New Delhi, April 1: Voltas Limited plans to set up a greenfield manufacturing facility at Uttaranchal or Himachal Pradesh.

?The plant will manufacture air conditioners and air-coolers. It will be a greenfield project, which may kick-start by the year-end,? general manager K. D. Virmani said. The exact location of the plant will depend on the tax benefits offered by the two states, Virmani said.

K. J. Jawa, vice-president, operations, said as Dadar has removed tax benefits, many firms have moved out of the western territory and Voltas, too, ?was exploring opportunities in other states?.

The company has two plants. The older one, which supplies refrigerator equipment to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) is in Hyderabad. The other is situated in the union territory of Dadar in a 50:50 joint venture with Fedders International.

In 2003-04, Voltas recorded a sales turnover of about Rs 1,200 crore and expects an 18 to 20 per cent growth in 2004-05. Voltas today launched a 0.8-tonne split AC at Rs 15,990 and two models of 1.5-tonne split AC in the price range of Rs 23,000-25,000.

The company has also launched three models of window AC in the price range of Rs14,500 to Rs 70,000. Officials said it will spend Rs 20 crore on its advertising and promotions. Last year, Voltas had launched a sub-one tonne window AC at Rs 9,990.

Air-conditioners contribute one-third of the total turnover of Voltas, which is expected to touch Rs 450 crore in the current fiscal. Last year, this figure was Rs 325 crore.

The company has a market share of 14 per cent in window ACs and 20 per cent in the split AC segment. Its nearest competitor is LG for room air-conditioners and Blue Star for central air-conditioning.

Voltas also plans to expand its exports by adding 4-5 countries, including Qatar and Oman in West Asia and Ghana and Uganda in Africa, to its list of destinations. ?Exports contribute about 8-10 per cent to the Voltas kitty and we plan to take this to 20 per cent in two to three years,? said Virmani.