Austrian CV seatbelt maker Fasching to invest USD11.4m in India plant
The Indian plant, initially, is to focus only on the domestic market, before being set up to produce products for exports to neighboring countries.
Austria / Fasching Salzburg GmbH1 of Salzburg, Austria (a subsidiary of the Holmbergs Group) has announced it is to invest close to USD11.4m in a greenfield manufacturing plant to manufacture seatbelts for commercial vehicles. The company, plans to develop the plant via a joint venture with an Indian company; an agreement was signed in 2017, but the partner as yet has not been named. Fasching plans to start seatbelt production during the 2019-20 financial year. Fasching says it is still working on all the due diligence structures relating to intellectual property etc prior to finally committing to this major seat belt manufacturing project in India.
The Indian plant, initially, is to focus only on the domestic market, before being set up to produce products for exports to neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand. However, it is keen to stress its priority is to establish a successful business in India, before exploring export opportunities.
The company aims to produce safety belts, static belts as well as retractable belts for all types of commercial vehicles such as trucks, buses, and coaches, minivans, SUVs, all-terrain vehicles or even military vehicles in India. The aim is to have a local content of 70-80 per cent with all the stamping parts and metal parts manufactured in India.
Currently it manufactures safety belts at its plant in Hungary, Europe, producing nearly one million safety belts per year; the Indian plant is to be its second manufacturing plant.
Harald Pessl, senior director, Fasching Salzburg GmbH, said: “India is certainly an attractive market for us. The bus market is expected to grow rapidly and safety being the focus, the demand for quality seatbelts will grow exponentially. We are convinced that to succeed in the India market, we need a partner who understands the market and local culture. We don’t only want to come from Europe to bring what is best in that region.”
1Fasching Salzburg GmbH was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Salzburg, Austria. Its designs, manufactures and distributes safety belts. Its products include 2-point belt systems, 3-point belt systems, components, straps; wheelchair belts, including wheelchair restraints and anchorage systems; and other solutions including H-belts and 5-point belt system. The company manufactures products for forklifts, construction equipment and military and emergency vehicles. The company, which has more than a 45% market share in the coach business in Europe, has similar goals in India. The company is not a supplier to the passenger car market, the focus has always been on the coach, bus, minibus, all-terrain and in future military and agriculture.
