Pinnacle Industries is setting up a new facility in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh, to manufacture railway seating and interiors, ambulance conversions, and to expand its export business.
Pinnacle is the largest integrated commercial vehicle and bus seating and interiors company. It recently forayed into train seating systems, which will be manufactured in the new unit. The company is investing Rs 100 crore in this new sustainable and green manufacturing facility, expected to be operational by Q4FY25. The facility will also house an R&D centre.
Sudhir Mehta, chairman of Pinnacle Industries, said it will be their fourth plant in Pithampur and will help meet the increasing demand for railway seating systems and ambulances. Pinnacle had qualified as a train seating supplier and bagged its first orders for seating systems for the new Vande Bharat trains. These are lightweight ventilated seats.
Pinnacle’s railway seating systems include economy, executive, tip-up, and folding seats with flexible seating positions, seat rotation with a pedal mechanism, grab handles, fiber reinforced polymer material conforming to the European standard for fire-retardant properties, foldable armrests, and individual charging units.
The government plans to introduce 400 Vande Bharat semi-high-speed trains with 16 coaches, featuring better seating systems.
Arihant Mehta, president of Pinnacle Industries, said the new plant would create over 500 job opportunities and it will employ 30% women.
Pinnacle has announced a technical agreement with German company Kiel for this foray. Kiel is a leading manufacturer of passenger seating systems for commercial vehicles and public transportation, including seating solutions for trains on the local, regional, and intercity levels. Kiel has manufacturing facilities across Europe, the US, and Asia.
