Whirlpool to invest $20 mn in next 12-18 months

New Delhi, Apr 3 (UNI) Buyoed by the growth in sales, consumer durables major Whirlpool India today said it will invest 20 million dollars over the next 12-18 months for expanding its bouquet of products.

''We will invest around 20 million dollars over the next 12-18 months for expanding our range of products,'' Whirlpool India Managing Director Arvind Uppal told reporters here.

Asked about the production capacity of the company, Mr Uppal said, ''We manufacture around 1.5 million units in a year, and we hope to achieve a 20 per cent growth on that this year.'' At present we have sufficient capacity to sustain our demands, he added.

The company also unveiled three new variants of refrigerators, washing machines and microwaves today.

Whirlpool India saw a 20 per cent growth across its refrigerators, washing machines and microwaves.

''The growth rate of our range of washing machines and refrigerators at 20.4 per cent is faster than the Indian market which has led to an increase in the market share,'' he added.

In all the other categories, a 20 per cent increase in the market share was reported.

Going forward, the company is expecting an increase of upto 26 per cent in market share in the refrigerator category, 10 per cent in the microwave category and 16 per cent in the washing machinery category this year.

The new range of refrigerators are priced between Rs 10,700 and Rs 19,500 while the 'JetChef' Microwave is between Rs 15,000 to Rs 18,00 and the 'Splash' washing machine is tagged at Rs 10,490.

Whirlpool India, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Whirlpool Corporation, sells washing machines, refrigerators, microwave ovens and ACs in the Indian market.

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