Ramkrishna Forgings, the country’s second-largest forging company, plans to operationalise its ₹2,000-crore forged wheels manufacturing JV plant in Chennai in the first half of the current fiscal, targeting supplies of 40,000–50,000 wheels to Indian Railways, a senior company official said.

“It’s been three years since we won the tender (from Indian Railways). The plant will enter trial production this quarter and be commercialised before the end of the first half,” said Chaitanya Jalan, Executive Director, Ramkrishna Forgings.

In 2023, the company formed a joint venture with Kolkata-based Titagarh Rail Systems to manufacture railway components. The JV has set up Asia’s second-largest forged wheels plant in Chennai with an annual capacity of 228,000 wheels. It has secured a ₹12,227-crore order from the Railway Ministry to supply 15.4 lakh wheels over 20 years. Ramkrishna Forgings holds a 51% stake and is the lead partner in the contract.

What did Jalan say?

Jalan said 60–70% of the plant’s capacity will cater to the domestic market, including Indian Railways and Titagarh for its own metro projects. “The remaining 30% will be exported to rail manufacturers in North America and Europe. There are only five or six companies globally in this segment, none from India. With customers looking to diversify away from China, the opportunity is significant,” he said.

The Chennai project is also central to Ramkrishna Forgings’ plan to scale up to its revenue to ₹10,000 crore and process one million tonnes of metal annually across forging and casting by 2030. “We currently process about 375,000 tonnes. The Chennai plant will add another 220,000 tonnes,” Jalan said. The company plans to expand capacity to 750,000 tonnes over the next two years and reach the one-million-tonne mark thereafter.

Revenue of ₹2,677 crore recorded in the first nine months of FY26

The company reported standalone revenue of ₹2,677 crore in the first nine months of FY26, with a 60:40 domestic-export mix. Automotive contributed 74% of revenue, while railways accounted for 7%. Ramkrishna Forgings is betting on diversifying into non-automotive segments such as railways, oil & gas, power, and off-highway applications including mining, construction and farm equipment.

“In the next two years, automotive will account for 65–70% of our business. Railways will contribute 10–15%, and the rest will come from oil & gas, off-highway and other segments,” Jalan said. Within automotive, the company derives the major share of its revenues from the Commercial Vehicle (CV) segment. Jalan said the company expects CV segment to contribute 60% of auto segment revenues, followed by passenger vehicles at 30–35% and two-wheelers at around 5% in the next two years. 

On the impact of the West Asia conflict, Jalan said it is too early to assess the full effect. “We managed March without major disruptions. April has just begun. The situation remains fluid. There could be revisions in petrol and gas prices, and the impact will depend on how the supply chain absorbs these costs and passes them on to end consumers,” he said. He added that strong domestic infrastructure demand continues to support the market, though it remains unclear if the conflict could affect government spending.

Ramkrishna Forgings expects revenue to grow 20–25% in FY27 over FY26.