Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd (SBPFL), part of the US$ 500-million multinational Sona Group, is expanding its production capacity at its plant in Hungary.

The expanded facility was inaugurated yesterday by chief guest Dr Szabo Iaszlo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Germany; Mrs Rani Kapur, chairperson, SBPFL, and Sunjay Kapur, CEO, Sona Group in the presence of several notable dignitaries like Balazs Rakossy, Minister of Economic Development, Toth Jozsef, Mayor of Polgár and Adam Szekely, CEO, Inforgroup.

The Hungarian plant, spread across 4,800 square metres, is the Sona Group’s first greenfield manufacturing unit outside India. The facility is a downstream process unit which will increase  production capacity by 40 percent through machining and heat treatment operations. The company says the expansion programme will lead to some cost reduction. The increased production capacity will help create total capacity of 3.9 million pieces per year with a targeted annual sale of 1.5 billion Hungarian Forint.

Commenting on the expansion, Group CEO Sunjay Kapur said “Innovation and R&D are the two 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 cost-efficiency, transfer of certain aspects of our production and also remain close to the market. In three years, we plan to double our production capacity at the Hungary manufacturing facility to 7.8 million pieces per year.”

Besides this facility in Hungary, Sona BLW is present across two more locations globally - India (3 facilities) and Germany (3 facilities).

Global supplier 

Sona BLW exports auto components to leading global automotive players such as MAN, Scania, Daimler, John Deere, American Axle, Linamar, CNH and Dana. The company’s domestic 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 recognised worldwide as the market leader in the manufacturing of warm-forged bevel gears.

Also read: Interview with Sona Group CEO Sunjay Kapur