LG to turn Pune unit into export hub

LG, the biggest durables exporter in the country, expects a third of its exports next year to come from the DVD-writer factory being set up in Pune, Moon B Shin, deputy managing director, said on Tuesday.

Shin added that a new plant would be set up in the south of the country to cater to that part of the country and that the newly set-up Pune plant would be turned increasingly into an "exports plant".

"We plan to make India the hub of our manufacturing activities for the Middle-east and Africa," Shin said, adding that the Pune plant, owing to its locational advantage, would contribute most to exports.

The company plans to produce 3 million DVD drives at its Ranjangoan plant after it becomes operational in April next year and plans to increase the output to 33 million over four years, the deputy managing director said.

Currently, the company's first greenfield plant at Noida contributes around 70 per cent to the total value of its production in the country.

It has already allocated nearly Rs 1,100 crore (Rs 11 billion) for investments in the country from between 2005 and 2010, of which nearly Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion) has been set apart for the DVD plant.