Wheels India, Japan's Topy enter into tech pact
Topy will provide technical knowhow and engineering support to enhance Wheels India's design and manufacturing capabilities for the cast aluminium wheel business, a release said
Srivats Wheels India MD
CHENNAI: Wheels India on Monday said it has signed a technical assistance agreement with Tokyo-based Topy Industries for the design, development and manufacture of aluminium alloy wheels.
Topy will provide technical knowhow and engineering support to enhance Wheels India's design and manufacturing capabilities for the cast aluminium wheel business, a release said.
Wheels India had forayed into the alloy wheel business in FY21 with a facility at Thervoy Kandigai, near Chennai. Having started off initially by exporting alloy wheels to the US and European after-market, the company is now targeting the domestic market and has commenced supplies to Indian OEMs such as Tata Motors and Stellantis.
The company has also bagged new orders for its aluminium wheels business from Hyundai and Volkswagen and expects to commence supplies next year.
Srivats Ram, MD, Wheels India said, “Topy Industries is an over 100-year old globally renowned wheel manufacturer. This agreement is expected to bring in considerable technical expertise in the aluminium wheel segment for Wheels India. We are confident this agreement will also help us win new businesses and bolster our competitive advantage in the cast aluminium segment.”
Srivats said, “Through this agreement, we are hoping to make fresh inroads into the Japanese OEMs in India in the alloy wheel segment.”
Wheels India is in the process of expanding the annual capacity at its alloy wheels plant in Thervoi Kandigai to 7 lakh wheels per annum from the existing 5 lakh wheels per annum. This is expected to be completed by the end of the next quarter.
Buoyed by the prospects in the aluminium wheels segment, the company is planning to further expand its capacity to 10 lakh wheels per annum next year and this expansion is expected to be completed by the end of FY27.
Wheels India already has a JV with Topy for its steel wheels business through WIL Car Wheels Limited having a 74 per cent equity holding. This JV is focused on steel wheels for the Japanese OEMs in India.