Bharat Forge may check into Bengal

Unit will cater to China, SE Asia mart

West Bengal has bagged three major investments "�Tata Motors, Reliance Retail and Indonesia-based Salim group "� in the last three months, and is gearing up to bag its fourth one.

Bharat Forge, the second largest forging company in the world, today expressed its intention to set up a plant in the state.

Emerging from his meeting with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Baba Kalyani, chairman Bharat Forge said, the investment climate in West Bengal was very positive under the dynamic leadership of the chief minister and the company was planning to set up a plant.

The company is eyeing a location close to the port so that it could cater to the Chinese and South East Asian markets.

A Bharat Forge team would visit the state for a feasibility study, which would be complete by September. By October, the company would decide on the location for the plant.

The focus for the proposed plant would be non-automotive since the auto market is yet to pick up in the state. Around 60 per cent of the plant output would focus on the non-automotive segment.

When asked about the investment in the project, Kalyani said, it would be sizeable. "We wouldn't come all the way from Pune to set up something small," he said.

At present, Bharat Forge has nine manufacturing facilities in six countries spread over Europe, North America, China and India.

The proposed plant would be Bharat Forge's third facility in the country. The move to have a non-automotive focused plant was in tandem with the company's strategy to de-risk its business. At present, 17 per cent of the company's global revenues was contributed by the non-automotive business.

At the company's annual general meeting held on July 29, Kalyani announced that the company was witnessing significant growth opportunities in several key non-automotive sectors such as hydro carbon exploration, mining and metals, conventional and non-conventional energy and the aerospace sector.

It is planning to establish a strong global presence in these business segments in three-four years, which would be achieved through a judicial combination of organic and inorganic growth.

Bharat Forge had firmed up a capital outlay of close to Rs 350 crore over the next 3-4 years and was targeting an incremental global revenue of close to Rs 1,000 crore.