Rockman Ind acquires majority stake in Moldex Composites

Rockman Industries, the auto-components arm of the USD 5 billion Hero Group, has forayed into carbon composites space by acquiring majority stake in Surat-based Moldex Composites in a deal valued at around Rs 100 crore.
With the stake buyout, the company eyes diversifying into motorsports, aerospace and high-end automotive components manufacturing.
"Our investment into the carbon composites technology is aimed at pre-empting the global shift towards carbon fibre in automobiles, besides an entry into motorsports and aerospace," Rockman Industries Chairman and Managing Director Suman Kant Munjal told PTI.
The move is also a part of the company's diversification strategy aimed at a turnover of Rs 5,000 crore by 2021, he added.

Over the next five years, the company expects carbon composites to account for 10 per cent of its topline which currently stands at around Rs 2,250 crore.
Rockman has also lined up an investment of Rs 500 crore to set up two more manufacturing facilities in Gujarat and South India for its existing businesses besides augmenting the production capacity at Moldex going ahead.

Rockman currently has plants in Ludhiana, Bawal, Hardwar and Chennai and supplies aluminium die casting components and automotive chains to some of the leading automobile OEMs in India and overseas.
Commenting on the stake buyout, Rockman Industries Executive Director Ujjwal Kant Munjal said the valuation of the buyout is close to Rs 100 crore.

He added that Rockman is looking to expand Moldex's presence in Europe and US and has already started a sales office in the UK and is building a sales team.
"We also plan to open an office in the US in the next three months. With Moldex around, we are now looking at strategic partnerships in these overseas markets," Munjal said.
On future investments, he said the company has earmarked Rs 500 crore for two more facilities -- one in Vadodara (Gujarat) and one in South India.
"Besides, we are also looking at enhancing manufacturing capacity of Moldex plant in Surat as it is running to full capacity at the moment," Munjal said.

Globally, carbon composites are beginning to replace conventional aluminium and steel and this shift, which has already gained significant momentum in motorsports and aerospace, is now making inroads into automobiles.
Currently, Moldex, which employs around 80 people in its
Surat-based facility, provides advanced carbon composites to US-based premier motor racing series among others.
Moldex Composites Co-founder Ian Thomson said that carbon composites are replacing conventional aluminium alloys and steel components in aerospace, motorsports, automobiles, medical and defence applications.
"These composite materials ensure reduction in complete life cycle costs not only due to their lower weight but also longer life reducing down-time of whatever they are fitted to," he said.

A typical carbon composite would provide same strength as steel or aluminum with one-fourth of the weight of steel and half the weight of aluminum, he added.