Leoni expands cable manufacturing facility at Chakan

By OEM Update Editorial October 9, 2017 12:28 pm IST

Leoni, an European provider of cables and cable systems to the automotive sector and other industries, has enhanced its location at Chakan near Pune. The company inaugurated an electron beam accelerator, which allows to provide high performance cables to customers from various industries such as railway or solar.

Bruno Fankhauser, member of Leoni AG’s Board of Directors with responsibility for the Wire & Cable Solutions Division said, “India is an important country for the realisation of the company’s globalisation strategy. The expansion at Chakan will strengthen our leading position in the country and enable it to support India’s economic development as well as generate employment opportunities both for the high skilled and well trained workforce in the Pune region.”

Leoni has invested more than EUR 10 million into the expansion of its Chakan location. Now, the combined production area has increased to more than 20,000 square metres and a capacity to manufacture 80,000 kilometres per year of electron beam cross linked cables, which ensure a higher degree of safety, superior performance and greater efficiency. In the e-beam process, Leoni treats its cables with extremely accelerated electrons, thus cross-linking their chemical structure. As a consequence, the cables obtain the properties of comparatively more expensive, usually more difficult to process high performance products. The e-beam process makes cables, for example, more dimensionally stable when subjected to heat, more resistant to chemicals, solvents and temperature fluctuation as well as harder and more resistant to abrasion.

Pushpendra Singh, Managing Director of Leoni Cable Solutions India Pvt Ltd comments, “This is the next phase of our evolution in India. We began to develop this market in 2010 with an engineering office and a manufacturing facility for automotive wiring systems. Since the opening of the Chakan cable plant in 2013, we also have a strong foundation in the country with regard to special cables for dynamic industries. Leoni’s new commitment will help us to further innovate and create beneficial solutions for India’s economy. The Chakan facility will drive synergies and economies of scale both for our domestic operations as well as exports.”