 New Faber kitchen chimneys
 Faber, the leader in the electric kitchen chimney market, has added a new dimension to the kitchen chimney market of Chennai. The company has launched its new technology range of kitchen chimneys in Chennai. Fitted with new revolutionary baffle filter, developed by Faber SpA of Italy's R&D wing, this new range has especially been launched keeping in mind the cooking habits in Indian kitchens.
Faber also introduced the life time warranty (LTW) range of kitchen chimneys. Faber is the first and only appliances company in India to introduce the unique concept of LTW on its select products.
Faber India is a joint venture of the world's No 1 kitchen chimney company, Faber SpA of Italy and Heatkraft of Pune. The company controls majority market share and enjoys a dominant position in the kitchen chimney market of India. Faber sells more than 30 models of traditional and decorative chimneys in India, which are priced between Rs 49,901 to Rs 65,001, catering to all the price points of the market.
In addition to kitchen chimneys, Faber's product portfolio includes cooking range, built-in gas hobs and microwave ovens, said Kawal Hira, senior vice-president (Business Strategy), Faber-India, at the launch in
Chennai.
"Traditionally, Indian cooking requires a lot of oil and spices, thereby releasing a lot of oily smoke into the kitchen. This oily smoke clogs the traditional mesh filter of kitchen chimney very frequently and cleaning the mesh filter is a big hassle as it takes hours to clean.
"Based on this input from Faber-India, the R&D department of Faber-Italy has developed a special baffle filter for the Indian market. The unique design of the baffle filter is patented by Faber. The most exclusive feature of Faber's baffle filter is its unique structural design of curves and cups-like strips which ensure that all the oil and heavy grease particles get trapped at the bottom without it getting choked. Being hollow, the baffle filter can be washed easily using detergent in lukewarm water. Hence, it's easy to maintain. It needs to be washed once in two or three months, while the traditional filters have to be washed once every 10 days."
 Talking about other initiatives, Hira said, "Recently, Faber, with an additional investment of Rs 40 lakh, has added a new assembly line at the existing manufacturing facility in Pune, taking the total manufacturing capacity to 10,000 chimneys, 3,000 gas hobs and 1,000 cooking ranges per month. The company is also expanding its marketing network rapidly.
"This year we are opening another 20 to 25 mini faber gallerias across the country. This will increase the total number of Faber Gallerias to over 55 from 36 at present. Faber aims to set up the largest exclusive retail chain of kitchen appliances in the country."
The company is expected to achieve a turnover of Rs 52 crore for the 12-month period ending December 31, 2004, which is 30 per cent higher than last year's sale of Rs 39 crore. This is higher than the industry growth rate of 20 to 25 per cent per annum. The southern market contributes almost 40 per cent in the total sales of the company.
Recently, Faber SpA of Italy, as part of its long-term vision for the Indian market, has increased its equity stake in the Indian joint venture to 75 per cent from 51 per cent. Faber has identified India as a priority market. The Italian major is now planning to further strengthen its Indian joint venture with the infusion of latest technology and R&D support.
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