L&T Kobelco Machinery opens India rubber machinery plant

ERJ staff report (LMH)

Tokyo -- Kobe Steel, Ltd's joint venture with India's Larsen & Toubro Ltd has begun production of rubber processing machinery in India. Called L&T Kobelco Machinery Pvt Ltd, the joint venture manufactures rubber mixers and twin screw rollerhead extruders used in making tyres.

L&T Kobelco will hold an opening ceremony, 19 Jan, at its plant in Kanchipuram, southwest of Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu. Attending the ceremony from Kobe Steel is Executive Vice President Kazuo Shigekawa, head of the company's Machinery Business. Approximately 130 people are anticipated to attend the opening event, Kobe Steel said in a 19 Jan news release.

Established in 2010, L&T Kobelco is 51 percent owned by Larsen & Toubro and 49 percent by Kobe Steel. The company, headquartered in Mumbai, has 54 employees.

Tyre and rubber machinery is used to manufacture tires for automobiles and construction equipment. Demand has been increasing in recent years owing to rising production of automobiles mainly in emerging countries, Kobe Steel said in the announcement. L&T Kobelco plans to market its products in India, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Russia and Eastern Europe.

L&T Kobelco is Kobe Steel's fourth manufacturing base. In addition to Takasago, Japan, Kobe Steel's other manufacturing centres are Kobelco Stewart Bolling, Inc. in Ohio, USA and Yiyang Yishen Rubber Machinery Co., Ltd in Hunan Province, China. Annual sales are anticipated to reach $45 million (euro 35 million) in the 2014-2015 fiscal year.

A strategic partner of Kobe Steel is Larsen & Toubro, India's largest construction and engineering company. It is India's top manufacturer of tyre curing presses, Kobe Steel said. Since 2003, Kobe Steel has been providing Larsen & Toubro with technology to produce tyre curing presses, building a solid relationship over the years.

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Press release from Kobe Steel