Danfoss to invest Rs1,350 crore in Chennai facility; focus on cold chains

Danish company Danfoss, a provider of refrigeration and air-conditioning products and solutions, plans to invest 1.5 billion Danish kroner (about Rs1,350 crore) in India over a period ending 2015, reports quoting its president and CEO Niels Bjorn Christiansen said.

Besides, expanding its present product range, Danfoss said it intends to produce products ''around clod chains'', for which there is a huge scope, reports quoted Christiansen as saying. There was no confirmation on the type of products the company planned to make in India.

The investments will be made in Danfoss' plant in Chennai, he said, adding that the investment will also simultaneously increase the manpower strength in India to 1,000 from the present 200.

Danfoss's Chennai facility has mainly been manufacturing control drives that let motors gain speed appropriate to the load, thereby making them more energy-efficient.

The company is expected to expand production of 'commercial compressors' used in cooling large buildings and supermarkets. Inverters for solar power plants is another area that Danfoss wants to expand.

Danfoss, which has been present in India since 1998, reported 2010 sales of around Rs350 crore.