We Are Eyeing Six-Fold Revenue Growth In FY18

Bharat Wire Ropes, a three-decade old, Mumbai-based company, is scripting a new chapter with big plans.

The wire rope manufacturer, which until recently was one among scores of small players in the sector, is set to break into the big league as its new Chalisgaon plant is set to begin production soon.

The company, which has a market capitalisation of over Rs 400 crore, has invested over Rs 500 crore, including around Rs 70 crore from an initial public offer (IPO) mopped up last year, in the Chalisgaon facility, spread over 90,000 sq m of built-up area with production capacity of 66,000 tonnes per year. The wire rope manufacturer, which has another plant in Atgaon near Mumbai, has a wide clientele across 26 major industries, including engineering, mining, construction, shipping, oil and gas and defence, among others.

The wire rope-maker's giant strides in recent years incidentally coincide with a new promoter taking charge in 2010. Bharat Wire Ropes Managing Director Murarilal Mittal, who bought the company from the Shahs, its old promoters, has been driving it to greater heights. A chartered accountant by training, Mr Mittal spent over two decades with the Welspun Group before taking on an entrepreneurial role. In a wide-ranging interview with Amit Brahmabhatt, Mr Mittal talks about the wire rope industry, his company and its future plans.

What prompted you to go in for a large, Greenfield project in Chalisgaon?

When we took over Bharat Wire Ropes in June 2010, we found the plant in Atgaon and its machinery too old. With production capacity of 12,000 tonnes per annum and capacity utilisation of about 60 per cent, the company was lagging far behind the market demand. Besides, the old machinery resulted in very high level of maintenance and higher percentage of wastage. But we saw huge potential in the wire rope sector and decided to put up a new, modern plant in Chalisgaon to tap the growing market.

When is the new plant slated to go on stream?