The Hindu Business Line : Italian co to make wind turbines at Chennai plant

Chennai, July 5 The Italian company, Leitner, a well known name for ropeways and cable cars in Europe, intends to make Chennai its manufacturing hub for its fairly new business— wind turbines.

In India, it has a joint venture with the Chennai-based Shriram EPC, in which it owns 51 per cent.

Leitner Shriram Manufacturing Ltd has a production centre at Gummidipoondi, near Chennai.

At present, the plant produces all parts of a windmill, except the towers and blades.

The production portfolio includes generators, hubs (that hold the blades) and control panels. In a few months from now, the facility will begin to produce blades too.

The upcoming blades plant will be capable of producing 180 blades a year. Mr T. Shivaraman, Managing Director of the Rs 920-crore Shriram EPC, told Business Line recently that Leitner had begun to buy components of stators and rotors and the Italian collaborator intends to step up purchase from its Indian joint venture.

It is difficult to specify the value of what Leitner would buy, Mr Shivaraman said, but noted that it would be substantial.

This is good news for Shriram EPC shareholders, because 49 per cent of the joint venture’s turnover will be added to Shriram EPC’s turnover, in the company’s consolidated accounts.

This is permissible because both partners have equal representation on the joint venture’s board.

Cable car

Meanwhile, Leitner is looking at opportunities in India in its core area of operations – cable cars. Mr Shivaraman said that the first quarter of Shriram EPC would be “flat”.

Order booking was slow; indeed the only order booked in the quarter was a Rs 80-crore contract from the Gujarat Water Supply Board for laying of water distribution pipes.

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