The US-based, $5.2 billion, The Timken Company is setting up a manufacturing plant in the special economic zone at Mahindra World City near Chennai.
This is the second manufacturing facility and third in India, which include a plant at Jamshedpur and a global technology centre in Bangalore. The project cost is estimated at $25 million, said James W Griffith, president and chief executive officer of The Timken Company, US.
The Chennai facility – Timken India Manufacturing Pvt Ltd is a new entity due to SEZ rules in India and the investments into this plant are being made by the US parent directly not by Timken India, which controls both the Jamshedpur plant and Bangalore technology centre, he said.
?The opening of Chennai facility will help us achieve core strategic objective of accelerated growth in Asia and in industrial markets,? he said. Nearly 80% of the production of this plant will be exported to the company?s operations in the US and the remaining will be sold in India.
The Chennai facility is being developed in two phases. The first phase, which is expected to go on stream in October 2008, will have a capacity of 3,10,000 rings per annum, which will be scaled upto 4,20,000 rings per annum in the phase, which will commence production in April 2009, he said further.
According to Gordon W Robinson, managing director, Timken India, the Chennai facility will manufacture tapered roller bearings for customers in the global industrial markets. The size of the bearings will be from 200 mm to 300 mm in diametre for the industrial houses which make heavy machines and equipment, he said.
The plant will also focus on emerging opportunities in India and will target sectors such as rail, steel, cement, construction and automotive, he said. The plant will have 120 people initially and will increase it to 200 when the second phase goes on stream. ?Both the Jamshedpur and Chennai plant will servie each other needs.?
The Bangalore global technology centre has 400 people and help in designing, 3D analysis, testing our products for the global customers. The company is currently oursourcing products worth $40 million annually which will go up sharply, he added.
