For its assembly line and material handling, the new automated and smart factory is outfitted with cutting-edge automation techniques and instruments.
Blue Star Limited, a leading air conditioning and commercial refrigeration company, announced the opening of its first manufacturing site in South India on Monday in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, 70 kilometres from Chennai, built on 26.5 acres at a cost of Rs. 350 crores.
With four ports – Chennai, Ennore, and Kattupalli in Tamil Nadu and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh –located within 100 kms, the new plant is set to reduce the cost of incoming raw materials and outbound logistics as South India accounts for 50 per cent of Blue Star’s market.
The firm, which currently sells air conditioners in three price ranges: premium, affordable premium, and inexpensive, has stated that it is acquiring an additional 40 acres in Sri City to develop a second facility that would cater to commercial air conditioners and the export market. Blue Star would invest an extra Rs. 250 crores in the proposed factory to begin with. B. Thiagarajan, MD, Blue Star Ltd, stated during a news conference at the brand-new facility, which began production in January 2023, that the firm will make roughly 3 lakh AC units in the first year, eventually increasing to 12 lakh units yearly by 2027. “From this plant, the corporation will produce some of the new items revealed. “The new automated and smart factory is outfitted with the most advanced automation techniques and equipment for its assembly line and material handling, among other things,” Thiagarajan explained.