Chennai: The €350-million French car trailer manufacturer Lohr Industries is in the process of setting up a car carrier- trailer plant to make cars-carrier trailers at Pune, in a 51:49 joint venture with Belgium's Stokota group.

The two are in the process of incorporating a new joint venture company, Lohr India Auto Transport.

"Already $2 million has been invested in the project and production is expected to start this April," says Philippe Fortmann, CEO, Lohr. "We require around 20 acre land for the project. In two years time the total investment would be around $5 million."

Lohr India plans to roll out 100 trailers per month and employ around 150 workers by 2009.

With almost all global passenger car makers setting up production base in India, Lohr Industries has decided to follow them, many of whom are its customers, to India.

Fortmann says the trailers that transport passenger cars in India do not comply with legal stipulations. "The length of a trailer should not be more than 18 metres and the maximum height should be 4.75 metres. The majority of the car-carrying trailers exceed the stipulation to carry fewer cars.

As a result brand new cars suffer damage during transportation to the dealers' show rooms, requiring repairs and also impose additional costs on transport operators, he says.

While meeting the legal stipulations in terms of length and height the trailers Lohr's trailers have a higher capacity to carry more cars Fortman says.

According to him Lohr India will make two types of trailer systems, one hydraulically operated and the other manual, at its Pune facility.

Lohr India's car carrying systems are expected to be priced around Rs20 to Rs25 lakh, but yield better returns to the logistics operators over a longer period of time. "Our trailers are lighter. There will be better fuel economy. Maintenance expenses will also be low compared to other systems," Fortman says.

"Further the life of our trailers are longer and is corrosion resistant than what is now on the Indian roads," he adds.

Fortmann says Lohr's primary target are luxury car makers in India. Apart from reduced transit damages, he says, Lohr Industries can even customise trailers to offer brand image for car manufacturers. He expects them to insist on Lohr's products to transport their vehicles, once convinced about them.

He is also talking to the Indian car makers about Lohr's trailers and how they help reduce transit damages.

Currently rolling out 2,500 trailers globally, Lohr Industries is planning to double the number by the end of this year.