Bharat Forge has undertaken Rs.350 crore expansion programme at its plant in Pune. The company plans to expand the forging and crankshaft machining capacity.

The expansion plans is to be financed by a combination of issue of equity shares on right basis and debt. The company's rights issue to part fund the expansion is slated to open in the second week of August 2004.

As a part of expansion programme, the company has drawn plans to set up two new press line in the 5,000 and 5,500 tonnes range, including one automated transfer press line. Of the two press line one is expected to be operational by October 2004 and the other in the last quarter of this fiscal.

Already the company operates two 6,000 tonnes press line for the passenger car category. Bharat Forge was also investing in a heavy forging press line to augment the capacity for large forging. The press line is expected to be completed during the first quarter of the next fiscal. With this the company would have three heavy forging press lines.

The company was also expanding its crankshaft machining capacity by two lakh numbers per annum for which it is setting up three lines.

With this capacity expansion programme the company's forging capacity would increase to over two lakh tpa and its machining capacity would increase to over 6,00,000 crankshafts per annum.

Meanwhile BFL is also setting up in-house product testing and validation facilities in Pune, which are expected to be operational in next three months.

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