Perkins is set to begin manufacturing its powerful 4000 Series engines in India, following the decision by parent company Caterpillar to invest US$150m in a new plant.
The manufacturing facility will be located in the Shendra Industrial Area in Aurangabad and work is due to be completed in mid-2013. Initially the facility will have the capacity to produce around 3 000 engines per year with the capability to increase to 5 000 units. It is envisaged that the workforce will grow from 60 employees at the plant’s inception to approximately 450 when it opens.
The 4000 Series is currently only manufactured at Perkins’ Stafford, UK, large engine centre but unprecedented demand from the electric power sector, has meant that the India expansion is a necessity. This is despite Stafford opening a new third manufacturing line in 2011 to boost production.
In line with Perkins’ strategy of manufacturing closer to its customers, the new India plant will serve the growing demand from the Asian markets while the Stafford facility will concentrate on supplying customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and South America.
Perkins president, Gwenne Henricks, said: “This is wonderful news for Perkins as we mark the start of our 80th year in business. The facility will also play a vital role in the Aurangabad community as we look to utilise local skills and recruit experienced employees to create yet another world class facility for Perkins.”
Perkins has two distribution partners in India – GMMCO Power based in Chennai and Powerparts Private Limited, located in New Delhi, which provide product support to Perkins’ Indian OEMs.
