German industrial and automotive-component supplier Schaeffler on Wednesday announced the inauguration of a new manufacturing unit at its Savli (Vadodara) facility in Gujarat. The new unit will add additional capacities of over 10,000 sq m of production space, to the existing plant, and cater to the growing demand in the wind, heavy industries, and railway sectors, the company said.

The expansion of the Savli plant’s production capacity is a vital step towards driving localisation strategy and meeting the growing demands of the market, it stated.

The capacity expansion will enable the plant to manufacture spherical roller bearings (SRB) and spherical rollers, while also expanding its heat treatment capabilities, it said.

Schaeffler India’s Savli plant currently carries out quality related work, such as heat treatment of raw material, face and outer outside diameter grinding and honing (precision grinding) the inner and outer rings of rolling bearings.

The various products produced include small ball bearings for two wheelers, cylindrical roller, tapered roller, spherical roller bearings as well as large size bearings for wind, railways and heavy machinery sectors, according to the company.

Besides, the plant also caters to exports towards intercompany demands of Schaeffler Group.

“We continue to invest judiciously in India. We recognize India’s strategic importance in the manufacturing space and as a mature industrial market for us in the region. This expansion will enable Schaeffler to meet the market demands and grow with the Indian market,” said Stefan Spindler, CEO Industrial, Schaeffler AG.

By expanding production capabilities, the company is adding local competency towards small and medium sized spherical products, making Schaeffler well-positioned to serve the customer needs even better, said Harsha Kadam, CEO and Managing Director, Schaeffler India Limited.

With this expansion also comes an increase in employment opportunities, the company said and added that By 2025-2026, Schaeffler India expects the employee strength at the Savli plant to double from the existing numbers.

Schaeffler India, however, neither shared the investment made in ramping up capacity nor the number of employees at the Savli plant.