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US construction equipment major Caterpillar Inc plans to source products from India for its overseas markets as part of strategies to make the local subsidiary a global sourcing hub, a top company official said.
"We plan to sell our products manufactured at Indian units in global markets, including South East Asia and China," director of Catterpillar Commercial Pvt Ltd Graham J Lythgoe said at the launch of its '424 Series' of backhoe loader in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The company, however, would focus on strengthening its presence in the Indian market in the short-run, he said and added that the global focus would come into effect after consolidating its domestic presence.
Caterpillar produces specialised loader in the US and UK and India is the third production base for such construction equipment.
The $20-billion US company operates through its 100 per cent subsidiary Caterpillar India Private Ltd. It has two production units in Chennai and Hosur, Tamil Nadu.
Caterpillar acquired Hindustan Motors - earthmoving equipment division in Chennai, where it now produces backhoe loaders, apart from off-highway trucks and wheel loaders.
The unit at Hosur specialises in engines and generators.
Caterpillar has two distributors for Indian operations - Tractors India Ltd and GMMCO.
TIL has the marketing rights for Caterpillar's range of products for north and eastern India.
The Rs 3,500 crore (Rs 35 billion) construction equipment market has an annual demand of 7,000 such specialised machines and currently growing at 5-7 per cent rate.