The Rs 100 crore auto component maker, Samkrg Pistons and Rings Ltd, will continue to be aggressive on the export market front this year. It has received orders from a German OEM (original equipment manufacturer) for supply of pistons and is expecting good business from the US and Europe.
The company is planning to maintain its export turnover at 30% of the overall sales during the current fiscal.
According to SDM Rao, chairman and managing director of the company, ?we have submitted samples of pistons for a Germany-based OEM and they are under validation. The pistons are suited for heavy vehicles in the diesel segment. The samples should get cleared anytime. We hope to start supplying pistons to them by the third quarter of the current fiscal.? He, however refused to give details of the size of the order.
Apart from the German OEM, the company is targeting several other OEMs in the US and Europe for supplying pistons. ?We are expecting a quality audit team from Europe to visit our factory sometime this month. Once they are convinced with the quality of our products, we will submit our samples to them for validation. If it gets through, it will add to our overall order book during this fiscal. The company will continue to maintain its export turnover at 30%,? he said adding the company is targeting a topline of Rs 125 crore to Rs 130 crore by March 2009.
Keeping in mind the export opportunities and the demand in the domestic market, the company is planning to invest about Rs 12 crore this year for capacity expansion. It would be adding capacity of 1 million units to the existing pistons manufacturing unit and 4 million units to the piston rings producing unit to take up the overall capacity of the company to 7.5 million pistons and 22 million rings. The investment would be done through internal accruals. The capacity expansion programme is expected to be completed within the next 2-3 months.