The Hindu Business Line : NRB Bearings setting up plant in Thailand

Mumbai June 20 NRB Bearings, one of the leading manufacturers of needle roller bearings in India, is about to set up a plant in Thailand at an investment of Rs 20 crore. The plant would be operational by the last quarter of 2007-08 and is expected to generate sales revenue of Rs 40 crore by the fiscal year 2009-10.

The new plant will be run by NRB Bearings Thailand Ltd, a 100-per cent subsidiary, said Mr Satish C. Rangani, Senior Vice-President - Finance and Company Secretary, NRB Bearings. The Thailand plant is primarily being built to cater to the ASEAN two-wheeler and light commercial vehicle market. It could also facilitate trade between the two countries (Thailand & India) due to the FTA (Free Trade Agreement) agreement, as and when the needle bearings are part of the duty exempt list.

One of the criteria to set up the plant in Thailand was the bilateral trade agreement that could be beneficial for the company in the long run said Mr Rangani.

Besides the Thailand plant, the company is about to set up a new plant in Uttarakhand; it is likely to be operational by the 2007-end and expected to generate additional revenue of Rs 60 crore

Investment of these new plants is in tandem with the company's new vision to become a billion dollar company by 2020.

Mr Rangani said the company has posted a turnover of Rs 300 crore in 2006-07 and is expected to touch Rs 700 crore by 2010. For that, the company would be investing Rs 125 crore ever two years in automation of plants, research and development (2 - 2.5 per cent of sales turnover) that would yield extra revenue of Rs 150 crore in the years to come. All these investments will be partly met by internal accruals and partly by external borrowings. The company has plans to borrow $10 million through ECBs (External Commercial Bonds).

These investments are likely to propel growth in the export markets with revenues touching Rs 100 crore by 2010. The company has been exporting to global commercial vehicle players such as DaimlerChrysler, Volvo and Renault.

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