Johnson Controls-Hitachi mulls exports to Gulf, Africa out of India

Queried about possibility of sourcing air conditioners and components for its global markets from India, Franz Cerwinka, CEO said: “We are looking at exports of air conditioners to Middle East, Africa and other markets.” He said the global company has not looked at the possibility of sourcing components from India. Cerwinka was here to inaugurate the company’s Engineering Excellence Centre to train service personnel on installation and on other aspects of Hitachi air conditioners. 

Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Ltd is targeting 20 per cent growth this fiscal over last year’s revenue of Rs 1,977.32 crore, said MD Gurmeet Singh. The company is targeting to be the top air conditioner company in India by 202021 from the current number three slot. 

The company has a 12 per cent market share currently. In FY 2016-17, its room AC segment grew by 22 pc, higher than the average industry growth. The other product segments of the company like packaged AC grew 16 pc and Telecom AC by 32 pc, higher than the industry growth. The best growth was registered  in VRF and Chiller segment, where the company grew by 73 pc and 58 pc respectively which was almost four times higher than the industry growth. 

Agreeing the company’s presence in south India is weak, Singh said steps are being taken to correct the situation like increasing the distribution network. He also noted that prices of air conditioners may go up by three per cent due to GST regime. The Indian company will be setting Engineering Excellence Centres in Mumbai and Kolkata there by taking the total to four after New Delhi and Chennai. Singh said each centre involves an outlay of Rs 3.5 crore.