Industrial and automotive battery maker Amara Raja Batteries Limited (ARBL) said that it is setting up its third automotive battery plant with a capacity of making 6.5 million units at an investment of Rs 700 crore in the first phase.
In the long run, the greenfield facility is designed to eventually scale up to 10.8 million units and employ 1,300 people at full capacity, the company said, adding the facility, for which the foundation stone was laid, will come up in the Amara Raja Growth Corridor in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh.
Amara Raja Batteries Ltd chairman Ramachandra N Galla said: “The country is experiencing a phenomenal rate of growth, which has opened up a plethora of opportunities for increasing production and consumption. We have always set new benchmarks in innovation led manufacturing and consolidated our market leadership in the country by expanding our capacities and adopting advanced technologies, both in automotive, as well as industrial products. We have witnessed significant growth across all our business verticals over the year and we are confident of registering even greater growth rates, in the coming times.”
The company recently signed a technology collaboration agreement with long-time partner, Johnson Controls, to introduce advanced battery technologies in India. The Galla family and Johnson Controls hold 26% equity each in Amara Raja Batteries Limited.
As per the agreement, the two companies will share best practices and improve product design and manufacturing technologies, enabling higher performance across Starting, Lighting and Ignition (SLI), Enhanced Flooded Batteries (EFB) and Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) batteries.
