Behr Plans New Plant in India to Supply Tata Motors

PUNE, India--Behr India Ltd., Behr GmbH & Co. KG with the Anand Group, an Indian automotive supplier, will provide air-conditioning systems for the Tata Nano starting in June of this year.

Behr India will supply Tata with HVAC modules, manual control heads and condensers from production facilities in Pune and Singur. Product development for the program was done entirely in India.

“Behr will be equipping the Nano with state-of-the-art climate-control technology,” said Behr India CEO Sunil Kaul. “For Tata, we’ve created an air-conditioning system that combines cost-efficiency with the capacity to fully accommodate India’s hot and humid climate conditions.”

A special feature of Behr’s air-conditioning technology is the integration of a BehrOxal^® coating process for aluminum evaporators. The innovative process improves corrosion protection and condensed water drainage in evaporators, while at the same time protecting the environment, since it does not contain chemical coatings. BehrOxal technology won a coveted 2007 PACE award from Automotive News.

"Behr is well placed to participate in the success of low-cost vehicles. We have production locations in Brazil, China, Czech Republic, India and Mexico, as well as development centers in Brazil, China and India,” noted Klemens Schmiederer, a member of the Board of Management at Behr Group. “We also have set up sales structures in all of the relevant markets and developed low-cost products."

The Nano is nicknamed the “people’s car” for its affordable pricing.

For the HVAC assembly, Behr currently is setting up a new plant in Singur, India near Calcutta. Production at the new site is slated to start in mid-2008. Behr India began its joint venture with Anand Group in 1997, and expanded its commitment to India with the opening of a new production plant in Pune last year.

Behr’s North American headquarters are in Troy, Michigan. Behr America has nearly 3,000 employees at facilities in Troy, Mich.; Dayton, Ohio; Charleston, S.C.; Fort Worth, Texas, and Ramos Arizpe, Mexico.

Behr GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart, Germany, is a systems partner for the international automobile industry. A specialist for automotive air-conditioning and engine-cooling systems, the Behr Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of original equipment for passenger and commercial vehicles. Group sales in the 2006 business year were approximately $4.2 billion. Currently Behr employs about 19,000 people at 17 development and 30 production sites, and an additional 13 joint-venture locations worldwide.

Additional information is at www.behrgroup.com.

About the companies:

Behr India Ltd., based in Pune, India, is a joint venture between the automotive suppliers Behr GmbH & Co. KG and the Anand Group. The company has established itself on the fast-growing Indian automobile market as a supplier of high-quality air-conditioning systems. In 2007, Behr India expanded its range to include engine-cooling products. Total sales in the 2006 fiscal year came to $101.4 million. The company currently employs a staff of approximately 600.

Anand Automotive Systems is a leading manufacturer of automotive components and systems in India, supplying to virtually every vehicle and engine manufacturer in the country. The Group has a sales turnover of $722 million in 2007 and 16 companies with 43 manufacturing locations in India. Anand employs 7500 and invests two percent of its sales every year on training and development programs for employees. Visit www.anandgroupindia.com for more information.