Italy-based Bonfiglioli to expand manufacturing capacity in India

Chennai: Italy-based Bonfiglioli, which makes gearboxes, gear motors and inverters for the industrial automation and renewable energy sectors, is planning to expand capacity in India with an investment of about Rs 85 crore, by February 2018.

Bonfiglioli Transmissions Pvt Ltd, the India-based subsidiary of the company, is targeting to reach Rs 1,000 crore turnover by 2020, from a revenue of around Rs 650 crore, posted last fiscal.

"India is the second largest base for our company, after Italy and over years, its importance has been increasing," said Sonia Bonfiglioli, chairman of the Bonfiglioli Group.

At present, the company has manufacturing facilities near Chennai -- one in Thirumudivakkam and another one in Mannur, near Sriperumbudur. The Thirumudivakkam facility produces gearboxes and gear motors for mobile machinery and wind turbines, while the Mannur facility manufactures products for industrial solutions across several segments. The Thirumudivakkam facility has a capacity to produce 75,000 units and the Mannur unit has a capacity to produce 400,000 units. Plans are to take this up to 100,000 units and 550,000 units respectively, with the expansion.

The Thirumudivakkam factory will be expanded with a new facility of 1,40,000 sq ft with an investment of around Rs 75 crore to house assembly lines, R&D and test labs, by February, 2018. With the wind energy, infrastructure sectors poised to see better growth, the company expects to increase its market presence in the country, while it will also export to Middle East and other regions, said Kennady V Kaippally, country manager, Mobile and Wind solutions business unit, in India.

For the industrial solutions business, a new facility will be set up at Chakan, at Pune, with 45,000 sq ft, to serve customers from a wide ragne of sectors, including food, packaging, cement, steel, pharmaceutical, textile and others. This facility, with an investment of around Rs 10 crore, will be completed by March, 2017. The transmission business is expected to post around Rs 260 crore revenue out of the Rs 750 crore revenue expected during the current fiscal year. Almost 50 per cent of this business is from Western parts of the country and the new facility will help it to address this market better, said Andrea Genuini, country manager, Industrial Solutions business unit, in India.

The R&D facility in Chennai will work for global projects of Bonfiglioli. The company is expanding its operations to internet of things and smart industry applications, and plans to set up a smart factory in Italy wiht an investment of Rs 450 crore.

The company has posted a revenue of Rs 650 crore last year, is expecting to reach Rs 750 crore revenue by end of this fiscal and targeting Rs 1,000 crore turnover by 2020, said G A Balaji, CFO and local staff coordinator, Bonfiglioli Tranmissions Pvt Ltd.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.