Murugappa to expand Shanthi Gears operations

Shanthi Gears, which was acquired by Murugappa Group last year, is all set to embark on a new path leveraging the brand 'Shanthi'.

In a letter to the shareholders, MM Murugappan, chairman, Shanthi Gears, said Shanthis main focus would be in the national market and key industry segments like steel, cement, mining, construction and metro rail.

Shanthis strength lies in its engineering and design capabilities, a large skill pool, manufacturing infrastructure and the ability to innovate and re-engineer to provide solutions to our customers. The company intends to leverage these to serve the standard and customised gearbox product segments, he said.

The last one year, he said, had been an exciting time, commencing with the conclusion of the agreement to purchase 44.12 per cent of the shares of Shanthi Gears to being involved in shaping its direction and future.

Post the acquisition, building customer relationships and improving operational efficiencies have been the key focus of the new team. This helped the company post a turnover of Rs 146 crore and a profit before tax of Rs 22 crore in 2012-2013, he said.

The year was marked by a significant reduction in demand due to the depressed business conditions prevailing in the industry.