Forbes Marshall, an engineering and energy conservation solutions provider, is planning to step up its export business.

Naushad Forbes, Director of the Pune-based company, said it has significantly expanded manufacturing capacity at the Chakan unit in Maharasahtra with an investment of ₹250 crore and is seeking to increase its exports business.

Last year, around 20 per cent of the company’s ₹800-crore revenue came from exports.

“Our long-term objective is to increase the export mix to 50 per cent of the total business. We are eyeing markets in West Asia, East Africa and South East Asia,” Forbes told BusinessLine .

There is increasing interest from companies, particularly in the small and medium industries segment, to change the heating process by adapting biomass boilers. They are not only efficient but environment-friendly and the raw material is available in abundance.

He gave the example of Dabur’s manufacturing units, which use residual waste from Chyawanprash, and Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali that have taken to biomass-powered process systems.

Energy demand

There is great demand for biomass boilers, which are replacing other fossil fuel-based units. However, the overall demand in the energy sector has remained flat for a couple of years. “We expect to grow by 7-8 per cent this year. However, once the market picks up, we would be ideally placed to harness the potential of the expansion project we have completed,” Forbes said.

India has potential to save up to ₹15,000 crore a year through energy conservation in the industrial sector, he said.

As of 2013, the energy efficiency gap was 21 per cent in the industrial sector, and if this is bridged, projected energy conservation targets could be achieved.

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