Bay Forge expands despite bleak times
24 Jan 2009
Bay Forge, the Indian subsidiary of Italy's Fomas group, is keen to scale up its Indian business of open die forgings and seamless rolled rings for applications in sectors such as aerospace, thermal and nuclear power generation, oil and gas, and defence, said Fomas group chief executive officer Jascopo Guzzoni.
He was speaking after the inauguration of Chennai-based Bay Forge's new plant in Kanchipuram district. A 2000-tonne forging press, it will augment the company's capacity for open die forgings. The plant is also equipped with a 3500-tonne press used for making larger forgings and rings.
Bay Forge, which clocked revenues of Rs 140 crore in 2008, plans to invest Rs 125 crore up to 2012. Globally, Fomas clocked revenues of 650 euros in 2008, with an almost equal share contributed by open die forgings and rings, its two main divisions. Of this, Bay Forge generated 22 million euros.
Bay Forge has a 19-year sole supplier contract with its most prestigious client, the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. "We have supplied over 1000 rings for the Chandrayaan space programme. Every space shuttle has our component," said Bay Forge managing director Nicola Boletta. Since 2005, it has executed orders worth some Rs 21 crore for VSSC.
Apart from the space centre, Bay Forge numbers among its clients the likes of BARC, BHEL, Siemens, Alstom Power, Toshiba, and HAL. Its in-house laboratory facilitates quality control tests to meet international quality norms. Its ring rolling mill is able to roll out rings of 5.5 m diameter and 20 tonne weight, one among the most powerful in the world.
Bay Forge has built a land bank of 65 acres at Palayanoor in Chennai by acquiring an additional 50 acres. This could be a flagship investment by an Italian company in the city. "We are here on a long-term basis. We intend reaching an overall capacity of 14,000 tonnes this year, with plans to almost double open die forging and rings capacities," Guzzoni added.
The Chennai plant, employing 250 plus people, is also emerging as an export hub with the company expecting to double earnings this year to 20 per cent, Boletta said, estimating an overall growth of 45 per cent for Bay Forge.
"Worldwide the necessity for energy and power generation is still increasing, particularly in India," said Bay Forge deputy managing director Nandan Mehta. He estimated the Indian market for open die forgings to be in excess of 80,000 tonnes.
