BFW aims to double topline to Rs 1,600 crore in 3 years

Bengaluru-based Bharat Fritz Werner (BFW), a manufacturer of machine tools, aims to double its turnover from the present Rs 800 crore to Rs 1,600 crore in the next three years, a top executive said.

Talking to Deccan Herald on the sidelines of IMTEX 2015 here on Friday, BFW Chief Executive Officer Ravi Raghavan said, “The targeted doubling of turnover would require increase in infrastructure. The company has 100 acres of land available in Bengaluru near Hosur for the purpose. We have set aside Rs 100 crore to fuel our growth plans.”

BFW owns a subsidiary in Germany, a manufacturer of computer numeric controlled (CNC) machine tools which are used by the industry to produce automobiles, turbines, general engineering products, medical implants, and aerospace components.

The company aims to be among the top 20 machine tool manufacturers in the world by 2020. Presently, BFW is ranked at 54 out of 250 firms worldwide.

30,000-plus installations

“The company has embarked upon massive grass-root level changes to achieve the goal. This includes giving a fresh international focus to R&D and quality control,” Raghavan said.

More than 30,000 BFW machines have been installed worldwide. BFW employs 800 professionals, out of which 700 are engineers.

The manufacturing plant at  Bengaluru is spread over 17 acres. The investment in plant and machinery in India is approximately Rs 250 crore and in Germany about Rs 100 crore. The company is adopting international practices for assembling manufacturing and adopting first-time right processes, which ensure the products are made without need for rework.

BFW is focusing on improving productivity and making it easier for customers to do business using electronic channels.

BFW is a market leader in prismatic machine tools (PMTs), which forms about 40 per cent of the installed machine tools in India. Companies such as Honda, Toyota, Bharat Forge and Ashok Leyland use BFW machines. These are also exported to a number of developed nations like Germany, Japan, and Russia.

“The first bulk export of machine tools from India was done by BFW in 1970. It was for about 200 machines. Gradually, domestic demand took over and exports came down. The company is focusing attention to increase exports to 15 per cent of the turnover in the next year. Exports presently are at about 5 per cent,” Raghavan added. 

It has recently introduced horizontal turning centres (HTCs), a new area. HTCs constitute about 60 per cent of machine tool market, and BFW is confident of reaching out to many more customer segments and industries with the new product line, he said.