Bharat Forge Developing Plant for Aluminum Automotive Parts

Reports from India indicate Bharat Forge Ltd. plans to invest $55 million to establish an aluminum forging operation in Tennessee, though the group has made no official statement. The reports in the Economic Times and Financial Express sourced the news to comments from Bharat Forge chairman and managing director B.N. Kalyani, made at the time that the manufacturing group issued its Q1 2019 financial statement.

"The facility will be set up at a cost of $55 million and will commence production in CY 2020," Kalyani was quoted by the Economic Times.

No further information on the processes or products of the proposed new plant are available.

Bharat Forge is apparently working to increase its share of the increasing demand for lightweight automotive parts. In the same financial statement, BFL announced a strategic investment in Tevva Motors Ltd., a British manufacturer of electric powertrain systems for commercial vehicles and buses.

Bharat Forge Ltd. is part of the Kalanyi Group, an engineering and manufacturing conglomerate. The forging business operates 10 plants worldwide, producing open-die and closed-die forgings, hammer forged parts, and rolled rings for automotive, power, oil-and-gas, construction, mining, rail, marine, and aerospace manufacturing.

In late 2016, Bharat Forge acquired the former Walker Forge Tennessee LLC plant in Surgoinsville, TN, making it a subsidiary of its Bharat Forge America holding. The closed-die operation forges carbon and high-alloy steel parts for automotive engine and chassis manufacturing, as well as forgings for general industrial applications.

At that time, the buyer explained its purpose was to establish a manufacturing footprint in North America and to increase its range of products for the passenger car and commercial vehicle markets, as well in industrial, construction, mining, and related sectors.