TVS to roll out two-wheelers from West Bengal facility

After years of wait, the first batch of TVS two-wheelers are set to roll out from a contract manufacturing facility in West Bengal. The unit is located in Uluberiasome, 25 km to the west of the State capital.

INITIAL CAPACITY

Company officials told this correspondent that the initial capacity that was being looked at was 1,000 two-wheelers a month.

The objective was to tap the market in West Bengal and the seven North-Eastern States.

It may be mentioned that in 2008, the Chennai (Hosur)-based TVS Motor Company entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Kolkata-based Mahabharat Manufacturing Pvt Ltd under which Mahabharat Motors were to assemble agreed products as a contract manufacturer.

After meeting the then Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, TVS Chairman Venu Srinivasan had said that the company needed a base in the region and it had planned to tie-up with Mahabharat Motors.

The assembly unit came up on land owned by a joint venture of a company called Universal Success promoted by NRI Prasun Mukherjee and the Salim Group of Indonesia. The initial project, announced in February 2006 which never took off, was to set up a facility for making budget bikes through Chinese collaboration. Mr. Mukherjee said that the arrangement with TVS replaced the original plan which had been scrapped.

However, TVS Motor got caught in the recession which came after September 2008 and the project took a backseat, officials said and it had been revived now.

“Ours is a business and technology-based relationship,” the official said adding that TVS had trained Mahabharat personnel and helped them with the layout and the design of the plant.