Godrej Group's leading company, Godrej & Boyce, announced on Thursday its goal to achieve a 50% increase in revenue from its material handling equipment division within the next two to three years.
Additionally, the firm mentioned that its new manufacturing plant located in Khalapur, Maharashtra, is expected to begin operations by the end of 2024.
The company's Material Handling Equipment division has introduced a forklift truck powered by a Lithium-ion battery, featuring a Battery Management System developed in-house.
These batteries are designed to serve industries like FMCG, consumer durables, retail including e-commerce, pharmaceuticals, and other key manufacturing sectors. They provide up to 15% longer run time for two and three-tonne forklifts. Additionally, their modular design enables scalability, according to Godrej & Boyce.
In collaboration with Log9 Materials, the newly developed battery systems combine lithium-ion cells with 30% local production and a proprietary Battery Management System entirely designed and manufactured in India. The company has also set a goal to achieve 100% localization of the cells by the following year.
Historically, the Indian market has been dependent on imported batteries and BMS systems, with a majority being sourced from China, as stated by the company.
Localising this technology underscores the business's commitment to the 'Make in India' vision and fostering a resilient domestic supply chain, it said.
The company also said it plans to extend this technology to other material-handling equipment.
Godrej is India's largest manufacturer of industrial fork trucks.
"The material handling equipment business is Rs 1000 crore (in) revenue (at present). We are targeting Rs 1500-crore revenue from this business in the next 2-3 years," said Anil Lingayat, Executive Vice President and Business Head for the material handling business of Godrej & Boyce.
(With PTI Inputs)
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