Caparo acquires 100 acres of land in Haryana

LONDON: Making further forays into India, NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul-founded Caparo Group has acquired 100 acres of land in Bawal in Haryana for development of six new engineering ventures for its Vehicle Products India division.

The company already operates two stamping plants in the region through a joint venture with Maruti Suzuki. The total projected investment of the six new ventures is Rs 510 crore with anticipated sales of Rs 850 crore and employment for 2000.

Caparo India currently operates on 15 sites in India but expects to complete construction of a further 16 plants by the end of next year. Sales for Caparo India are expected to exceed Rs 2000 crore in 2009.

The new land, situated 70 kms from Gurgaon, has been allocated via the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) and is required following accelerated growth and increasing demand from customers in northern India and new markets such as aerospace, Angad Paul, Chief Executive Officer of Caparo plc said today.

The new ventures will support the growth of automotive OEMs (original equipment manufacture) in the region including Honda Cars, Honda Scooters and Motor Cycles, Hero Honda, Swaraj Mazda and New Holland Tractors. (More

Angad Paul said: "The site will encompass sheet metal stamping facilities and will be complemented by our Tailor welded Blanking factory, which is also situated in Bawal. Plans are in place to develop a Steel Service Centre offering value added services like cutting, blanking and slitting to suppliers with 'Just in Time' requirements and a steel tube plant will also be constructed to cater for the needs of the automotive and non-automotive engineering industry."

Sunil Pahilajani, Country Head for India, said: "We also look forward to leveraging technology from UK sister companies Caparo Tube Components and Caparo AP Braking. Our aim is to develop a sophisticated braking system facility as well as a suspension system facility, which will provide local OEMs with endurance testing and simulation; a much needed resource".

Caparo is a fast growing global group with a turnover of one and a half billion dollar. The company operates from over 50 sites in the UK, India, north America, Spain and Poland. The diverse group has business interests predominantly in the manufacture of steel, automotive and engineering products, but also in materials testing services, hotels, film distribution and private equity investment.

In India, Caparo's activities are focused on the automotive components sector and products include pressings, fasteners, aluminium castings, forgings, tubing and tubular components.

Following an increase in the number of enquiries from the aerospace market and to support the rapid development of the company, Caparo has appointed KPMG to attract private equity investment into its Indian division, further accelerating the growth plan and to ensure the company keeps pace with the growing needs of its customer base.