Bohler Welding Group to invest $50 million by 2010 in India

New Delhi, Feb 17 (UNI) Bohler Welding Group, a subsidiary of the UK-based Bohler Uddeholm, said it will venture into Indian welding market with an investment of 50 million dollars by 2010.

The company, offering high performance metal, welding consumables, precision strip and special forgings, will expand its sales network throughout the country and also open a manufacturing unit near the city by 2010-2011.

''The Rs 2,000 crores Indian welding market is growing at 8-10 per cent. The demand will grow to 1.1 million tonnes in 2020 from 0.2 million tonnes in 2007, a CAGR of 14.5 per cent. We have all the reason to venture into the country,'' company's MD Reinhold Rohde said.

For the time being, all the products will be imported from Austria, Germany, Sweden and other countries having our manufacturing units with an import duty of 37.5 per cent. We are targetting a sales turnover of 25 million dollars this year, and 45 million dollars by 2011, Mr Rohde added.

In the energy segement, the company caters to pipelines LNG, Offshore industry, petro chemical industry, power plants (oil, gas, water, waste), whereas in chemical segment, it caters to processing plants, environmental industry, water destination.

The company also provide services to automotive, shipbuilding, and machinery industry.

''We are looking to open our manufacturing unit with an initial investment aim of Rs 100 crore. We will start with manufacturing special application for welding, unalloyed / low alloyed to maximum alloyed products,'' MD (Bohler Welding Group, India) Himanshu Gandhi said.

Welding consumables, stick electrode, wires-both flux coredas well as solid and fluxes for strip cladding will form part of our product portfolio in the country, he added.

The company' customers in India include Reliance, Larsen and toubro, BHEL, Godrej and ISGEC.

Bohler Uddeholm group has a presence in 100 countries, including Austria, Germany, Sweden, Brazil, Belgium, Turkey, US and Mexico.

UNI BJR MP RK1403