Sonalika to unveil new tractor plant in November

International Tractors, manufacturer of Sonalika farm equipment and tractors, will unveil its new Hoshiarpur plant in Punjab in November this year.

A S Mittal, vice-chairman, International Tractors, told Business Today that the new plant would have the capacity to manufacture two lakh tractors every year. "This would one of the world's largest tractor manufacturing unit in the world," he said.

At present, the company has a capacity to manufacture one lakh tractors every year.

The company has invested Rs 500 crore for setting up the plant. The plant would cater to both domestic and export markets.

"By 2020, we expect to export 50,000 units manufactured in the plant," Mittal said.

The new plant is likely to be equipped with state-of-the-art technology. It would have a single production line for all variants and models and an engine assembly line for 500 engines/day.

It would have a facility for robotic painting for both base coat and top coat, automated guided vehicle for assembly and materials feeding and fully-automatic test rigs for hydraulic lift and transmission testing

The company sold 74,000 tractors-64,000 in India and 10,000 units exported-in 2014-15.

"While the industry sales dropped 10% during the year, our sales grew 5 per cent. During the year, we surpassed Escorts Tractors also to become the third-largest tractor company in India in terms of sales," Mittal said.

The top two tractor companies in India are Mahindra & Mahindra and TAFE.

The company has a market share of 12.5% in the domestic tractor market, and is targeting 20% market share in the next three years. It exports to 70 countries and accounts for 30% of the country's total tractor exports.

"Our focus now is to further consolidate our number one position in the over 50 HP tractor segment. This is one segment where we can increase our exports as well," Mittal said.

International Tractors, in which private equity firm Blackstone had invested $120 million for 18% stake in 2012, plans to go public in about three years.