Rs. 250-crore investment pumped in
Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao, Telangana Chief Minister, inaugurated on July 11 the first integrated bus manufacturing plant in India set up by Deccan Auto Ltd. at Kodakachani village in Medak district, 40 km away from Hyderabad. Involving an investment of Rs. 250 crores, the plant has an annual capacity to manufacture 3,000 units.
Mr. MSRV Prasad, Chairman of the company, observed on the occasion that the bus manufacturing facility is another milestone in Deccan Auto’s strategic plans for India. It will be a world-class facility to serve both domestic and export markets in Asia and Africa where the group has its big presence in the cement and steel sectors.
The company is committed to bring the best technology and manufacturing practices in the Indian bus industry. It has technical collaboration with Zhongtong of China, a Government-held company exporting to more than 30 countries worldwide, said Mr. VA Norhi, Managing Director of Deccan Auto.
Mr. Sridhar Kalmadi, Managing Director of Corona Bus Manufacturing, said Mr. Prasad has a majority stake in Corona bus manufacturing. Corona buses will also be manufactured at Deccan’s Hyderabad plant. Corona has an impressive order book of more than 300 buses and would be adding another 1,000 buses this year.
Covering an area of 75 acres, the plant has a covered area of two lakh sq. feet. It has modern testing facilities and a paint booth that can handle more than 3,000 buses annually.
Deccan Auto and Corona buses will have the largest product portfolio in the country with rear engines, said Mr. M. Balaji Rao, Director, Corona Buses. The range includes buses from 8m to 18m in length with a special focus on the city bus segment and sleeper coaches. The Deccan buses are built on the integral coach design like that being offered by Volvo Buses.
The plant is accredited by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and conforms to the new Bus Code. Leakage testing facility, modern painting booths with ovens, bus transfer platform, 100% power back up, jigs and fixtures with hydraulic/pneumatic controls, effluent treatment plant, diesel filling station, weigh bridge, four lakh litre water storage capacity, etc.
Deccan Buses with the technical collaboration of Zhongtong Bus Holding Company, will be producing luxury coaches with integral design that enhances passenger comfort. All buses will have rear engines, air suspension, air-conditioning and the best of interiors. The buses will be in 8m, 12m and 13.7m length. The 8m rear engine bus is the only one in India today with the above configurations. The 12m and the 13.7 m buses will have toilets, pantry and individual audio visual systems and come with executive seating arrangement of 2×1 semi sleeper seats.
The Corona buses are based on the monocoque design, the only one in India, which enhances passenger comfort. They have independent front suspension as in a car and are powered with Cummins engines. The City buses have automatic transmission and air suspension.
The company’s vision is to manufacture ‘world class’ buses in India for the masses and be a front-runner in the introduction of appropriate technology.
Deccan Auto, along with Corona, aims to double bus production to 6,000 units in the next six years. This year the company will require a manpower of about 400, which will go up to 700 by the end of 2017.
