Quelling speculations of a possible merger of the two companies doing rounds in certain quarters of the market, Maharaja International managing director and Intron president Ram S Ramsundar said, "We have not thought about it."

Ramsundar said there was no synergy to be achieved from the merger. He added that it did not mean that a merger could not be considered at a later date. "Our priority is to build up our home-appliances business. Right now we are trying to revive our washing-machine operations."

Electrolux had picked up 51 per cent majority stake in Intron in 1995 and has since then been trying to revive it. The company is likely to increase its stake in Intron to 74.21 per cent after a rights issue during this year. The Intron facility near Gurgaon has an installed capacity to manufacture about 50,000fully-automatic washing machines, but the factory churns out about 1,000 machines per month at present. Ramsundar expects the production to increase during this financial year to 25,000 machines per annum.

The facility is expected to achieve full capacity utilisation in two-three years, Ramsundar added. "We will be able to reach that level after we complete the debottling of the facility." The company is, meanwhile, considering the option of entering the twin-tub top-loading washing-machines segment, though it is not among the immediate priorities set out. "We are facing the strategic dilemma of how to do it and when should we enter the segment," Ramsundar said.

Electrolux does not manufacture the twin-tub machines at any facility across the globe. The company is likely to consider sourcing such machines from third party manufacturers, at least initially. Though a decision is yet to be made, Ramsundar felt a business could not be built on sourcing. "It can be a tactical, short-term business."

As forsetting up its own facility to manufacture the semi-automatic washing machines, Ramsundar said the company would need to generate critical mass to justify such a plant.

Besides, Eletrolux is keen to push the existing models of the washing machines. "We would like to bring down the price positioning of the machines to make them more affordable." At present, the Electrolux washing machines sells for Rs 22,900, but Ramsundar feels the market would grow if the machine was available at price point of Rs 15,000-16,000. Electrolux has further decided not to venture into manufacturing driers at the Intron facility. Ramsundar felt the demand volumes for such products is limited.

Intron, incidentally, was incorporated in the early nineties to manufacture and sell automatic washing machines and driers. It may, however, consider forays into product segments such as dishwashers and cooking ranges during the next two years.