Vadodara: French industrial engineering major Alstom plans to make India a hub for exports to other South Asian countries as well as West Asia. The idea is to maximise gains from its expanded operations in India and diversify the client base in a bid weather the ongoing slowdown.
As part of the strategy, the company plans to ramp up exports from its hydro manufacturing unit in Vadodara to more than 30% of its annual capacity to markets all over the world. It is also looking at similar exercise from its seven manufacturing facilities for boiler and transmission equipment. It will also look for overseas markets for its upcoming steam turbine facility at Mundra, developed in collaboration with Bharat Forge. “The domestic market is our targeted market. But globally our facilities also undertake exports. Hydro and grid products from India are being exported and our intent is the same for the upcoming Mundra facility,” said Chairman and CEO of Alstom, Patrick Kron. “We plan to increase India’s use as a base for exports,” he said.
He ruled out having forced into an aggressive export strategy due to slowdown in domestic market on account of problems for coal-based projects, saying the company’s multi-fuel products ensure that it need not be dependent on growth in one segment. Kron said Alstom’s presence in India in non-conventional power generation businesses, like hydro, nuclear and renewables, may help it ward off the current slowdown in India’s electricity sector.On the export front, Alstom is exporting products from its Indian operations to countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It is also exploring opportunity in West Asia and market evolving in Iraq. The company, which is currently supplying gas turbines to a power plant in Bangladesh, is also looking at other such projects in the gas and thermal space.
“We are pursuing other projects in Bangladesh as well, as we are already supplying there,” said Francois Carpentier, Vice-President, thermal and renewable power, Alstom. “Talks are also on for orders from few new gas projects in Bangladesh,” Carpentier said.
