SATRAC Opens 15-Acre Manufacturing Plant in Sriperumbudur

SATRAC Engineering Private Limited has inaugurated a trailer and truck body manufacturing facility in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, the company said on Wednesday. The plant, which spans 15 acres with 3.5 acres of covered production space, is designed to produce over 800 units per month.

The Chennai facility brings SATRAC's combined production capacity — across its plants in Chennai and Bengaluru — to over 1,500 units per month during peak periods.

The plant is equipped with plasma and laser cutting machines sourced from Germany, press brake equipment from Canada, automated shot blasting and painting systems, and robotic welding systems. SATRAC said the robotic welding line improves structural consistency and reduces production time.

Torsten Schmidt, Managing Director and CEO of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), attended the inauguration. Schmidt said SATRAC has been a supplier to DICV since its founding, providing tipper bodies for the BharatBenz range. He noted that the plant's proximity to DICV's own manufacturing facility in Sriperumbudur was a logistical advantage, and that the new facility supported DICV's target of 90% localisation under its Make in India commitments.

MC Bantwal, Managing Director of SATRAC, said the company plans to open three additional plants over the coming years — in Jamshedpur, Pune, and Gujarat — with each facility spaced roughly 30 months apart.

SATRAC was founded in 1994 and manufactures trailers, tippers, truck bodies, tankers, bulkers, special-purpose vehicles, and defence vehicles. The company employs over 1,000 people, including more than 100 automotive and mechanical engineers, and maintains a network of 170 service staff across India.

SATRAC is backed by Kyokuto Kaihatsu Kogyo Co., Ltd. of Japan, which has operated for over 70 years in special-purpose vehicles and infrastructure equipment. Kyokuto has manufacturing operations in China, Indonesia, Australia, the Philippines, and India, and sells into more than 150 countries.

The company positions its products as lightweight and fuel-efficient, with a focus on total cost of ownership and resale value for fleet operators. Bantwal said the trailer and truck body market in India has historically been fragmented among unorganised manufacturers, and that SATRAC has targeted the organised, process-led segment of that market.

Facility Details

The new Chennai plant includes the following infrastructure:

• Advanced fabrication lines
• High-precision plasma and laser cutting machines (Germany)
• Press brake equipment (Canada)
• Automated shot blasting and precision painting systems
• Robotic welding systems
• In-house quality testing facilities

The plant has also incorporated environmental measures, including the planting of over 4,000 trees on site. SATRAC said the factory's ambient temperature has been engineered to remain 5–6 degrees Celsius lower than conventional facilities to improve working conditions.