)
The facility, set up with an investment of Rs 250 crore, has an installed capacity of 11,000 tonne per month and this would cater to the market requirements, which is mainly being served through imports at present, said the company management.
L Ramkumar, managing director of TII said, "With the operation of the plant we would be able to serve the needs of the off road vehicle and construction industries." The company at present has capabilities to manufacture tubes upto 4.5 inch diameter and with the new plant, it would be able to manufacture precision tubes with diameter upto 7.5 per cent.
According to Ramkumar, the company is expecting the large diameter tubes business bring in a revenue of around Rs 400 crore, in full capacity for the first three years. Most of the products in the segment in the market at present are imported and the company see a clear opportunity in capturing these markets.
The facility would help the company to capture the Indian market from the imported products and also export to countries such as Europe and US, said M M Murugappan, vice chairman of Murugappa Group and chairman of TII.
The Large Diameter Tube plant has been set up with the approval under the Single Window Clearance system of the Government of Tamil Nadu. It has been designed as a world-class layout with a streamlined process flow and built over 63 acres of land outside Tiruttani town, the plant has machines from Germany, Italy and Japan.
The product range to be manufactured here include a wide variety of tubes with a diameter range of 60mm to 180 mm and thickness from 4mm to 12.7mm. It would address applications such as hydraulic cylinders used for earthmoving and construction machinery, propeller shafts for high payload vehicles and rear axle tubes for Utility vehicles, Structural applications for Airports, Stadia, Industrial sheds and other large buildings and public utilities and automotive chassis applications, among others.
The facility was part of the company's agreement with the State government during the beginning of the year, according to which the company has been planning set up three units with a total investment of Rs 500 crore. While one of the three is completed, the other two projects, for bicycle manufacturing and p-lant and chain plant are under consideration now, with the market is reviving, he said.
