Enersys products

Battery makers EnerSys of Reading, PA, United States and Energy Leader Batteries India Ltd of Hyderabad, India have formed a joint venture.

The venture aims to produce and market batteries for industrial applications focusing on both reserve power and forklift-related motive power customers in India.

"We will continue to expand globally to meet the needs of our customers and to better serve additional geographic markets," says John D Craig, EnerSys chairman, president and chief executive officer. "This transaction, in addition to our recently completed transactions in South Africa and South America, meaningfully expands the addressable markets for our products."

EnerSys owns a majority of the new venture.

In a securities filing, EnerSys says it has "a small share of the fragmented Asian industrial battery market" and, in the market for motive power products, competes in Asia principally with GS-Yuasa Corp  and Shin-Kobe Electric Machinery Co Ltd of Japan and Zibo Torch Energy Co Ltd of Zibo, China.

Active in both motive power and reserve power battery markets, Reading-based EnerSys reported profit of USD113.4 million on sales of USD1.96 billion for the fiscal year ended 31 March 2011. EnerSys had about 8,400 employees on that date.

The EnerSys Asia/Australia/Oceania business segment has offices in Singapore and accounted for USD177.5 million or 9% of total sales.

David M Shaffer, segment president, notes, "The rapid development of infrastructure and modernisation in India brings exciting opportunities for EnerSys. The joint venture will also provide products and brands well known to our global customers to support their south Asian growth."

In addition to the joint venture, other EnerSys operations in the region include industrial battery production sites in Jiangdu and Shantou, China and industrial battery assembly and distribution in Sydney, Australia.

Motive power batteries are utilised in electric forklift trucks and other commercial electric-powered vehicles.  Reserve power batteries are used in the telecommunication and utility industries, uninterruptible power supplies and numerous applications such as aerospace and defence systems requiring stored energy solutions.