Hayes Lemmerz Begins Passenger Car Steel Rim Production in India

A ceremony held on November 23 marked the official opening of the first facility producing Hayes Lemmerz passenger car steel wheels in Asia. The plant in Chakan, near the Indian city of Pune, is the product of an established joint-venture between the US based wheel producer and Indian automotive component manufacturer the Kalyani Group. Approximately US$15 million has been invested in the plant.

Initial capacity at the Chakan facility will be two million units per annum, and plans to double this are already in place. The bulk of this initial capacity has already been earmarked for existing demand from OEM customers; 1.7 million wheels have been booked to meet orders from Fiat, Tata, Mahindra & Mahindra, Volkswagen, Ford and Renault Nissan.

Kalyani Hayes Lemmerz, as the joint-venture operation is known, commenced its activities in 1996 when it opened a facility capable of producing one million commercial vehicle rims per annum. Today this plant manufactures 16 to 24-inch commercial vehicle rims for domestic and export markets. Both the commercial vehicle rim plant and the new passenger car rim factory receive technical support from Hayes Lemmerz International.