| Amco Batteries Limited | |
| Type: | Public |
| Key People: | Ramachandra S[1] (CEO) |
| Industry: | Battery |
| Products: | Automotive batteries, inverter batteries, genset batteries, UPS batteries |
| Foundation: | 1932 |
| Location: | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
AMCO Batteries Limited, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu,[2] [3] is an automobile and commercial battery manufacturing company. Founded in 1932, it is a part of Rs. 15,000-crore Amalgamations Group, one of India's largest light engineering groups.[4] [5] Today, AMCO is the leading supplier of two-wheeler batteries to companies like Honda, Hero Motor Corp, Bajaj Auto, TVS, Yamaha, Royal Enfield, Mahindra Two Wheelers etc. It also supplies four-wheeler batteries to TAFE Tractors, Eicher Tractors, Sonalika Tractors etc.
The product profile of AMCO includes automotive, inverter, genset, and UPS batteries. It manufactures a wide variety of batteries across all these product categories. AMCO is a market leader in the two-wheeler battery segment with most of the two-wheelers coming with AMCO Battery's O.E, fitment. The company also manufactures four-wheeler batteries with a product range consisting of factory-charged, dry-charged, and maintenance-free batteries.
Founded by Becken Bain, a German national, AMCO became part of Amalgamations Group in 1955. AMCO began operations under the stewardship of the late S Anantharamakrishnan. The company saw exponential growth and expansion under the leadership of late Chairpersons, Dr. A. Sivasailam and Ms. Jayshree Venkataraman.[6]
It was the leading automotive battery manufacturer in the country. AMCO was the trendsetter in introducing two-wheeler batteries in India and was the first company to launch the two-wheeler polypropylene batteries in the years 1984–85. AMCO has got QS 9000:1998, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and TS16949 certifications which were proof of its quality and high standards.
AMCO manufactures products mainly in four ranges: automobile batteries, inverter batteries, UPS batteries, and genset batteries. Under the automobile battery range, AMCO manufactures batteries for two-wheelers, cars/SUVs/MUVs, tractors, and commercial vehicles.
1932
1955
1964
1971
1974
1976
1980
1984
1985–86
1992
1993
1994–96
2004
2005 onward
Amalgamations Group, founded in the year 1938, is an Indian business conglomerate based out of Chennai. The Group has companies operating across diverse industries. The Group has an interest in Manufacturing, Plantations, Trading, and Distribution and Services.[12] It is among India's top Light Engineering Conglomerates.[12] The group has 47 companies under its fold which operate 50 manufacturing plants. The most notable companies of the group are Tractor and Farm Equipment Limited (Better known as TAFE), Simpsons & Company, T Stanes & Co, AMCO Batteries, Higginbotham's, and Addisons Paints.
The group's history traces back to the year 1935 when Mr. Sivasailam Anantharamakrishnan joined the Simpsons Group, a British-owned South Indian business conglomerate, as Secretary in 1935. In the year 1938, he was one of the three directors on the board when Simpsons formed a holding company.[13] It was converted into a public limited company the next year, which later became Amalgamations Group in 1941. In the 1940s Anantharamakrishnan lead the rapid expansion of the group, even though he became its Chairman only in the year 1953.[13]
The Amalgamations Group after acquiring 100-year-old Simpsons in 1941, started acquiring several prominent old companies of South India like Higginbotham's, Associated Printers, Associated Publishers, Addison & Co., SRVS, George Oakes, T.Stanes, The United Nilgiri Tea Estates and Stanes Amalgamated Estates.[14] [15] From the 1950s onward the group's auto component manufacturing companies have supplied products to all the major OEM suppliers, helping them in reducing dependence on imports. The Group companies have formed several alliances with international partners to boost their technological capabilities. These alliances along with internal innovation, R & D and continuous zeal for New Product Development have led to group companies gaining a good share in the "After Sales Market" as well.