Schwing Stetter|Pump Capcity|Schwing Stetter to expand capacity

Schwing Stetter (India) Pvt Ltd, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Germany-based ready-mix concrete equipment manufacturer Schwing Gmbh, is planning to expand its capacity in its facility in Chennai with an investment of Rs 40 crore.

The company has three manufacturing plants at Sriperumbudur in Chennai to manufacture concrete pumps, transit mixers and batching machines with a total capacity of 8,000 units per annum. At present, the company produces 5,000 units per annum from the existing three facilities, in a total area of around 1,200,000 sq ft, based on market requirement.

The new facility, to be developed over an area of around 200,000 sq ft, in the same location would have a capacity to manufacture 2,000 additional units per annum, according to senior company officials.

The blueprint for the expansion is ready and we are committed with SIPCOT (State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu) to set up the facility before the end of 2011, said Anand Sundaresan, managing director, Schwing Stetter (India) Pvt Ltd.

We would also start a third shift in the existing facility, which will reach the optimum capacity utilisation of 8,000 units in these facilities, he said. The investment would completely borne by the Indian subsidiary from internal accruals and loans.

It has so far invested Rs 120 crore for production facilities in India for installing machinery. The investment for the machinery would not be high though the working capital is always around Rs 250 crore, said Sundaresan.

Schwing Stetter, India, set up its first manufacturing facility in 2001 and a second facility exclusively for transit mixers in 2004. The third facility for concrete batching plants was launched in December 2006.

It has also announced the launch of two concrete pumps, SP 8800 to pump concrete vertically up to a height of around 500 metres and SP 2880 to pump concrete vertically up to around 250 metre height, for the Indian market to serve the high-rise construction market. The products would be released in International trade fare for construction machinery, building material machines, mining machines and construction vehicles, bC India 2011 in Mumbai.

The company has 65 per cent of the total rganised ready mix concrete equipment industry of around Rs 1,500 crore, said V G Sakthi Kumar, chief operating officer, Schwing Stetter India. Its turnover stood at Rs 900 crore in 2010 and is expecting to reach around Rs 1,200 crore in 2011.