UNO Minda inks JV with Toyoda Gosei for making rubber hoses

UNO Minda, the NK Minda Group and Toyoda Gosei Company Ltd of Japan have entered into a joint venture to manufacture and sell brake hoses, fuel hoses and other automotive rubber hoses.

The JV will be set up with a total investment of Rs 85.3 crore in a phased manner and will have an authorized capital of Rs 540 million with an equity share of 51 percent held by UNO Minda and the balance 44 percent with Toyoda Gosei and 5 percent with Toyota Tsusho Corporation.

The new JV Company will be known as Minda TG Rubber Pvt Ltd with a manufacturing facility proposed to be set up at Bawal, Haryana. Production will commence in the third quarter of fiscal year 2015.

UNO Minda and Toyoda Gosei Company already have a collaboration in India since 2011 for the manufacture and sale of safety products (steering wheel with airbags, body sealings) with a manufacturing plant at Neemrana in Rajasthan. In addition, the UNO Minda Group had set up a fuel cap division last year with technical support from TG.

However to address the growing market for brake and fuel hoses in India, UNO Minda  and Toyoda Gosei hope to achieve additional synergies in the areas of product development and technology as well as make substantial inroads into new customer segments, for expanding the customer footprint.

According to Nirmal K Minda, CMD, UNO Minda Group, “With rapid technological advancement, customers' demands for hoses are proliferating. We wish to further strengthen our product portfolio with support of Toyoda Gosei which has a comprehensive experience of automotive safety systems. At the same time, we will ensure better automotive component solutions to our strong customer base.”

The new joint venture will further strengthen the partnership between Toyoda Gosei and UNO Minda and enable both companies to expand their business in the growing Indian market.

Tadashi Arashima, president, TG Worldwide, said, “Since 2011, Toyoda Gosei and the UNO Minda Group have been cooperating with each other through the joint ownership of Toyoda Gosei Minda India (TGMIN), which Toyoda Gosei originally established in 2008. It produces safety systems like airbags and sealing products and weather strips. The new joint venture will further strengthen the partnership between Toyoda Gosei and UNO Minda Group and help both companies expand business in the growing market."