Leading auto parts maker Wheels India Ltd has said that its efforts to establish markets overseas helped the company achieve ₹1,000 crore in export revenue in FY22, and the export story will only get stronger given the favourable growth outlook.
“The foundation has been built to grow the export market along with customers in the coming years,” Wheels India Chairman S Ram told shareholders at the 63rd AGM of the company on Wednesday.
The ₹3,687 crore company was able to increase its production of forged aluminium wheels for sale in Europe and the US. “In the last year, we saw the first full year of production of cast aluminium wheels from the new plant at Thervoy Kandigai. The wheels are sold to the largest aftermarket distributor in the world. The demand is expected to grow this year,“ Ram said.
Strong revival
The company, which is a significant supplier of wheels to the construction equipment (CE) industry worldwide, said there was a strong revival in the CE segment in FY22 as demand in most economies saw a recovery post-pandemic and that demand is expected to remain strong this year.
Ram indicated that the company would continue to grow exports of construction wheels, tractor wheels, and aluminium wheels.
On the commercial vehicle market in India, Ram said that with increased industrial activity, the company saw some growth in the CV segment. The demand for small, light, medium, and heavy commercial vehicles is increasing after two successive years of steep decline.
The passenger vehicle segment was restricted by the availability of semiconductors despite an uptick in demand. The automotive industry should see an improvement this year with the moderation of commodity inflation and improving availability of parts.
On the air suspension business, he said that there had been some improvement in demand for lift axles used in heavy-duty trucks in the latter part of FY22 and expected further improvement this year.
The company also sees growing opportunities to supply parts to the windmill segment as growth prospects are bright for the wind power industry.
In FY22, the Board approved the merger of Sundaram Hydraulics Ltd with Wheels India. The merger is expected to help the growth of hydraulic products manufactured by Sundaram Hydraulics for the construction industry, where Wheels India has a strong strategic relationship with many customers.