Mahindra’s Zaheerabad plant to be hub for K2 tractors
Hyderabad: Mahindra & Mahindra’s Farm Equipment Sector (FES), a part of the $19.4 billion Mahindra Group, announced that it will manufacture a new tractor series called the ‘K2’, exclusively at the company’s tractor manufacturing facility at Zaheerabad in Telangana.
Developed through close collaboration between the engineering teams from Mitsubishi Mahindra Agricultural Machinery of Japan and Mahindra Research Valley, India, the K2 series aims to create a light-weight tractor programme for both domestic and international markets.
The new series will enable Mahindra to introduce products across four new tractor platforms, in the Sub Compact, Compact, Small Utility and Large Utility tractor categories, covering 37 models across various HP points. The new series will cater to domestic as well as international markets including USA, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
KT Rama Rao, Minister for IT, Industries, MA&UD, Government of Telangana said, “Government of Telangana is very grateful to Mahindra for their new investment in Telangana. K2 tractors have been designed in collaboration with Mitsubishi, and their manufacturing in Mahindra‘s plant in Zaheerabad would be a matter of great achievement for the entire country.”
“One of the most remarkable features of Telangana‘s investment landscape over the last six years is a series of repeat investments by our existing investors. The new investment by Mahindra is one such example. This goes on to show that existing investors find the policy is working on the ground, and is going to be good, leading them to invest continuously,” KTR added.
Rajesh Jejurikar, ED, Automotive & Farm Equipment Sector, M&M mentioned, “As the world’s largest tractor manufacturer by volume, Mahindra is on an exciting path to developing the K2 series, one of our most ambitious tractor programmes. This project is focused on diversity and scalability, to meet the varied expectations and different regional requirements of customers and markets across the world.”
He further added, “Our Zaheerabad facility which has always received tremendous support from the Government of Telangana is very well equipped to meet this challenge and we hope to substantially improve employment opportunities through this project”.
Established in 2012, Zaheerabad is Mahindra’s youngest and largest tractor manufacturing plant in terms of capacity. The facility also manufactures the company’s next-generation range of Yuvo and Jivo tractors, including the recently launched Plus Series of tractors.
Currently, Mahindra is the only tractor manufacturer in Telangana and has invested close to Rs 1,087 crores at its facility in Zaheerabad. The farm equipment manufacturing unit employs over 1,500 workers, with a capacity of over 1,00,000 tractors per year on a two-shift basis.
The Zaheerabad plant is technologically advanced, with the flexibility to roll-out over 330 different tractor variants ranging from 30 to 100 HP. The plant has adopted the TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) Philosophy and Culture since inception, with around 65 per cent of Zaheerabad’s tractor production being exported globally.
The plant also produces Mahindra’s Rice Transplanters and Tractor Mounted Combine Harvesters. Besides manufacturing farm equipment, Mahindra’s Automotive Division also manufactures a wide range of cargo and passenger vehicles at the Zaheerabad plant.
‘PLI scheme signals “dramatic shift” in attitude towards industry’
Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra has said that the government’s announcement of a production-linked incentive scheme for 10 more sectors, including auto, signals a “dramatic shift” in the attitude towards industry.
On November 11, the Cabinet approved production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for 10 more sectors, including automobiles and auto parts, pharmaceuticals, textiles and food products, with an outlay of about Rs 1,45,980 crore over a period of five years.
Under another PLI scheme, an outlay of Rs 51,311 crore has already been approved. “I took some time to explore the contours of this initiative. I don’t use the term ‘game-changer’ too often but it’s apt in this case. For me, what’s much more important than the mechanics of the scheme is the dramatic shift it signals in the attitude towards industry,” Mahindra said in a tweet.
In another tweet, he said, he started his career during the “License Raj” where scale and growth were “frowned upon.” “Finally, this policy signals recognition that a) scale is imperative in order to nurture globally competitive businesses b) large enterprises foster a large ecosystem of small/micro enterprises,” Mahindra said in the tweet.
In another tweet, he said, “It makes eminent sense to initially catalyse the growth of selected sectors with world-beating potential. I believe the chosen industries will rise to the challenge if the policy is applied consistently & transparently.”
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