India Brass Components (IBC), an ISO 9001:2000 certified company based in Gujarat, plans to diversify into drop-forged tools. A brand-new plant at Metoda is being set up with 12 drop-forging hammers and allied machinery at a cost of $11 million. Four drop-forging hammers are being imported from Vitarelli of Italy and the rest of the machinery will be sourced locally. IBC will produce drop-forged hand tools, automotive crankshafts and light/medium engineering products.

The new plant will employ 145 people and will come on-stream in approximately 16 months. IBC, which currently has a dealer network in Europe that could be tapped for distributing drop-forged hand tools and automotive forgings, will market the products in Europe and the United States. IBC also plans to invest in steel re-rolling mills in Punjab, which would help it achieve backward integration.