IT industries prosper despite terror network

IT industries prosper despite terror network

NewIndpress - Saturday March 22 2008 09:42 IST

HUBLI: With seven IT companies taking possession of land in twin cities to start operations, it appears that IT/BPO industry has dared to make City next destination of the IT industry after Bangalore, Mysore and Mangalore nothwithstanding the terror fear prevailing in north Karnataka for the last couple of months, apart from infrastructure bottlenecks.

'Aryabhatta Tech Park' that came up here following the state government's order to Hubli-Dharwad Urban Development Authority to develop 26 acres of land belonging to Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation at Amargol on Hubli- Dharwad main road with an aim to develop a model tech park in the nonmetro city. It has succeeded in attracting seven companies.

As per the plan, the tech park will have 11 companies and seven organisations have already paid 40 per cent of the land price. The land is priced at Rs 10 lakh an acre and companies have been asked to remit betterment levy to the tune of Rs 78,450 an acre.

There were speculations that IT companies were reluctant to set up firms in City when the media exposed the planned sabotage activities by the suspected terrorists and activists of banned outfit SIMI in the region.

Following the speculations the real estate business has witnessed a significant fall in twin cities .

Hubli City, which had witnessed the adversities of communal riots on its routine business and economy during the Idgha Maidan issue in 1990s, has been slowly shedding its ‘sensitive city’ tag to become normal and ‘industry-friendly city’, but failed to become the ‘preferred’ IT destination after Bangalore-Mysore even after setting up a Software Technology Park of India (STPI) here which is lying almost vacant for the past one decade.

When the HDUDA approved the blueprint of Aryabhatta Tech Park with state-of-the-art facilities, the industrialists and people have rejoiced at the development, but in the mean time, it was speculated that no IT firms would come to Hubli following 'deep-rooted' terrorist links in the City.

Despite speculations, seven IT companies of the nine companies which were allotted land by HDMC - Able Design Engineering Services, Dharwad, PAC Soft, Bangalore, Trinity Tech and Software Solutions, Hubli, Mahaveer Infotech, Hubli, Penaber Infotech, Hubli, Sankalp Semi- Conductors, Silicon Software Solutions Pvt Ltd, Evision Bangalore, Oruley Tech Pvt Ltd, Bangalore have taken possession of land at Aryabhatta Tech Park.

Santosh Huralikoppi, CEO, NS Infotech Ltd and chairman of IT subcommittee, Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Hubli, said that issues like terrorism would not have

long-term impact on investors mood in small cities.

Tata Motors to launch slew of vehicles in 2008

Tata Motors to launch slew of vehicles in 2008

The LPT 2516 Super Turbo model

The Hindu - Business Line

Pune, Dec. 20 Tata Motors is preparing to launch a slew of new products in the forthcoming year, including pick-up vehicles in Thailand, the world truck in Korea and India and inter-city coaches and buses under the joint venture with Marco Polo, in addition to the small car.

Amongst the vehicles, first in the line-up for commercial launch during 2008 are the Xenon and the Space Cab, the first of the pick-up trucks that will be manufactured by the Tata-Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant Company joint venture near Bangkok, in Thailand.

Mr P.M. Telang, Executive Director, Commercial Vehicles, Tata Motors, said that the vehicles were slated for launch around March. “The Space Cab has been developed in India, but will be made exclusively at our brownfield plant in Thailand,” he said. It would address export needs also, and Italy and Korea were amongst the countries with a market for the product, he added.

Tata Motors has 70 per cent stake in the joint venture and has invested Rs 150 crore in the plant, which will have an initial installed capacity of 25,000 units, with scope for expansion.

Speaking about the world truck being developed both in India and Korea by Tata-Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company and due for launch first in Korea in June, Mr Telang said that it would have specifications that would address the needs of developed markets too. “We will design a full platform of vehicles and decide which one to launch. The world truck will have features such as the Taco-graph and GPRS so that it can be sold anywhere in the world. Of course, in other markets, there can be appropriate de-contenting,” he said. The truck will be launched in India six to nine months later.

Referring to the Tata-Marco Polo joint venture to manufacture buses and inter city coaches, Mr Telang revealed that work on the facility near Dharwad had begun, and manufacturing was expected to begin by the middle of next year. “The plant will have a capacity of 30,000 units, and we expect to reach 50 per cent of the capacity within a year’s time,” he said.

Telcon to invest Rs 180 crore in Dharwad

Telcon to invest Rs 180 crore in Dharwad
Business Standard

Mahesh Kulkarni / Bangalore November 17, 2007

Telco Construction Equipment Company (Telcon), the Rs 1,800 crore joint venture between Tata Group and Hitachi of Japan, is on an expansion spree.

The equipment maker is in the process of enlarging its manufacturing capacities at two of its existing facilities at Jamshedpur and Dharwad in Karnataka.

Telcon is investing Rs 180 crore to increase production capacities at Dharwad and also set up a design-cum-training centre. The company owns 120 acres in Dharwad, which makes some of its equipment.

Telcon aims to add one more assembly line and a paint shop at the facility, Rana Sinha, managing director, Telcon said. “We are also seeking some additional sops from the state government,” Sinha added.

“The move to expand our capacities at these two plants in addition to a new facility is to cash in on the boom in the infrastructure sector. We are already the biggest manufacturer of earthmoving and construction equipment in the country and see a huge opportunity opening up in the sector. We wish to consolidate our presence by bringing in new products,” he said.

According to Sinha, the company had seen this boom a couple of years back and decided to expand capacities by setting up a greenfield facility at Kharagpur, West Bengal over 350 acres at an investment of Rs 600 crore.

The plant is scheduled to commission the Kharagpur plant by 2011 in three phases

Telcon is also looking at inorganic growth opportunities to expand its business in India and abroad.

“We have shortlisted a few firms and are in talks with several construction equipment firms in the US and Europe. We will finalise a deal by March.”

Telcon to set up training, R&D centres

Telcon to set up training, R&D centres
Economic Times

16 Nov, 2007, 1245 hrs IST, PTI

BANGALORE: Telco Construction Equipment Company Limited (Telcon), a subsidiary of Tata Motors, plans to set up a research and development (R&D) unit and three training centres in different parts of the country by next year.

"We will set up three training centres in Jamshedpur, Dharwad and Kharagpur by January next and impart training to 30 persons in each of these facilities," Telcon Managing Director Ranaveer Sinha told reporters here last night.

The R&D unit would come up at Dharwad in Karnataka. The new manufacturing plant at Kharagpur, where the company would be investing about Rs 600 crore in three phases, would become operational by early next year, said Sinha.

He was here to attend the EXCON 2007 event. In phase I, Telcon would roll out 6,000 units of equipment such as excavators, new models of wheel loaders, road equipment, trucks and cranes and the capacity would be scaled up to 24,000 units annually by 2011, he added.

The company is also focusing its attention on acquisitions and mergers in India and developed countries and the proposals were expected to fructify by March next, Sinha said.

"We are bringing in a slew of new products with updated technology. We are also working strongly on building support network," he added.

Telcon, which recorded a turnover of Rs 1,830 crore last year, has targeted to earn Rs 2,600 crore this fiscal, Sinha said.