BEML, the Bangalore-based defence ministry undertaking, makes products such as the high-mobility Tatra trucks used for tank transportation and launch of guided missiles. It has a tie-up with Tatra of Slovakia for importing CKD (completely knocked down) truck kits, later assembled at Bangalore and Palakkad. The listed company, in which the government holds 54 per cent stake, has been one of the favourites of stock market experts such as Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.
BEML has three businesses — mining & construction, defence & aerospace, rail & metro. It is setting up a new factory to make aerospace components at the Aerospace SEZ near Bangalore, and is betting big on the modernisation of the Indian Army. The company is also hoping to ride the boom in the metro rail sectors in Indian cities.
BEML hopes to clock in a turnover of Rs 4,500 crore by the end of FY12, growth of 25 per cent over FY11. This year, the company won an order worth Rs 1,400 crore from the army for supplying 204 units of Armoured Recovery Vehicles. It also won an order to supply 135 metro coaches from DMRC, chairman and managing director V R S Natarajan had said in a recent interview.