Sona BLW expands plant in Hungary
Sona BLW Precision Forgings Limited (SBPFL), part of the USD 500-million multinational Sona Group, is augmenting its operations in Hungary. Besides this facility in Hungary, the company has 3 facilities each in India and Germany.
The expanded facility in Hungary was recently inaugurated by Szabo Iaszlo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Germany, in the presence of Rani Kapur, Chairperson, SBPFL, Sunjay Kapur, CEO, Sona Group, and several others.
The Hungary facility is the first green field manufacturing unit of the Sona Group, outside India. It is a downstream process unit which will increase the production capacity by 40% through machining and heat treatment areas. The expansion of this facility will lead to cheaper labour costs and will be creating jobs for about 150 people. It will increase the total capacity of the plant to 3.9 million pieces a year with a targeted annual sale worth 1.5 billion Hungarian forint.
“Innovation and research & development are the 2 primary drivers leading to customer satisfaction and overall business growth. In our continuous pursuit of these objectives, we are investing majorly in R&D and cost effective strategies. Our Hungary plant expansion offers us advantages to maintain costefficiency, transfer of certain aspects of our production and also remain close to the market. In 3 years, we plan to double our production capacity at the Hungary manufacturing facility to 7.8 million pieces a year,” Sunjay Kapur said.
Sona BLW exports auto components to leading global automotive players such as MAN, Scania, Daimler, John Deere, American Axle, Linamar, CNH and DANA’s. The company’s customer base also includes key OEMs such as Maruti Suzuki, Tata, TAFE, Mahindra & Mahindra, ITL, John Deere, Escorts, DICV Trucks India, Volvo Eicher and New Holland India.
Globally, it is known for high-quality certification/standards and high customer satisfaction of forged products. It is recognized worldwide as the market leader in the manufacturing of warmforged ‘Bevel Gears’.
The company manufactures also precision forged speed gears, synchroniser rings, E-axles and differential assemblies for Automotive and other applications. It is renowned for its patented warm forging German technology and manufactures high precision forging components for cars, trucks, agricultural applications and construction equipment makers. It also boasts of 18% global market share in precision forged gear business.