Having inaugurated the second phase of its steam turbine and compressor manufacturing facility at Vadodara, Siemens Ltd has chalked out a Rs 1,200 crore capex plan for the next two years in the state of Gujarat.
While the company has already invested Rs 275 crore of the amount for the second phase of turbine and compressor plant, the company has also planned to expand the existing unit, apart from setting up transformers and wind turbine manufacturing units in the region. "We had invested around Rs 300 crore for the phase one of the plant where we began manufacturing small steam turbine with a capacity of 45 Mw. At an investment of Rs 275 crore, we have now launched the second phase wherein we will manufacture steam turbine with a capacity of 150 Mw and compressors. Next stage of the plan is to expand and manufacture 250 Mw steam turbines, transformers and renewable energy products like wind turbine. In all, we would be investing Rs 1,200 crore in next two years in Gujarat including the current second phase expansion," said AK Dixit, chief executive officer, energy sector, Siemens Ltd.
As against the conventional gear drive technology used for manufacturing wind turbines, Siemens Ltd is planning to manufacture the same using direct drive technology and intends to set up a manufacturing unit in Gujarat. "We will be investing Rs 350-400 crore for the wind turbine unit which we would like to put up in Vadodara. The plant should be operational by 2013," Dixit added.
The steam turbine and compressor factory has been operational in Vadodara since January 2007 and is already established as a 'Centre of Competence' for smaller steam turbines up to 45 Mw for industrial applications. The smaller turbines up to 15 Mw are sourced from this factory by Siemens AG to cater to Asia, Africa and even to European markets. The second phase of the factory will further enhance company's manufacturing footprint in India.The expansion program is in line with the announcement made by Peter Loescher, President and CEO of Siemens AG in February 2010 when he announced an investment of Rs 1,600 crore in India over the next three years to set up six hubs of base level products. "The successful inauguration of our second phase of steam turbine and compressor facility has been made possible due to our strategy for localisation. The order value for our oil and gas business in India for the financial year 2010 has seen a rise of 66 per cent as against the financial year 2009," said Armin Bruck, managing director, Siemens Ltd.