Titagarh Wagons has lined up expansion projects in Bengal as it looks to scale up its manufacturing capacity amid rising demand for wagons and metro coaches. The company, which is celebrating 25 years, plans to invest around Rs 1,000 crore across business divisions between 2020 and 2025.

The Titagarh Group plans to generate around 5,000 direct and 11,000 indirect employment over the next five years. The group employs 2,000 people directly and around 5,000 people indirectly in Bengal “Titagarh Wagons started in 1997 as a small company producing 150-170 wagons a year. Today we have a capacity of 8,400 wagons. Over the next two years, we are looking to expand the capacity to 12,000 wagons,” said Titagarh Wagons vice-chairman and MD Umesh Chowdhary.

“We are operating two foundries — one in Titagarh and one in Uttarpara. We are planning another modern foundry in Bengal with a capacity of 70,000 tonnes in the next 3-5 years. In Uttarpara we are planning to make modern passenger coaches,” said Chowdhary. He added that in the next two years, around 250 young engineers could be trained in India and Italy. The company also operates a ship-building unit at Titagarh and the group acquired land at Falta for manufacturing ships in January this year. Titagarh Wagons currently has an order book of around Rs 11,000 crore.

Industrial zone

Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who attended the event on Wednesday, said that the government is in favour of developing an industrial zone in the idle lands of the erstwhile Ambassador maker Hindustan Motors’ plant at Uttarpara. “We want an industrial zone to develop here. Why should land be lying idle? Why should the government give land and it will be sold off ? You (Hindustan Motors) have taken land to develop the industry. If you don’t develop industry, what will the local people get?” Banerjee said.

The company had earlier informed the stock exchanges, that land at Uttarpara is classified as industrial land and is under restrictive sale with the permission of the state. HM had declared suspension of work at the Uttarpara plant on May 24, 2014. With a complete halt in production, the company had been divesting land both at Uttarpara and in Pithampur (MP).

Chennai-based Shriram Group had bought 314 acres at Uttarpara for real estate and commercial development for about Rs 285 crore. Mumbai-based Hiranandani Group had also acquired about 100acres for an integrated logistics park and a data centre. Titagarh Wagons acquired Hyderabad Industries unit from the CK Birla group in2005 and developed its plant atUttarpara. The company has sought an additional five acres from the state government for test track.

Energy, infra projects

The chief minister also pointed to several upcoming projects in the energy sector, including the Deocha Pachamicoal block, shale gas projects in Raniganj and gas pipeline projects. “By 2023, Bengal will join the national gas grid,” Banerjee said on Wednesday.