Ashley Alteams inaugurates new manufacturing facility in Chennai

Ashok Leyland's associate company, Ashley Alteams India has announced the inauguration will of its new manufacturing facility at Chennai in Tamil Nadu. The new plant, which will be involved in the production of die castings, will cater to both the telecommunications and automotive sector both for domestic and international markets. 

 

 It is to be mentioned that AAIPL is a joint venture that was formed in 2007 between Finland's Alteam Group and Ashok Leyland, which is owned by the Hinduja Automotive Ltd (HML). Alteam is a major telecommunication component supplier to Nokia. Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister, Dr. M. K. Stalin along with Ms. Suvi Linden, Minister of Communications, Government of Finland, inaugurated the manufacturing facility yesterday. Alteams OY is one of the largest light cast metal components manufacturers. The project entailed an initial investment of Rs 130 crore and the unit will gave the capacity of 70,000 tonnes per annum which will be enhanced to 10,000 tonnes progressively. The initial capacity is estimated to generate annual sales of Rs. 180 crore and it is expected to touch Rs 500 crore in five years with capacity expansion and value addition. AAIPL employs 135 skilled personnel that will grow to 200 by March 2011, along with 250 outsourced employees.

"HDPC technology is increasingly finding favour with the automotive and telecom industries, due to its high quality, weight efficiency and economy of higher volumes.  With these industries on a growth path, we are advantageously placed to meet their requirements quickly and efficiently," said Mr. R. Seshasayee, Chairman, Ashley Alteams India Pvt Ltd. "There is a huge potential for exports which we shall start to tap in our second year of operation," he added.  

"The new business will cater to the strong demand for high pressure die castings in the telecommunication industry and also for the automotive industry," says Dheeraj Hinduja, co-chairman of Ashok Leyland. "There is a huge potential for exports which we shall start to tap in our second year of operation," he added.

Petteri Wallden from Alteams OY said, "After having established a significant presence in Europe and China, the next big move was to enter the robustly growing Indian telecom market. With a partner like Ashok Leyland, we are well-equipped to capitalise upon the opportunities offered by both the telecom and the automotive sectors in India."

Ashley Alteams is part funded by Finnfund, set up by the Finnish government to fund Finnish business projects outside of Finland. Technical assistance will be provided by Alteams Oy, pioneers in the field of aluminum die casting, which includes core technologies like die design, manufacturing, selection of high-end fully automatic casting, CNC machining cells and testing facilities.  Some of AAIPL's key customers include Ashok Leyland, Knorr Bremse, Cummins in the automobile segment, Nokia Siemens networks, Ericsson in the telecom field and EMS suppliers like Sanmina and Elcoteq.