KBL Infusing Rs 150cr For Plant Overhaul

Pune: Pump manufacturers Kirloskar Brothers Ltd (KBL) is infusing upwards of Rs 150 crore in overhauling its facilities at Kirloskarwadi and in a new corporate office at Hinjewadi near Pune where housing for employees on ownership basis and at a concession will be part of the employee-retention package. As part of its plans to expand its two-year-old initiative into the water solutions business, the company also announced the acquisition of the Nagpur-based Gondwana Engineers Pvt Ltd. KBL bought out 100 per cent of GEPL''s equity at Rs 7.6 crore. Since KBL forayed this segment two years ago, it has undertaken water and sewage treatment projects worth Rs 270 crore in Hyderabad, Kerala and Bhopal. With big players such as Degremont and VA Technologies dominating the upper 40 per cent of the business, KBL hopes to increase its presence at the lower end of the business, which is fragmented and has small players in the fray. The Rs 80-crore project, which involves construction of 100,000 sq. ft. of office space, also envisages a township in phase two of the project with upmarket row housing and apartments.