Japanese major Kobelco Hydraulic Crawler Cranes, which started its commercial production at Sri City, is planning to achieve 35 per cent localisation this year and increase it to 50 per cent gradually to reduce the cost of manufacturing.

Kobelco Cranes is the second Japanese investment at Sri City after Kobelco Construction in the 7000 acre SEZ in Chittoor district, the largest private sector multi-product Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in South India on Thursday.

This is its first production facility outside Japan and the first foreign company to own a facility in India that specialises in manufacturing of complete crawler cranes.

It started construction in March 2011 and had become operational from November 2011. Kobelco Cranes has a capacity to produce 100 units a year across 100 -tonne, 150-tonne and 250-tonne classes.

“The Indian plant will cater to markets in the neighboring countries and will help in sustaining and increasing our market share in the growing construction equipment market in India,” said Shinsuke Izumi, president and director of Kobelco Cranes India.

The local manufacturing of cranes would reduce the cost of the cranes and will be made available in the price range Rs 2.5 crore to Rs. 10 crores The company expects to acquire a market share of 20 per cent by 2015, he said.

Sir City managing director Ravindra Sannareddy said two subsidiaries of the Kobe Steel Group have started operations within one year in Sri City and it was hopeful that more Japanese companies apart from the 12 already established here of coming to Sri City.