Maxion Wheels to set up passenger car aluminium wheel plant in Pune

Once the project is complete, Maxon Wheels will produce four million aluminium wheels annually. In this first phase, an investment of more than $50 million USD will be spent on the land and state-of-the-art plant and equipment for the manufacturing of two million wheels annually. Start of production is expected in the third quarter of 2019

Maxion Wheels is a division of Iochpe-Maxion S.A., a leading wheel manufacturer for passenger cars, light trucks, buses, commercial trucks and trailers. The company also produces wheels for agriculture and military vehicles, as well as other off-highway applications. Maxion is the world's largest wheel manufacturer, producing 58 million wheels per year. The Company serves its global OEM customers from 28 locations in 15 countries on five continents, and has state-of-the-art technical centers in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Maxion Wheels Chief Executive Officer, Pieter Klinkers remarked that the new Pune passenger car aluminum wheel plant of Maxion Wheels will be the first global light vehicle aluminum wheel producer in the Indian market.

The new wholly-owned operation, expected to initially bring more than 1,000 new direct and indirect jobs to the region, will produce low pressure die cast aluminum wheels with a high-end wheel finish.

Maxion Wheels started its wheel production in India in 1996 when it set up two steel wheel plants in Pune. One is a car wheel plant producing 4 million wheels annually and the other is a truck wheel plant producing 1.2 million annually. The new aluminium wheel plant and process coming up in Pune will include premium Bright Machined wheels from the start, 32 low-pressure die casting machines, heat treatment, x-ray and 16 machining cells, One paint shop with capacity for 2 million wheels, powder coat followed by wet paint base coat and clear coat, among others. Sizes of wheels to be made at the new Pune plant will be of size 14” to 22” in diameter and 4” to 9” in width.