verdict is expected in the near future. Erbs says the company's aggressive communication, which will break in about a month, will ensure there is no confusion in the market. R Krishnan, CEO, Fedders Lloyd brushes aside the issue. "Fedders Lloyd is a perfectly valid name, registered with RoC. In any case we sell our products under the Lloyds name," he says. Fedders International is planning to import select products from its range of air-cleaning products, de-humidifiers and humidifiers, thermo-electric refrigeration products, and specialised ACs.