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R. Ravikumar

Chennai, Oct. 30 Wheels India Ltd is all set to scale up its capacity with an investment of Rs 100 crore. It currently produces a total of eight million wheels a year which will go up to 10 million by April 2008, said Mr Srivats Ram, Joint Managing Director.

The market leader, with over 50 per cent share, apart from strengthening its presence in cars, trucks, utility vehicles and tractors segments, is now focusing on wheels for large-size construction equipment and high-capacity trucks (50 tonners to 100 tonners).

“As there is a remarkable growth in the infrastructure and mining sectors, there is a great demand for these big wheels,” he said.

It has also developed new passenger car wheels and started supplying them to an automobile company in Australia.

The company currently manufactures from four facilities – Padi (Chennai), Pune, Rampur and Bawal.

It has created two greenfield facilities in Pantnagar and Sriperumbudur (near Chennai).

Besides, it has put up a new production line to manufacture forged aluminium truck wheels at its Padi plant and has expanded its production capacity at Bawal too.

Wheels India has already spent Rs 60 crore and the remaining Rs 40-crore investment will happen before the end of this fiscal, Mr Ram said.

Earlier on Monday, inaugurating the Sriperumbudur facility, Mr S. Ram, Chairman and Managing Director of Wheels India, said the plant is dedicated to wheels for big construction equipment and high-capacity dump trucks, and will cater to players including BEML, Caterpillar and Komatsu.

This facility will initially roll out 7,000 wheels a year, which will be ramped up to 18,000 in four years.

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