The Hindu Business Line : Kirloskar Bros investing Rs 150 cr for plant overhaul

Pune, Sept. 10 Pump manufacturers Kirloskar Brothers Ltd (KBL) is investing upwards of Rs 150 crore in overhauling its facilities at Kirloskarwadi and in a new corporate office at Hinjewadi near Pune where housing for employees on ownership basis and at a concession will be part of the employee-retention package.

As part of its plans to expand its two-year-old initiative into the water solutions business, the company also announced the acquisition of the Nagpur-based Gondwana Engineers Pvt Ltd, a company with expertise in water and sewage treatment plants. KBL bought out 100 per cent of GEPL’s equity at Rs 7.6 crore.

“GEPL, which had a turnover of Rs 33 crore last year, has both the technology and the necessary approvals from major municipal corporations and water supply sewarage boards across India. We can now offer total water solutions and bid for big projects,” said Mr R.K. Srivastava, Director. He added, “We may even look overseas in Africa and South-East Asia.”

Since KBL entered this segment two years ago, it has undertaken water and sewage treatment projects worth Rs 270 crore in Hyderabad, Kerala and Bhopal. With big players such as Degremont and VA Technologies dominating the upper 40 per cent of the business, KBL expects to increase its presence at the lower end of the business, which is fragmented and has small players in the fray.

Meanwhile, the company has launched a major initiative to upgrade and expand its pump manufacturing facility and the infrastructure at Kirloskarwadi. The total project is worth Rs 100 crore, a company official revealed. It is also building its corporate headquarters on a 10-acre plot off the Pune-Katraj stretch of the Expressway.

The Rs 80-crore project, which involves construction of 100,000 sq. ft. of office space, also envisages a township in phase two of the project with upmarket row housing and apartments. The first phase of the development is expected to be complete in a year’s time.

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