Herrenknecht is building its first assembly plant in India

There is massive demand in India for new and efficient tunnels and pipelines, in order to guarantee the mobility of people, goods and resources in the large cities and all over the country. Herrenknecht tunnelling technology is part of the subway extension scheme in New Delhi, large water supply projects and pipeline construction and other projects. India is among the key markets for the future in the Asia-Pacific region, due to its enormous demand. Thus, like in China, Herrenknecht AG (headquarters in Southern Germany) is building up modern assembly and steel production capacities in India in a targeted way. In this way, we can provide projects and customers with high quality, reliability and adherence to schedules.

In a first step, Herrenknecht founded “Herrenknecht India Pvt. Ltd.” in spring 2007. This 100% subsidiary has its headquarters in Chennai on the eastern coast of Southern India (Bay of Bengal). The decision in favor of this location and investment was based on Chennai’s excellent transport links via the seaport into the mainland, an ideal pattern of industrial settlement in the surroundings, and the availability of excellently trained specialist personnel. In the first construction phase, Herrenknecht is investing a total of 6 million Euro, which will be spent mainly on an efficient plant for the assembly of tunnelling machines, as well as production capacities for components and tools. This includes an assembly hall with a size of 3,000 square meters, a production plant for the manufacture of cutter disks (for hard rock excavation) and a storage warehouse for spare parts.

Construction work on the assembly hall will start in autumn, the commissioning of the new plant is planned for spring 2008. The subsidiary will employ 100 members of staff. This includes a service team, which will support the Herrenknecht TBMs operating in India.

In winter 2007/2008, the first Herrenknecht Double Shield Machine with a diameter of 7.96 meters will begin excavating a water supply tunnel near Hyderabad (Southern India). With a length of 18.8 kilometers, the route will lead through hard rock beneath a nature reserve, among other things. In addition to the tunnel boring machine, Herrenknecht is supplying a lining segment production facility (concrete segments for the lining of the tunnel) as well as comprehensive technical service. This year, Herrenknecht has received orders to supply eight Earth Pressure Balance Shields to create 18 kilometers of new tunnels in downtown New Delhi, as part of the city’s subway extension scheme.


Contact:
Herrenknecht AG
Achim Kühn, Head of Company Communication
Schlehenweg 2
77963 Schwanau
Tel.: +49 (0)7824 302-540
Fax: +49 (0)7824 302-473
Email: pr@herrenknecht.de
Web: www.herrenknecht.com