“We applied for land in Butibori Industrial Estate ,Nagpur just fifteen days ago and today we are already conducting the stone laying ceremony of the proposed state-of-the-art tyre plant here. This is probably the fastest any project has moved anywhere in the country. We are grateful to MIDC and the dynamic Chief Minister Mr. Fadnavis for the tremendous co operation we have received.” said 32 years old Anant Goenka, probably one of the youngest Managing Directors of Corporate India while speaking in front of an elite gathering at Butibori.
This plant will invest INR 400 crore in the first phase which will be completed in two years. The roll out of the first tyre is expected in April 2016. Eventually it will be manufacturing 1.2 million tyres annually, making it one of the largest such plants in India. The plant will have the best in its class technology and will manufacture two and three wheeler tyres. The production process will have the certification of ISO 14001 for environment management system and OHSAS 18001 for safety, health and environment. In short, it will be a zero discharge plant, with every building being ‘green’ and environment friendly. Even the bricks used will be biomass.
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Speaking to the press exclusively before the function began, a very down to earth and friendly Anant Goenka replied to all questions thrown at him. To “why Nagpur?” he replied – ” Because of its centrality, it has North-South, East-West corridors of connection; it has no water or power shortages and best of all it has a peaceful and harmonious labour-management atmosphere. We were considering 10 to 15 different locations across the country but finally Nagpur won hands down.”
RPG group owned CEAT already has two other factories in Maharashtra – in Mumbai and Nasik. It’s third and biggest tyre plant is in Hallol, Gujarat. When fully operational the Nagpur plant will be on par with the other plants in capacity. It will employ over 1000 people though the plant will be fully automated.
Mr. Goenka commented that there is a large OEM (second hand) growth in the two wheeler segment and he anticipates a large market for replacement tyres too.
Mr. Subba Rao, CFO of CEAT was also present at the press meet and replied to a lot of querries regarding CEAT finances; its debt-equity ratios, where it is getting funding etc. etc.
The CM arrived for the function almost three hours late, after attending to the Vidhan Sabha matters. He came by helicopter which attracted a large crowd of curious villagers to look at ‘the big bird’. They were probably seeing a helicopter from such close quarters for the first time.
Speaking after the symbolic stone laying stone was uncovered the CM lauded CEAT for its ambitious plans for the Butibori plant.
While sharing his thoughts with the audience he said ” I realized Maharashtra was living on its past glory as the country’s most industrialized state while real growth had begun stagnating in the past ten years and many industries were in fact leaving the state. It is a challenge for me and my government to reaffirm the faith of businessmen in our state and make it industry-friendly. Only when there is investment, from India and abroad, will progress happen on many fronts.”
Speaking about really making the ‘one window system’ happen he said whereas now 76 NOCs are required to begin any industry he plans to bring down the figure to 25 or even 20.
Mentioning various impediments to business Mr. Fadnavis brought up the issue of the river regulatory zonal policy (RRZ) which is threatening the existence of the industries in MIDC, Hingna. He emphasized that since RRZ policy had come much after establishment of the industrial zone of MIDC it would not be fair to penalize the industries or ask them to shift.
“We need to rationalize a lot of our river (environmental )and other policies and bring them on par with international standards” the CM said.
BJP MLA from Hingna Mr. Sameer Meghe was present on the dias when the CM made this important announcement which should come as a relief to MIA, Hingna. Mr. Amol Deshmukh, MLA from Katol was also present as were cabinet Ministers Desai and Kadam and State Minister Mr. Pravin Patil.
Mr. Tom Thomson E.D. of Goenka group and many other senior executives of CEAT had flown to Nagpur specially for today’s function which held a great symbolic importance for the both the new government and the industries of Maharashtra. A full contingent of Nagpur industrialists were present for the occasion,
ABOUT MR. ANANT GOENKA
Anant Goenka, 32, son of RPG Group chairman Harsh Goenka took over as managing director of Ceat in 2012, where he had been deputy managing director — a post the tyre producer created specially for him.
Anant Goenka is an MBA from America’s Kellogg School of Management and a BSc in economics from The Wharton School. He had joined the RPG group as Dy. Manager and rose up the ranks before leaving for the US for his MBA studies.
At his appointment as deputy managing director in January 2010, Anant was the youngest executive on the board of India’s fourth-largest tyre maker by tonnage.
Anant’s father, however, continues to hold the record of taking over Ceat as its youngest boss — Harsh was 24 when he became managing director of the company in 1983. Four years later, Harsh became the chairman of the 1820-founded group.
Anant, who is the elder son of Harsh Goenka, learned the ropes at CEAT tryres from the illustrious Paras K Choudhary who was MD before him. When taking over from Choudhary Anant had said he felt honoured to take charge of the company from Chowdhary, who “has led this company so astutely” for the last decade. “My aim would be to make Ceat amongst the most profitable tyre companies in India in the next five years by strengthening the Ceat brand and improving operational efficiencies.”
With a plant in Sri Lanka, another one planned in Bangladesh and this one coming up in Nagpur, he is well on his way of fulfilling his ambitions.
