Electrical and electronic products maker V-Guard is moving its solar water heater production to Perundurai in Erode district of Tamil Nadu by setting up a new manufacturing facility. The company will also triple its production once the facility goes on stream.

The Rs 550-crore group has acquired 35 acres of land in SIPCOT industrial area in Perundurai for the new plant that will come up at a cost of about Rs 14 crore. Work on the facility will start next month and by June next machineries from the existing plant in Coimbatore will be moved to the new facility.

“Currently we produce 10,000 solar water heaters at our plant in Coimbatore. The area also houses manufacturing units for cables and wires. Further expansion for solar water heaters is difficult in the exiting premises. So we are moving the production to Perundurai,” said Mithun Chittilappilly, executive director of V-Guard Industries.

The new facility will produce 3,000 units of solar water heaters per month initially and will have a scalable capacity of 5,000 units.

“It is a relatively new business for us contributing Rs 18 crore revenue now. The highly unorganised solar water heater market in India is estimated to be wo­rth Rs 600 crore. Low-inte­rest bank finance can help grow the market,” he said.

V-Guard is also trying to bring in new technology th­at will lower the product co­st as well as ensure durability in hard water conditions.