Chowdhary: Looking ahead

New Delhi, July 23: General Electric (GE) today acquired a 15 per cent stake in Calcutta-based Titagarh Wagons, manufacturers of wagons for the Indian Railways.

“Two units of General Electric — GE Equipment Services and GE Commercial Finance — have picked up a 15 per cent stake in Titagarh Wagons,” said J.P. Chowdhary, chairman of Titagarh Wagons.

GE sees good business potential in companies like Titagarh as there is scope for massive infrastructure-related investments in the railway sector, said analysts.

“We have made a strategic investment in Titagarh Wagons. This is our first equity investment in the Indian transport sector,” said Dhananjay Nalawade, president (India), GE Equipment Services.

He did not disclose the value of the transaction.

“Our domain expertise in rail and other forms of transport allows us to bring a wide range of best practices from our various global platforms to India, including new financing structures, new wagon designs, new forms of fleet management and other new services.

“Providing wagon solutions will be our first step towards improving the supply chain infrastructure in India,” added Nalawade.

Railway wagons are in high demand in India because of high economic growth and increased volume of shipments of raw materials and manufactured goods throughout the country.

Now it takes about 18 months to get a wagon ready. With GE’s investment, Titagarh plans to step up the pace of manufacturing and make more wagons.

Titagarh and GE will also explore ways to improve rail transport, including incorporating GE’s forthcoming VeriWise RAIL asset management technology in the manufacture of wagons.

VeriWise RAIL will enable railways and shippers to locate specific cars and monitor their freight, thereby enhancing the visibility, security and productivity of the rail system, said Nalawade.