Indian public sector defense equipment manufacturer BEML has won an order worth $140 million to supply the Indian army with TATRA multi-terrain transport vehicles.
The order consists of several versions and numbers including 498 of the 8X8 vehicle, which has a winch suitable for self-recovery and for hauling tanks onto its flatbed. It also can be adapted for carrying personnel.
The army has also ordered 278 of the 6X6 variant without a winch and 12 with a winch. The vehicle itself can carry around 8.8 tons and on public roads it can tow a trailer with a capacity of up to nearly 72 tons. Off road it can tow a trailer carrying nearly 18 tons.
Delivery is within 18 months, a BEML statement said.
The contract raises BEML's order book up to $1.29 billion, the statement said. The Ministry of Defense paid half the amount up front.
BEML operates in three core businesses — mining and construction, rail and metro and defense and aerospace.
Last month the Ministry of Defense announced a deal domestic manufacturer Tata Motors, best known for cars and trucks, for a Mine Protected Vehicle.
Tata, the country's largest vehicle maker, has supplied the army since 1958 and includes troop carriers and logistics trucks among its defense products. The MPV is Tata's first offensive-use vehicle.
The air-conditioned, three-door MPV has a V-shaped hull that deflects blasts under the vehicle away from the unit, making it ideally suited for counterinsurgency operations, Tata said.
It includes two roof-top observation hatches, nine firing ports and a 360-degree roof-mounted rotating turret for either light or heavy machine guns. Underbelly protection can be customized to order.
BEML, standing for Bharat Earth Movers Limited, with headquarters in Bangalore, is India's second largest manufacturer of earth-moving equipment. It has around 80 percent of the Indian market and its products are sold primarily to the mining sector.
Other products include dump trucks, hydraulic excavators, wheeled loaders and bulldozers. The rail division produces track-laying equipment and overhead line inspection cars.
BEML's competition in Asia is mainly from Caterpillar Inc., Komatsu, Terex and Hitachi.
The Ministry of Defense completely owned BEML until 1992 when it sold off 25 percent of the business.
BEML opened a sales and service office in Jakarta last August in the wake of winning orders worth $44 million from mining companies in Indonesia.
Other overseas offices include Malaysia, Brazil and China.
The company wrapped up 2008-09 with a turnover of $600 million including exports worth $64 million, a company statement said. It has a target of annual sales of around $1 billion by 2014.
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