Swiss agri and food processing equipment maker Buhler plans to double its manufacturing capacity in India over the next five years to meet country’s growing demand and also to step up exports to countries such as Africa and West Asia .

Buhler, which has been operating in India for over thirty years, manufactures equipment to process a range of agri-commodities such as rice, wheat, pulses, and coffee among others, at its facility in Bengaluru.

Manufacturing capacity

Prashant Gokhale, Managing Director, Buhler India, said the company was looking to expand its manufacturing and double its  capacities over the next five years. “We are going to double the manufacturing capacity and also double our exports as well. We envisage close to ₹200 crore plus investment over the next couple of years in the capacity expansion,” he said.  “In the past three years, under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, Bühler India has begun manufacturing biscuit ovens, optical sorters, and core flour milling equipment. Additional technology transfers are planned as part of the road map,” he said.

Buhler India exports the majority of its agri and food processing equipment to Africa and West Asia, while specific equipment like coffee roasters is exported worldwide, to countries including New Zealand, Korea, Japan, Europe, and the US.

Buhler’s Bengaluru manufacturing unit is the fourth largest facility in the company, and it operates over 30 factories globally. About 75-80 per cent of the production is meant for the Indian market while the rest is exported. Besides manufacturing, Buhler also operates a global R&D unit from Bengaluru, where the company develops innovative solutions and technologies including equipment for various commodities for both the Indian as well as global market.

Buhler’s India business is around ₹700-750 crore and is growing at an average of about 10 per cent annually. Factors such as growing urbanisation, availability of branded products in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, convenience, hygiene, nutrition security among others are seen driving the demand for processed foods.

Buhler, which also carries out shared services for the group, including IT services from India, is also looking to expand its operations here. “We more or less manage the whole IT operations of the group from here, including the SAP implementations at Buhler sites and all those things like security, data among others. Also, there are large engineering teams present here, which are not only doing the support they are executing the projects for India but they do lot into Middle East and Africa,” he added.

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