Sundaram-Clayton readies for growth, sets foot in the United States

SCL also plans to invest Rs 400 crore over 3 years to expand its domestic facilities. This will increase its capacity from 60,000 MT to 70,000 MT.

The facility will be located in Dorchester County, South Carolina. Currently, the US contributes a major share of SCL’s export revenue. To support its customers in the region with a shorter supply chain and improved responsiveness to their requirements, SCL has decided to establish a plant in the country. The new plant seeks to deepen SCL’s decade long strategic engagement in the region. 

Dr Lakshmi Venu, Joint Managing Director, Sundaram-Clayton Limited (SCL) said, “The US is a strategically important market for us. Over the years, we have built strong partnerships with global OEMs in the region and have decided to set up a state of the art facility in the US to better support our customers there. 

Dorchester offers certain strategic business advantages including proximity to a high quality port, a well-rounded transportation network, a young, well-educated, diverse workforce and an excellent business environment. SCL is known for our customer-first attitude in everything that we do and we expect that this plant will enable us to be more responsive to our customers and to serve them better.” South Carolina is among the fastest growing automotive and manufacturing hubs in the US. 

SCL has acquired 50 acres of land in Dorchester County for its plant, where it will manufacture High Pressure Die Cast and Gravity Cast parts. Construction at the site is expected to begin by April 2017, and the first production line would be ready for roll out by end of 2018. The leading manufacturer and supplier of aluminium cast products to global automotive OEMs plans to invest for growth both in India and in the US, along with its subsidiary. 

SCL has four manufacturing plants situated in India, and is known for its robust manufacturing expertise driven by TQM, TPM and Lean practices. The planned investment will enable the company to cater to the growth that it expects from the Indian market. 

She adds, “Over the last decade, the automotive components industry in India has grown three times in size and exports have grown rapidly as well. I believe that there is a bright future for Indian auto component companies both in India and in the export market. I am also confident that India will be among the fastest growing markets globally in the next few years and we will continue to invest strongly and grow in India.”