Lakshmi Machine Works Ltd (LMW), the Coimbatore-based a textile machines and machine tools manufacturer, is on an expansion mode. The company is set to expand its machine tool manufacturing capacity by 25-30 per cent to 150 machines per month from March this year to meet the growing demand.
“The demand for machine tools is increasingly from automobile and general engineering sectors to aerospace, defence and railways this year. Recently, we invested Rs 22 crore to double our capacity to 120 machines per month. But this is not enough as we have got huge orders for the next one-year. So, we are planning to increase the capacity further,” I N Bhattacharya, deputy general manager - marketing and sales, LMW LTD, said.
LMW manufactures CNC lathes and machining centers for automobile companies, auto component manufacturers as well as Tier 1 and Tier 2 manufacturers of component conversion industry. The company, recently added mother machines in its portfolio and revamped its foundries to churn out castings faster, he said.
LMW is focusing on aerospace, defence and railways in a big way. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is one of the big customers from the aerospace sector for LMW. Its customers from the automobile sector includes Maruti Suzuki, Ashok Leyland, TVS Motors, Sundaram Fastners, Amalgamation Group, Tata Motors, Bosch and other Tier1 and Tier 2 suppliers.
Bhattacharya said the company’s order book position for CNC lathes is very strong currently and it has over Rs 120 crore worth of orders in hand, for which it would take seven months to deliver. The company is likely to close the current fiscal with a total turnover of Rs 185 crore, a growth of 91 per cent over the last year. During the next fiscal it is aiming at a growth of close to 50 per cent. “We witnessed the worst period during the year 2008-09, when our turnover was in the range of Rs 65 crore. Last year was a good year, but this year, we are getting huge orders for CNC lathes from the automobile sector,” he said.
He said LMW has launched seven new machines including horizontal machining center and high speed turning center to cater to the huge demand from the automotive industry. It is also coming out with large machines with common applications for sectors like railway, defence and automobile for launch during the next fiscal.
The company would also provide end-to-end solutions in association with its sister concern, Quatro, he added.