The Hindu Business Line : Timken India plans to tap infrastructure boom

Kolkata, Oct. 1 With the infrastructure sector on the upswing, Timken India has decided to focus on the “industrial market” with its product offerings. As such, it will focus on its business with earthmoving and mining equipment makers, among others, according to Mr Gordon W. Robinson, Managing Director of Timken India.

Addressing a news conference held here on Monday to mark the launch of the company’s Kolkata office, Mr Robinson said Timken was a bearings manufacturing company whose products found application in industries such as automotive, aerospace, consumer products, drilling, heavy engineering, machine tools, power transmission, railways, etc.

“We are a manufacturer’s manufacturer. The boom in the infrastructure sector is important for the bearings industry. In the present scenario, we think we can contribute more to India’s growth by focussing on segments that provide support to the infrastructure sector,” he said, adding that the railways was another focus area for the company and accounted for 20 per cent of Timken India’s sales revenue.

Chennai facility

To equip itself for the growing Indian market for bearings, Timken India was setting up its second Indian manufacturing facility in Chennai, the first phase of which would entail an investment of $26 million. The facility, which would be ready by the year-end, would have a capacity to manufacture $50 million worth of the company’s products annually.

In addition, the company’s first plant in India, set up in Jamshedpur in 1989, was being expanded. Most of the investments in India were being made through internal accruals.

According to Mr Robinson, the Timken Group’s sales in Asia were around $400 million annually, with China and India being the major market for bearings manufactured by the company. Timken’s sales in India were growing by around 20 per cent annually. Exports account for 25-30 per cent of Timken’s production in India.

Timken also has a Technology Centre in Bangalore, which is stated to be the largest engineering and research facility for Timken outside of the US and the only one of its kind for the bearings industry in Asia.

Thirty per cent of Timken Group’s global IT work is done out of Bangalore, Mr Robinson said.

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