Volvo to synergise Indian operations

Swedish bus and truck maker Volvo said on Thursday that it would synergise operations in India by bringing a number of units like exports, IT and component outsourcing, construction equipment, and diesel manufacturing under one entity.

All the units would come under one entity, Volvo India, following an approval by the Government. The move was aimed at bringing more synergy in the Indian operations, company executives said.

Following Foreign Investment Promotion Board approval, the Government recently gave nod to the Indian arm of Volvo Corp to bring the different business units under the single entity.

Apart from its core activity of manufacturing buses and trucks, the company has been involved in exports, IT outsourcing, auto component outsourcing, manufacturing of construction equipment, and import of diesel engines.

All the operations were being carried out independently. Volvo India sources auto components from its vendors for its parent company.

The move of bringing in all the separate units, especially exports, could not have been better timed, they said, adding "we see huge export potential from India.

With all the business operations coming under one roof, Volvo has brought to India a whole gamut of services it operates in globally except financial services, the officials said.

Volvo, which aims for 100 million euro in terms of global revenue from India by 2006, has invested Rs 350-400 crore (Rs 3.5-4 billion) in its Indian operation.

The company has recorded a sales turnover of Rs 356 crore (Rs 3.56 billion) in 2003 and hopes to break even this year.

Volvo has also been looking at opportunities for outsourcing from its range of construction equipment.

Last year, the company got FIPB approval for development of software, engineering and IT-enabled services. The company has also stated that it would make India a hub for manufacturing buses and trucks for the Asia-Pacific region.

In the area of construction equipment, Volvo manufactures excavators, graders, haulers and wheel loaders which are largely used in infrastructural sector.