indian manufacturers

As India's sparkling growth story spreads across the world, Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG), in the north of Italy, is gearing up to be a part of this wave through bilateral economic cooperation. Industry chambers and companies of this region are looking for increasing tieups with Indian counterparts to benefit from the emerging superpower's economic boom. "Our objective is to get to know more about Indian market, companies by holding workshops in the areas of energy, heavy industries, machineries, system designing, finance, communication and technology," Valduca Bertossi, chairman, Udine Chamber of Commerce, a northern province of FVG region, told visiting journalists. And leading the pack is a leading global insurance player Assicurazioni Generali from Trieste, a southern province of FVG. The company, listed on the Milan Stock Exchange (2006 turnover 64.5 billion euros), has already got a licence from IRDA for insurance venture in the country. It has tied up with Kishore Biyani's Future Group, a retail venture, to form a JV Future Generali Insurance Life Insurance Company, where Generali holds a 26% stake. "We want to repeat the success of distribution through malls in India as we have done in Switzerland and Philippines," said a senior official of Generali. indian manufacturers The JV is also negotiating with several mutual funds and banks to give a further boost to the insurance business, though the official refused to divulge names. "At present, India and China are the two most important areas for our growth," added the official. Now, across the western part of Europe, India is getting recognition for its corporate aggressiveness and hunger for acquisitions. "India. We know that man Mittal has bought Arcelor," said a man on the street, referring to LN Mittal. Ask him about Tatas' acquisition of Corus and he nods, saying, "Of course... yes." Other companies in the FVG region, which are looking for greater access to Indian market include Fantoni Group (turnover 360 million euros), a indian manufacturer of modern age wooden furniture for business and residential projects. "We would like to share the Indian boom," said Paolo Fantoni, managing director. The company, which already has a presence in Bangalore and Chennai, is looking for tieups with real estate majors like DLF and Embassy group to bag interior business for mega residential and corporate projects. "We want to focus on the top-end of the market," added Fantoni. Another major player in line is Itema Group (sales 667 m euors), a leading player in the area of textile machinery. Its group company Savio, which specialises in making sewing and twisting machines for yarn, is setting up a production facility in Coimbatore. "The 5 million euro facility will be ready to start production in early 2008," said Mauro Moro, industrial director of Savio. Also, heavy industries player like Danieli has set up base in Kolkata and started working with Bhel. Another area of bonding will be commodities like coffee. "India is the third largest supplier of raw coffee to Italy. We are looking to increase tieups with Indian farmers and various bodies to boost the supply chain," said Furio Suggi Liverani, director of Illy, a coffee processing company. Apart from biggies, start ups like PMP Industries, which makes gear boxes for mixer trucks, is looking for a strong presence in India. The company, which is setting up a production base in China, has established a presence in Mumbai and Delhi