Tata Motors' new plant for the Tata Nano in Gujarat, India was recently inaugurated by Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi in the presence of Tata Sons and Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata, ministers of the Gujarat government, top officials, vendors and supplier partners, dealers and associates of the company.
The plant's inauguration marks the culmination of the company's goal - making the Tata Nano freely available to hundreds of thousands of families. The capacity of the plant will be 250,000 cars per year, to be achieved in phases, and with some balancing it is expandable to 350,000 cars per year.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Tata said:"We are happy that the Tata Nano has found its home at Sanand in Gujarat. We would like to thank everyone who has made this possible, particularly Mr Modi."
Deliveries from the plant, including BS4 Tata Nanos, will begin this month. The output, supplemented by the facility at Pantnagar (Uttarakhand), will in the immediate phase complete pending orders from the booking process of 2009.
Built in a record time of 14 months, starting November 2008, the integrated facility comprises Tata Motors' own plant, spread over 725 acres, and an adjacent vendor park, spread over 375 acres, to house key component manufacturers for the Tata Nano.
In line with latest world-class manufacturing practices, the Tata Nano plant has been equipped with the latest equipment. This includes sophisticated robotics and high speed production lines. Conscious of the critical need for environment protection, the plant has energy-efficient motors, variable frequency drives, and systems to measure and monitor carbon levels.
All these are supplemented with extensive tree plantation, sustainable water sourcing through water harvesting and ground water recharging, and harnessing solar energy for illumination.In November 2008, simultaneously with the construction of the plant, Tata Motors also began its community development activities in the area. These initiatives, encompassing 20 villages in a 20-kilometre radius, are based on health, education, employability and environment enhancement.
The initiatives have already led to the provision of drinking water for about 10,000 residents, sanitation for about 600 households, a competency upgrade of about 140 primary school teachers and employability enhancement for about 500 men and women. The company is committed to developing the area and converting it into a beehive of inclusive growth.
To celebrate the inauguration of the plant, a fleet of Tata Nanos driven by prospective customers, who participated in an online contest on www.tatanano.com, have begun a countrywide drive, called the 'Nano Superdrive', from Sanand.