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Indian engineering and technology conglomerate Larsen & Toubro Ltd on Monday opened its first-ever electrical manufacturing facility abroad in the Chinese city of Wuxi.
The company also announced plans to establish two more ventures in China - one in the valves sector and another in rubber to cater to the burgeoning needs of the country, whose economy is surging above 10 per cent per annum.
Mumbai-based L&T has set up a wholly owned subsidiary, L&T (Wuxi) Electric Company Limited (LTW) in Wuxi, a booming city in east China's Jiangsu Province with an investment of $11 million to make high-end switchgear.
The state-of-the-art manufacturing unit, established in the Wuxi New District, a national level hi-tech industrial park, will make high-end Air Circuit Breakers (ACB) for which China is the world's largest market.
The factory was inaugurated by the chairman of LTW and wholetime director of L&T, R N Mukhija, in the presence of Consul General of India in Shanghai, V Prakash, Vice Mayor of Wuxi, Tan Xue Ming and other senior officials.
LTW will manufacture and market its indigenously developed, high-end ACBs and moulded case circuit breakers (MCCBs) at the new factory, which will meet international quality and standard certifications.
The Wuxi factory will also roll out more switchgear products from the unit, Mukhija said.
"L&T has supplied some critical and sophisticated equipment to heavy engineering installations in China. We are going to play a bigger role in China's huge infrastructure development," Mukhija said.
Mukhija said L&T is setting up production facilities for valves business in Jiangsu Province and rubber machinery in Qingdao in Shandong Province.
In the first year of operation, in 2007, LTW proposes to manufacture close to 5,000 units of ACBs valued at $8 million. In the third year of operation, LTW is confident of producing over 15,000 units for sale in China as well as international markets and earn sales revenue of $25 million, he said.
The Wuxi project will generate employment for over 300 people comprising management personnel, engineers and skilled operators.
Congratulating L&T for establishing the venture in Wuxi, Consul General of India, Prakash said the event is a 'red letter day' in India-China bilateral economic cooperation.
He also briefed guests about the huge infrastructure projects and investment opportunities available for global investors, including Chinese businesses.
The Consul General also thanked the Wuxi Municipal Government and the Wuxi New District administration for the support to L&T to set up the plant in record time.
Vice Mayor of Wuxi, Tan also thanked L&T for setting up its manufacturing operations in the city and hoped that the Indian engineering and technology giant's example will lead to more Indian investments in China, especially in Wuxi.
Tan also promised to continue to offer full support from the Chinese government side so as to expand its activities and introduce more high-end products and technology to China.