Dr Neelkanthrao Kalyani, who contributed to the fields of agriculture and industry in Maharashtra, founded Bharat Forge Limited 60 years ago. He dreamt of setting up a forging industry within the country that would reduce its dependence on imported engineering products and machinery and significantly increase its production capacity. Realising the need for state-of-the-art technology to fulfill his dream, Neelkanthrao sent his son Baba Kalyani, who has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from BITS Pilani, to study at MIT, a prestigious institute at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, USA. Babasaheb who returned to India with the latest knowledge from there, made history in the industrial field by taking Bharat Forge globally with his keen intelligence, in-depth knowledge of business and accurate decision making. Babasaheb Kalyani, President and Managing Director of Bharat Forge, transformed the sapling of Bharat Forge planted by his father into a huge banyan tree. The journey that started with an industrial organisation manufacturing spare parts for the automotive industry has expanded to include transportation, energy, defence, space, mining, construction, hydrocarbons and many other industries related to the industrial sector by following the latest technology. Bharat Forge’s strength is its world-class network of more than 10,000 skilled engineers and technicians with a thorough knowledge of modern technology. With their help, the company has increased its annual production capacity to 600,000 tons, which should be a world record. In 1999, Babasaheb's son Amit Kalyani started working in the company as Chief Technology Officer. The company has benefitted through his modern thinking and entrepreneurial skills. As Deputy Managing Director, now, he is playing a vital role in the company’s development.

The title ‘World’s Leading Organisation in Forging’ has not easily fallen in the company’s lap. For that, the visionary decisions of the company management taken under the guidance of three generations of Kalyani family, have always been well supported by officers, employees and workers. Bharat Forge has always been considered as one of the most preferred suppliers globally as it has the capability to provide complete supply from concept to design, production to machining, testing, and validation as per the requirements of the consumer industry bodies. Bharat Forge has therefore developed long-term and sustainable development-related bonding with large multinational conglomerates. Babasaheb Kalyani's teaching, “The sky of opportunities always beckons innovative people,” has inspired his son and the company's Deputy Managing Director Amit Kalyani, and everyone working in the company. Thanks to it, Bharat Forge has faced many challenges unitedly and the company has successfully implemented innovative ideas. The Corona pandemic, currently raging all over, is a good case in point. During this time, the company had to change its planning made to ensure that the production line would never have to be shut. Employees were working from home due to the lockdown. There were difficulties in reaching the set production level. In such a difficult situation, the company stood by the workers and employees, although the universal policy was that of curtailing staff. Through various training sessions, the management provided the employees the strength to cope with the situation. Once the restrictions were lifted, the company tried its best to supply its products to customers within the stipulated time by strictly adhering to all the government restrictions. During these testing times, the company management constantly kept in touch with the employees and the workers through various mediums, which helped to make the employees’ loyalty towards the company stronger and Bharat Forge experienced that capable and skilled employees, when filled with confidence, can make the impossible possible.

Bharat Forge has established the best system at the company level to enhance the performance of all its establishments by laying great emphasis on productivity, cost, quality and safety and integrating them. Forge has built its commanding influence in key areas such as Mobility, Space (Aerospace) and Defence due to its high quality and excellence with its conviction to explore newer opportunities and successfully tackle challenges. Bharat Forge, which started developing products for the country’s Defence sector 10 years ago, has now made a mark as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of weapons and equipment required for the Defence sector. Kalyani Strategic Systems Limited (KSSL) has been set up in line with the constant reforms in both the Defence and Space sectors and its business objectives have been set up too. KSSL has with it, Bharat Forge’s five decades of expertise in the fields of design, engineering, metallurgy and manufacturing and it is on their strength that KSSL has emerged as India’s fastest organisation with the established capacity to manufacture products related to Defence and Space. KSSL’s manufacturing plant is equipped with state-of-the-art Defence technology-based production chain. These include artillery systems, protected vehicles, armoured vehicle upgrades, ammunition, nuclear weapons, Air Defence equipment, small arms, Defence electronics and Space-related equipment. Through technology and innovation, KSSL is nationally producing state-of-the-art Indian-made weapons for the Indian Army. The state-of-the-art manufacturing branches of the industry are spread in strategic locations across India, and are set to provide complete service to the customers from concept to the final product. KSSL has been receiving various prestigious orders from the Indian Army, Air Force and Navy. KSSL has entered into cooperation agreements with world-class Defence equipment manufacturers to ensure that India’s Defence facilities are the best in the world and to make the Indian Defence Forces self-sufficient in arms. It is also striving to create the latest technology environment in India by constantly interacting with various start-ups and educational institutions. Bharat Forge believes in the strength of the country’s youth and is all set to use the latest technology like Industry 4.0 to open the door to potential opportunities and carve a new future through it.

Consistent pursuit of education and daily training in modern techniques is the practice followed by Bharat Forge. In order to provide higher education opportunities to the employees of the company, Bharat Forge entered into an agreement with BITS Pilani to create an army of highly educated and highly qualified employees with the latest technical knowledge. Realising that there is no substitute for education and training, the company set up the Kalyani Centre of Technology and Innovation (KCTI). High quality staff working in state-of-the-art laboratories related to heat treatment, metallurgy, fitting and crypt testing are conducting research on how to make maximum efficient use of steel and forging processes. In addition, KCTI has Power Electronics, Embedded Systems, 3D Printed Medical Implants, Additive Products and Advanced Materials Research Laboratories. Bharat Forge has also launched the Kalyani Centre for Manufacturing Innovation (KCMI), where prototypes based on the research conducted at KCTI can be rapidly developed.

By introducing newer changes in the automotive industry with the help of state-of-the-art technology, Bharat Forge has put the country on the world map. Bharat Forge was established as a leading company in the field of forging in the 1980s. The company wanted to be more export-oriented by strengthening its position in the local market. At that time, being aware of the changing times, Bharat Forge invested in automation and skilled manpower using state-of-the-art technology. In the 1980s, importing machinery was expensive and difficult. However, Babasaheb Kalyani’s foresight and prompt action based on it, made it possible. Firstly, obsolete devices were called for experimentation and necessary modifications were made to them as needed. Further, under Babasaheb’s guidance, the company started using hi-tech robotics technology and emphasis was laid on developing manpower with advanced knowledge. The company is reaping its benefits today. With right decisions at the right time and their quick implementation everywhere, Bharat Forge has always been ahead of its competitors. Cooperation agreements with global multinational corporations have always provided new opportunities for the company through the exchange of technology, and the company has made the best of those opportunities.

Skill development

• Engineering degree education in collaboration with BITS Pilani
• Management Development - Postgraduate course at the University of Warwick
• MTech (Design Engineering) BITS Pilani
• MTech (Materials Engineering) DIAT, Pune
• Technology Development - in collaboration with Fraunhofer, RWTH University, COEP, The Institute of Welding, Deakin University, and Advanced Manufacturing Research Center
• Advanced Technical Skills - Advanced training in industry context
• Hydraulics, Pneumatics, Human Machine Interface, PLC & Control wing, Mechatronics, AR & VR, Big Data Analysis etc.
• More than 1000 staff trained in Industry 4.0 technology
• Total trained staff - 85%

We always strive for a safe working environment for our employees. They are also provided training from time to time. All security programmes are evaluated from time to time and the progress of the organisation is monitored. During the current Corona pandemic, we are providing all the necessary information and healthcare to our employees, taking all necessary precautions.

Bharat Forge has demonstrated its sense of social responsibility through various activities like distribution of 1,00,000 N95 masks for health workers, distribution of 1,000 food packets twice daily so that the needy get two meals, supply of liquid oxygen cylinders with 120 metric tonne capacity from Bharat Forge’s steel plant to various hospitals, development of special production facilities solely for manufacturing high-pressure aluminium cylinders in collaboration with R&D department, manufacture and supply of critical medical devices such as high flow nasal oxygen equipment to various hospitals in Pune, production and supply of pre-ICU class ventilators manufactured in Jet Propulsion Lab (NASA) as well as the development of ICU class ventilators called Pufferfish and their free of cost supply, The pandemic forced Bharat Forge to think of new business strategies, which would strengthen the country’s fight against Covid. At this point, it is necessary to quote Babasaheb Kalyani. He says, “In the last 50 years, society has contributed a lot to the growth of our company. We must strive for the welfare of society to repay it at least partially.” Due to this thinking, Bharat Forge Ltd. has become a model in social work. Bharat Forge will continue to contribute to carve a bright future for the country.