The Hirschvogel Automotive Group will embark on a joint venture with Kalyani Thermal Systems Ltd., a sister company of Bharat Forge, in India. At the new company known as Hirschvogel Kalyani India Pvt. Ltd., Hirschvogel will hold 51 per cent of the shares and Kalyani Thermal Systems 49 per cent.
The joint venture will set up at a greenfield site at Baramati, 100 km away from Pune. Construction of the site is planned for mid-2009. At the new plant, the company will produce cold-forged transmission shafts and pinions as well as constant-velocity joints, diesel injection components and wheel hubs. Besides forging operations, the site will also have machining and in-house die shop facilities. Common production will commence by mid-2010.
For Hirschvogel, headquartered in Denklingen, Upper Bavaria, the joint venture with Kalyani Thermal Systems represents an important step towards further internationalization of the company which already has sites in the US, Brazil and China. “With this commitment, we are expanding our global manufacturing footprint as an increasing number of our customers are making their presence in India,” says Dr. Manfred Hirschvogel, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors at Hirschvogel Umformtechnik GmbH.
The Indian automotive market has demonstrated double digit growth rates for many years, and this development is expected to continue over the next few years, too.
Kalyani Thermal Systems is a subsidiary of the Kalyani Group, headquartered in Pune. Bharat Forge, the second largest forging company in the world, belongs to the Kalyani Group which recorded a turnover of $2.4 billion in 2007, of which Kalyani Thermal’s contribution was $40 million.
The Hirschvogel Automotive Group is among the most successful manufacturers of forged steel and aluminum parts. More than 3,000 employees in six plants worldwide produce forged parts and components for the automotive industry and its system suppliers. The consolidated yearly turnover in 2007 was EUR 525 million at a yield of 210,000 tons of forged parts.
Hirschvogel Umformtechnik GmbH in Denklingen, Bavaria, is the main plant of the group. With around 1,700 employees it produces about 160,000 tons of hot and cold-forged steel parts a year. The company has three subsidiaries in Germany. Hirschvogel Aluminium GmbH in Marksuhl near Eisenach, Thuringia, produces sophisticated chassis components made of high-quality aluminum materials. Also located in Marksuhl is the steel forge Hirschvogel Eisenach GmbH. At Hirschvogel Komponenten GmbH in Schongau, Upper Bavaria, almost 600 employees process steel and aluminum forged parts into ready-for-assembly components.
Besides, the group is also active in the US. In Columbus, Ohio, Hirschvogel Incorporated produces hot and cold forged parts as well as ready-for-assembly components for the US market. Three years ago, Hirschvogel Automotive Components was founded in Pinghu near Shanghai. Here forged parts and finished parts are produced for the Chinese automotive industry. Furthermore, Hirschvogel Umformtechnik GmbH holds a 49 per cent share in the Brazilian forging company Mahle Hirschvogel Forjas S.A., allowing Hirschvogel to apply its know-how on the South American market.
