- Bharat Forge Ltd, (Bharat Forge) through its wholly owned subsidiary, BF Infrastructure Ventures Limited (BFIVL) & David Brown Systems India (Holdings) Limited, part of David Brown Group (David Brown); entered into a Shareholders Agreement to form a JV Company
- The Companies will have a 50:50 equity partnership in the JV Company.
- Bharat Forge is global leader in manufacturing of forge components for the automotive & non-automotive sectors.
- David Brown is a global leader in the gearbox and transmissions markets.
- The JV Company will focus on New Build & Aftermarket opportunities in India.
- The JV Company will serve the Indian Conventional Power, Wind, Rail, Cement, Metals, Rubber, Mining, Hydro, Defence and Aftermarket industries initially.
- Extending the scope of the JV Company will be considered in the future
Bharat Forge Ltd. (BFL), a global leader in manufacturing automotive and non-automotive components today through its wholly owned subsidiary, BFIVL signed a Shareholders Agreement with David Brown System India (Holdings) Limited, part of David Brown Group, a leading global manufacturer of gearing products and services to form a JV Company in India. The Shareholders Agreement was signed by Mr. Jim McColl OBE, Chairman of David Brown and Mr. Subodh Tandale, Authorised Signatory & Director, Bharat Forge.
The JV Company will be named ‘David Brown Bharat Forge Gear Systems India Limited’ and will serve the Indian heavy engineering industry, supplying both new build gearboxes and comprehensive aftermarket services to high growth, high demand sectors including power, mining, defence, wind, rail and steel.
Leveraging Bharat Forge’s World class manufacturing and operational capability, strong sales network, strong brand reputation in the Indian andGlobal market and proven track record in developing and growing joint ventures, coupled with David Brown’s long standing reputation for highly engineered gear manufacturing, the joint venture will facilitate the growth of both partner companies. Such growth being further leveraged by the support of David Brown’s existing installed base, to develop long term customer relationships through an existing local network.
Initially, ‘David Brown Bharat Forge Gear Systems India Ltd’ is intended to be operational from Bharat Forge’s current facilities. However, by the middle of 2012, it is intended to have a dedicated site for gear box assembly and testing. Further, the JV Company intends to set-up two service centres in Bangalore and Kolkata by the end of 2011. Additional locations for service centres in Delhi and Hyderabad are being planned by the end of 2013. These service centres will be designed to world class standards, providing rapid aftermarket service and support to key industries.
Mr. Jim McColl OBE, Chairman of David Brown comments on the occasion: “This is an extremely exciting development in David Brown’s growth strategy. We recognise India is a high growth territory for gearing products and services and so we are delighted to have found such a well-respected and prominent partner in BFIVL. This joint venture enables us to develop these high demand & growing industries by providing customer proximity through a local network. I look forward to working with BFIVL”.
While announcing the signing of the Shareholders Agreement to set up the new JV Company, Mr B N Kalyani, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Forge Ltd. said, “Aligned with the Kalyani group’s strategy to diversify into non-auto business sectors and also to enter into equipment manufacturing this joint venture is one more step in the direction of reiterating our strong commitment to providing world class technology to the fastest growing core infrastructure market in India. We are proud to be associated with a highly respected global company like David Brown with its rich heritage and world class technology. This is the first of our many steps to follow in the areas of providing high quality after-sales service to core-infrastructure areas”.
About Bharat Forge
Bharat Forge is the flagship company of the USD 2.5 billion Kalyani Group, which has significant presence in the key sectors of the Indian economy. As one of India’s emerging multinationals, the company has manufacturing operations across 11 locations and 5 countries - 4 in India, 3 in Germany, one each in Sweden, USA and 2 in China. BFL today is a global corporation, manufacturing various forged and machined components for the automotive and non-automotive sectors; with ‘Full Service Supply’ Capability in Power-train & chassis components. It is the largest exporter of auto components from India and the leading chassis component manufacturer in the world. BFL is internationally respected for its cutting edge technology developed over the years, full service supply capability and dual-shore manufacturing model.
About David Brown
David Brown is part of the Clyde Blowers portfolio (GBP 1.2 billion). As a leading manufacturer of gear products & services, David Brown has been providing engineering expertise to a range of global industries for more than 150 years. David Brown has a clear vision for the future and a defined growth strategy developed around expanding in key global markets including conventional power, mining, rail, oil and gas and renewable industries such as wind and solar.
David Brown has 6 key manufacturing facilities in the UK, South Africa, China, Australia, France and the USA. A rapidly growing global network of sales and service centresalso enables David Brown to serve local markets with locally employed specialist teams delivering a world-class service.