Norma Group starts operation in India

Pune: The Norma Group, Germany-based manufacturer of clamps, plastic tubing and connectors for auto and non-auto applications, has begun operations in India with a manufacturing plant at Talegaon.

Norma Group Products India Pvt Ltd, an 80:20 joint venture between Norma and Taurus Flexibles, will produce plastic tubing systems and clamps for passenger cars in the first phase of the project. Norma plans to cater to the domestic market and will invest €3 million in the plant over the next five years and is targeting a turnover of Rs 80 crore by 2012.

The company also plans to explore opportunities in the commercial vehicle segment and non-auto sectors such as railway, aviation, marine and construction, which account for 60 per cent of Norma’s revenues worldwide.“We will offer full value chain for our products like developing, production and testing and establish all processes here,” Mr Bernd Kleinhens, Managing Director, Commercial and Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Norma, said. The company already has secured orders from passenger car OEMs such as Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Motors, General Motors and Fiat India, he added.

The company’s Talegaon plant will begin with production of fluid systems and has a capacity of 50 lakh systems annually, with the scope to double it in the short term. By the end of 2009, manufacture of exhaust and worm drive hose clamps will begin, Mr Andrea Carta, Managing Director, India, said. If sales volumes increase, more manufacturing facilities in auto hubs like Chennai and Delhi may be set up, he added.

Worldwide, Norma has 22 manufacturing locations, 3,000 employees. It posted a turnover of €475 million last year.