Titagarh Wagons has transformedfrom being a wagon maker for the Indian Railways to also being a shipbuilder. By bagging the ₹175-crore order from the Indian Navy for the construction of four vessels, it has scored against defence PSUs like Goa Shipyard as well as private sector shipyards like Reliance Defence.

A company official told BusinessLine that it was “a tender-based procurement where eight companies participated. Titagarh Wagons was the lowest bidder. The other bidders included PSUs such as Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Goa Shipyard Ltd and private sector shipyards such as Tebma Shipyards, Reliance Defence." The company is among the largest private sector railway wagon manufacturers in India, and has been manufacturing wagons, coaches and specialised equipment for the railways, in addition to building bailey bridges.

Last November, Titagarh Wagons participated in a tender floated by the Indian Navy for the manufacture of vessels and won the ₹75-crore order.

“In 2016, we expanded our footprint in the defence sector by obtaining our registration with the Indian Navy for vessels up to 120 metre length. This was followed by our first contract with the Indian Navy for two 1000T oil tankers. These two vessels are being specially designed to support INS Vikramaditya, Indian Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier," the official added.

Competing with large PSUs and private sector shipyards, the ₹75-crore contract has been a fitting addition to the Group's activities, since it had acquired the requisite accreditations in shipbuilding through the merger of its subsidiaries, Titagarh Marine and Corporated Shipyard into itself.

To cater to the new orders, the company is planning to develop a shipbuilding facility at Kulpi in West Bengal in addition to its shipyard.

For a company that has been engaged in the manufacture and selling of railway wagons, steel castings, heavy earth moving and mining equipment, catering to the requirements of the defence sector has been a slow and steady process.

“From 1990-2000, we have supplied various key components and sub-assemblies for heavy vehicles and battle tanks like Vaijanta, Toopaz, T-55 and T-72. We have also been regularly supplying modular bridge (Bailey Bridge), and BWTB (tank carrying wagons) to the Indian Army," the official said.

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