Lovato Autogas Italy eyes entry via Kerala
Vinson Kurian (BL)
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Oct. 3
LOVATO Autogas, the Italian major specialising in the production of LPG equipment for motor vehicles, has decided to invest up to $15 million for setting up its first away-production base in India. Company officials have held preliminary discussions with the Government of Kerala in this connection.
Speaking to Business Line, Ms. Rosanna Lovato, Managing Director, who is here heading a delegation of company officials, said the decision made eminent business sense since Lovato is in a position to make maximum use of the image it already commands in the Indian market.
"The idea is to come to the market directly and be represented by ourselves, rather than through a litany of distributors and installers," she said.
"We have a manufacturing base in Italy and some affiliated companies in two other countries but none in the Asian region."
"We would like to use the India production base to serve the Asian market as well. We feel we can contribute our mite to cleaning up the heavily polluted environs in the region. This is another reason why we are going to be here," according to Mr. Diego Lolato, Export Sales Manager.
The level of investment is yet to be finalised; Lovato is talking to the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) and the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) for possible partnerships.
Asked how Lovato proposed to operate in the absence of enabling legislation from State Governments allowing the use of gas in vehicles, Mr. Vivek Jacob, a non-resident Indian and minority stakeholder in the venture, said what is needed is a no-objection certificate from the Ministries of Petroleum and Surface Transport.
Lovato is worried over the presence of duplicates in the burgeoning Indian market and carrying its brand name. These, according to Mr. Jacob, are time-bombs ticking away under the trunks. This makes for a very dangerous situation and is another compelling reason why Lovato made the investment decision.
The conversion kits are of such strategic nature that they are required to pass exacting standards set by the industry _ the welding, sealing, even the type of metal which is used.
Elaborating on the potential of the market, Mr. Jacob quoted figures to state that India currently has 32 million vehicles on the roads and is adding five million every year. Available road facility is 2.9 million km, out of which only 0.4 million km are highways. But, this minuscule stretch is being made to carry almost 40 per cent of the traffic.
The ensuing vehicle density is incredibly high; and the impact of pollution is so overwhelming that unless something is done to retrieve the situation, it can lead to an ecological disaster of the worst kind. |
