Toyota, Bosch's Bidadi factories open, but work is far from normal

Many units in Bidadi are working at or below half their installed capacity, not entirely because of prohibitory orders.

Normalcy is slowly returning to Karnataka's Bidadi industrial area, which houses the plants of some big companies, including Toyota Kirloskar, Coca-Cola and Bosch. Home to 165 manufacturing units, the industrial estate on the outskirts of Bengaluru saw half of its workforce of about 30,000 people back at work on Tuesday. “About 80% of factories in industrial areas are open,” Gaurav Gupta, principal secretary, industries department, told ET.

According to him, more than 60% of employees across industrial units in the state are back, though there are issues with regard to capacity utilisation. Capacity utilisation, he said, ranged between 20% and 80% due to a combination of factors. “Some are affected by the lack of demand, some due to raw material supply issues, and others because of labour shortage,” Gupta said. Manufacturing units across Karnataka have been hit by lack of supply of components, as makers of those inputs located in high-risk states of Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have been under a prolonged lockdown.

“Normalcy in input supply as well as uptick in demand will happen once big metros open up,” said a top executive at a manufacturing plant in Bidadi. “We are confident it will happen soon.” The 1,500-acre Bidadi industrial estate is one of the largest and important manufacturing hubs in the state. Of the 165 manufacturing industries here, 155 opened on Tuesday, a positive signal to the state government, even though they are weeks or months away from going full throttle.

“The manufacturing units here are working in a single shift. Prohibitory orders kick in by 9 pm and workers have to reach home by then. You will see a semblance of normalcy only after the lockdown is completely lifted and prohibitory orders gone,” said KV Rajendra Hegde, president at Bidadi Industries Association.

Many units here are working at or below half their installed capacity, not entirely because of prohibitory orders. The reasons vary. While skilled workers are yet to return in some cases, it is a combination of issues of supply of components and sedate market demand in others. In a recent tweet, Toyota Kirloskar vice chairman Vikram Kirloskar had said, “Buying behaviour now depends on sentiments. There is a pent up demand and consumers are interested in making a purchase, but are holding out until they feel safe.”