New Plants of MHI's JVs in India Launch Full-scale Operation, Producing

To celebrate the completion and commencement of full-scale operations at the two new plants, a ceremony took place in India today. Attending were A. M. Naik, Chairman of L&T, and Hideaki Omiya, President of MHI, as well as many guests and persons concerned, including officials of India’s central government related to power and industry and Gujarat state government members.

The two new plants were built on a site adjacent to L&T's existing plant in an industrial park at Hazira in Gujarat state, in northwestern India. The 54,000 square meter (m2) boiler production plant, located on a 280,000 m2 property, is managed by L&T MHI Boilers Private Limited (LMB), a JV headquartered in Mumbai. By using advanced equipment, the boiler production plant has commenced welding and assembly work of boiler parts. On the same site LMBPL has also built a 9,900 m2 plant to manufacture coal mills, which are used to crush coal – fuel for boilers, and inaugurated assembly of machines. Plans call for the plant to start machining of related parts this autumn.

The plant for manufacturing steam turbines and generators is operated by L&T MHI Turbine Generators Private Limited (LMTG), a JV based in Mumbai, of which Mitsubishi Electric Corporation is also a JV partner as generator technology licensor. The 53,000 m2 factory, situated on a 280,000 m2 site, consists of a turbine production building and a generator manufacturing building, in which large manufacturing machinery and test equipment are installed. The plant is currently producing supercritical-pressure steam turbines for a coal-fired plant under construction in Andhra Pradesh state*2 and began delivery to the site last year.

Since their establishment in 2007, the two JVs have been establishing solid foothold in thermal power generation equipment market in India, respectively, securing firm orders for seven boilers, ranging from 600 megawatts (MW) to 800 MW, and nine turbines.

L&T, headquartered in Mumbai, is a high technology-driven engineering and construction organization and one of the largest companies in India’s private sector. As a comprehensive manufacturer of heavy machinery, L&T also produces machinery and equipment for chemical plants and pressurized vessels. Establishment of the two JVs meshed the aspirations of both MHI and L&T. MHI had been seeking a foothold in power generation operations in India’s rapidly growing market, while L&T had been looking for a partner possessing advanced technologies.

Spurred by the launch of the two plants' full-scale operations, going forward MHI, together with its two JVs and L&T, will further strengthen its aggressive marketing activities for high-efficiency supercritical-pressure boilers and turbines in the Indian market, where construction of many new thermal power plants is planned.

Notes:

• Supercritical turbines are engineered to operate at steam pressures above water’s critical point: 22.1MPa
  (about 220 times greater than normal atmospheric pressure) and 374.2°C (705.2°F/647.15°K).
  In actual use, they are operated in an environment of about 250 atm.
• LMTG received the order for the two steam turbines in 2008 for the Krishnapatnam Thermal Power Project
  of Andhra Pradesh Power Development Company Limited (APPDCL).