Electrosteel Castings Ltd plans to set up an R&D unit and manufacturing plant to produce precision water valves in India, building on the strength of its acquisition of an Italian company engaged in the sector.

The domestic water valve market is estimated to be worth $2 billion and growing at a healthy rate. With the ₹150 crore buy-out of T.i.S Service SPA, the Italian valve company, ECL hopes to tap the business in India and also globally.

ECL, based in Calcutta and promoted by the Kejriwal family, is one of the largest producers of ductile iron pipes in India with a capacity of 850,000 tonnes. The Italian acquisition will expand the company’s portfolio, supplementing the DI pipe and fitting offerings.

Sunil Katial, whole-time director & CEO, ECL, said the company is actively evaluating localisation of selected T.i.S product lines in India to align with the Make in India initiative and serve regional markets more competitively.

“With this acquisition, Electrosteel now becomes one of the only global players capable of offering both ductile iron pipes and fittings and sophisticated valve technologies under one umbrella. This strengthens our positioning in turnkey water infrastructure and wastewater infrastructure solution provision globally,” said Madhav Kejriwal, whole-time director, ECL & president, T.i.S. Service S.p.A.

T.i.S has two manufacturing plants in Italy and Turkey and logistics centres in Italy and Poland. The company has a turnover of €40 million. With T.i.S in the fold, ECL is hoping to tap new markets internationally.

The company is also looking to set up a DI pipe unit in Odisha, awaiting acquisition of 500 acre land, with an estimated investment of ₹3,000 crore.