Steel Strips to expand capacity by 1,500,000 wheels

Steel Strips Wheels Ltd (SSWL), the Punjab-based automotive steel wheel manufacturer, has decided to expand its capacity following increasing demand from OEMs, particularly for passenger cars, and the aftermarket, both from the domestic and international market.

The company will increase its annual production capacity by 1,500,000 wheels. The wheelmaker will invest Rs 5 crore to expand capacity and the additional capacity will see fruition by April 2015.

After expansion, the total production capacity will stand augmented to 18,100,000 wheels across its three manufacturing facilities per annum. The expansion will be carried out its mother plant in Dappar (Punjab) as it is running at 85 percent of its full capacity.

The company’s product range comprises steel wheels for two- and three-wheelers, passenger cars, MUVs, tractors and trucks. It has three production facilities across the country which produce passenger car wheels in Dappar (Punjab) and Oragadam (Chennai) and truck wheels in Jamshedpur (Jharkhand). The company’s existing manufacturing capacity is a total of 17 million wheels per annum comprising of nine million wheels in Dappar, six million wheels in Oragadam and two million truck wheels in Jamshedpur.

According to latest available figures, SSWL achieved its highest ever wheel sales in August 2014, when it sold 11,60,000 units of wheel rims compared to 9,71,000 units in the same period a year ago. In value terms, the company achieved 11 percent growth in net turnover at Rs 102.55 crore, up from Rs 99.55 crore in the same month previous year.