Harsh summer to boost AC demand: Havells India exec

New Delhi: Air Conditioner manufacturers are expecting robust demands this year due to harsh summer as the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted above-normal temperatures, senior officials of Havells India said on Tuesday.

Yogesh Kumar Gupta, Executive Director, Havells India, that owns Lloyd brand, said the sale is likely to pick up from April. The company has significantly boosted its production capacity to meet the expected demands.

Addressing a media conference Gupta said Havells India last year started commercial production of air conditioners from its new plant located at Sri City in Andhra Pradesh.

Havells’ Sri City facility has the capacity to produce 10 lakh air conditioners annually. This has doubled the company’s AC production capacity to 20 lakh. The company’s old plant located at Ghiloth Industrial area in Rajasthan has the annual production capacity of 10 lakh units.

Alok Tickoo, Executive Vice President, Lloyd, said air conditioner demand was impacted in 2023 due to unseasonal rains. “This year we are expecting better demands,” Tickoo said.

Expecting a robust demand, Lloyd has come out with new AC models with high-tech features.

“Our focus on R&D and manufacturing capabilities has allowed us to introduce features like mood lighting, changeable facia, and air purification, making our ACs stand out with industry first features in the market,” he said.

The company has also launched industry-leading refrigerators equipped with Rapid Cool Technology capable of producing ice in just 29 minutes. Rajesh Rathi, Executive Vice President, Lloyd, claimed that Lloyd has come out with a technology to reduce ice-making time to less than half. “As of now the best you get is to make ice in at least 1 hour. We have cut this time to 29 minutes,” Rathi added.