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With its billions of inhabitants India is the most
populated country on Earth after the People's Republic of China.
The middle classes are comprised of about 350 million people and
are growing annually by 20 million, a fact which has a strong effect
on the growth of the consumer market. Franke had been interested
in this "Supplier's Paradise" for a long time in the context of
its global growth strategy, although imports of sinks were forbidden
by law until 1998, and are today heavily penalised by import duties
of over 70%. Because of this massive trade barrier, Franke decided
on a joint venture with an Indian partner.
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 After in-depth market research and feasibility studies, Franke concluded a joint venture contract for the setting up of a production and sales company with an Indian partner in October 1998. Franke holds 90% of the share capital of this company, and is hence the majority owner of the new company Franke India Pvt. Ltd., whose head office is in Mumbai (Bombay). The general management and the marketing and sales departments are in Mumbai itself, and the production is in Aurangabad. In May 1999 Franke acquired a 44,000 m 2 site and began construction of the production building under the project management of the Swiss Corporate Development Team. This building was successfully completed in Spring 2000, though many organisational and technical steps were necessary before this. For example, installation of the production equipment began from the end of 1999. Almost all the equipment and tools for sink production came from India, only certain special equipment had to be imported. During the construction stage Franke also had to look for new employees, who were then trained locally and in various Franke companies. A further, very important measure, was the development of a complete range of sinks to meet today's market needs in India. This range was supplemented by products imported from the Franke Group's extensive lines. |
Franke
hoped above all that these additional products would set certain future
trends in India through their design and technology. Hence Franke
was very flexible during the organisation of its production processes,
which are in accordance with European production know-how and understanding
of quality, in order to adapt to such changing needs in the market.
 The opening ceremonies took place in March 2000. Representatives from Aarburg, Indian authorities, suppliers and friendly companies took part in the opening. Sinks have been produced in series for the Indian market since August 2000. About 50 employees now work for Franke India Pvt. Ltd. For the moment the sales are concentrated in the state of Maharashtra, but should be extended to the other Indian states as soon as possible - with the objective of achieving market leadership in the Indian market in the short to medium term. |
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