POWER: BHEL India Takes On Chinese manufacturers

BHEL India, has formulated a strategy to counter competition from Chinese companies who have picked up a large orders from Indian power projects. BHEL is organizing workshops in different parts of the country to convince clients about the superiority of its equipment.

The initiative is backed by a strong team of BHEL engineers and marketing personnel who have been given the mandate to educate clients about availability and performance of power equipment produced by various companies (including Chinese) globally.

The proliferation of Chinese equipment is becoming a cause of concern. BHEL till recently enjoyed monopoly status in the Indian power equipment market. It has orders worth around  US$35 billion at present. Chinese companies have made a major impact in the Indian power market recently. Government data suggest that out of 80610MW of new capacity under construction in the 11th Plan (2007-12 ), about 43048MW (55%) is ordered on BHEL and 15725MW (20%) on Chinese manufacturers. For the 12th Plan (2012-17 ) period, of the 32010mw capacity already under construction, a substantial 10170 mw (31%) is ordered on Chinese manufacturers.

All major industrial groups like Reliance Infra, Adani Power, JSW Energy , Jindal Power, KSK, GMR, Sterlite, Lanco, Indiabulls have placed orders on Chinese suppliers.

These workshops have helped Bhel to come out with new generation power equipment that are not only cost competitive but also deliver high levels of performance. The company has also swung few orders from companies that have earlier placed orders with Chinese suppliers. It has ramped up its capacity to 15000mw. It is further increasing it to 20000mw.