Toyoda Gosei to establish hose joint venture in India
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KIYOSU, Japan—Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd. is establishing an automotive hose joint venture in India with Indian automotive supplier UNO Minda and Toyota Tsusho Corp., a Japanese trading company.
The firms will establish a new company, Minda TG Rubber Pvt. Ltd., based in Bawal, India. The joint venture is projected to begin operations in September.
Minda TG Rubber will supply brake hoses and other automotive rubber hose products to automotive makers in the Indian market, Toyoda Gosei said.
The joint venture will construct and operate out of a 160,000-sq.-ft. facility and represents an $11 million investment. Employment is projected to reach 140 by 2019, said Hiroki Fukui, executive vice president of administration at Toyoda Gosei North America.
“The India market is growing rapidly, and we already have three manufacturing plants there,” the executive said. “A customer requested for us to have very high quality hose products in the region. We decided to go there to manufacture those hoses, including brake and fuel hoses, things like that.”
Fukui said this will be the firm's first automotive hose facility in India. Its other three plants produce safety systems, auto sealing systems and interior/exterior parts. The establishment of the new joint venture will give Toyoda Gosei local production of all four of its core product lines in India.
Toyoda Gosei and Minda have another joint operation—Toyoda Gosei Minda India Pvt. Ltd.—which was established in 2008 and produces safety systems such as airbags and sealing products such as weatherstrips.
“We have a good relationship (with Minda),” Fukui said. “They are a local, strong partner.”
Minda TG Rubber is projected to reach $60 million in sales by 2019. Fukui said the firm has land available to expand the facility about 30,000 square feet if demand is strong. The joint venture also owns more land in the surrounding area if it needs to expand further.
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