“Our focus is on growing our strategic business relating to defence, aerospace, missiles and gearboxes”

Niche in Engineering:

WIL has actually been involved in the area of high-tech engineering & manufacturing for over three decades now. There are five distinct areas where we have been doing work in this niche domain:

• Nuclear Power Plant Equipment – Manufacture of critical and core components like Calandria, End Shields and Heat Exchangers.  Supply of such components to various nuclear power plants in India including 220 MWe Reactor, 500 MWe PHWR Reactor, 500 MWe PFBR and 700 MWe Reactor.
• Missiles components – Manufacture and assembly of Motor Casings for Missile programs – both strategic and tactical i.e. AGNI, AKASH, ASTRA. Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) is our major customer in this arena.
• Defence equipment– WIL has been closely involved with the ATV (Advanced Tactical Vessel) program to manufacture equipment like Weapon Containers and Launchers. On board integration work at Ship Building Centre, Vizag is also one of our ongoing activities. We have also manufactured and supplied equipment like Mobile Bridges and Launcher Assemblies (both wagon mounted and truck mounted) in the past.
• Components for Launch Vehicles – WIL has been a strategic partner for the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Various core components of launch vehicles – for both PSLV and GSLV programs like motor casings, strap-on motors and various segments have been manufactured by WIL and have successfully performed during launches.
• Gearboxes – Our offerings in this area are quite diverse ranging from high speed, low speed, planetary and marine gearboxes. These are designed for various applications/industries including Sugar, Cement, Steel, Paper, Hydel, Fertilizer, and Petrochemical. Our marquee offerings are the heavy duty gearboxes designed specifically for the Indian Navy (Frigates, Corvettes and Submarines).

Standing as a technology leader:

WIL has been a pioneer in the application of technology (both engineering and production process) towards manufacturing heavy engineering jobs. WIL has an engineering & technology vertical called as Walchand Technology Group (WTG) which caters to development and absorption of engineering & design skills in both current business areas as well as upcoming target businesses. Also WIL deploys state–of-the-art technology in the manufacturing process – e.g. 5-Axis CNC milling machines for missiles components, automated welding centres for aerospace applications, Hofler Rapid 2200 gear grinding machine (for DIN 1 standards for marine applications), etc. Also WIL has proprietary technology especially in the areas of welding procedures involving exotic materials for niche applications like nuclear reactor components, missile / launch vehicle motor-casings, etc.

Innovations  showcased recently:

• Development of tooling (indexing and welding fixtures) and fabrication processes for missile components
• Innovation in design and manufacturing of sugar centrifugal machines w.r.t. machines basket design and machining process
• Welding development processes for various exotic materials (e.g. Incoloy) in the manufacture of nuclear reactor components
• Demonstration of success of “Central-Drive” gearboxes for cement mills
• Successful finishing (grinding) on Hofler gear grinding machine to achieve DIN 1 quality standard for marine gearbox components

Roadmap for the company yearning for excellence and growth:

Amongst its various business lines, WIL would like to focus in a big way on growing its strategic businesses viz. Defence, Aerospace, Missiles and Gearboxes. We are also looking at Centrifugal Machines (applications in both sugar-making and other industries as a product platform for rapid growth). The government’s focus on ‘Make in India’ and ‘Self Sufficiency in defence’ gives us enough confidence to be able to respond positively to likely opportunities. WIL would also be actively pursuing technology tie-ups / joint-ventures for the purpose of technology acquisition. While the domestic market is where our main thrust is, we would be actively seeking opportunities to expand our footprint in exports markets as well.