India venture: Hero group, Daimler go on headhunting

Domestic auto major Hero group and Germany's Daimler, who have joined hands for a commercial vehicle project in India, are on a hiring spree to recruit professionals for areas ranging from sales and finance to plant operations.

Daimler, world's largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles, had reached an understanding in December 2007 for establishment of a joint venture with Munjal family-promoted Hero group, a leading Indian business house with presence in automotive manufacturing, auto parts and services sector.

Making a significant progress on the front, Daimler and Hero group have mandated a city-based recruitment agency for selecting junior to senior-level management professionals, with experience ranging from two years to more than 15 years, to be deployed for various functions of the project.

For junior management level, it is looking for professionals with experience of at least two years, while for middle and senior levels, the combine is targeting a minimum experience of 7 and 15

years respectively.

The duo would set up a commercial vehicle project in the country for manufacturing light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles for both local and global markets.

While announcing its December quarter results, Daimler said on February 14 that the joint venture would start with "local production of light, medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles for the Indian volume market".

"Variants of current Daimler Trucks models will be produced that are tailored for the Indian market," it added. The proposed venture is significant for Daimler, which is expecting its global growth in 2008 to be primarily driven by high-growth markets like India.