BERCO Undercarriages INDIA cuts the RIBBON

The opening ceremony of Berco Undercarriages India took place on the 29th of September 2010, following the best Indian tradition. Berco Undercarriages India, on the outskirts of Hyderabad in the state of Andhra Pradesh, was officially opened on the 29th of September 2010.

Berco Undercarriages India, on the outskirts of Hyderabad in the state of Andhra Pradesh, was officially opened on the 29th of September 2010.
The construction and development of the new site took two years, from the initial purchase of the land by ThyssenKrupp Industries India Pvt and the laying of the first foundations through to the installation of the lines and final completion – two years of intense activity, working closely with our TKII India colleagues, to whom we extend our most sincere thanks.

The factory building is a mixture of European and Indian styles; a dazzling ombination of red and white – the colours of our company trade mark – standing out proudly over the Cherlapally (Hyderabad) industrial area as a symbol of the modern industrial establishment. The Berco India personnel, young and dynamic, have already been at work for several months and express their sincere satisfaction at belonging to the Berco group.
The opening ceremony was planned down to the finest detail according to the best Indian tradition, thanks also to the advice and information provided by the COO – General Manager, Sakthi Kumar.

Berco Spa was fully represented at the opening ceremony with a delegation headed by Managing Director Bruno Saturni and Sven Arend, Director of Sales and member of the Berco Board, together with a number of important close collaborators. We were also honoured by the presence of Karsten Kroos, Chairman of the Board of the ThyssenKrupp Components Technology Business Area, accompanied by Ercan Keles, Director of Management Control and member of the ThyssenKrupp Board and Dara Damania, Vice Chairman of ThyssenKrupp Industries India.

Also, amongst the hundred or so guests, we had the pleasure of welcoming all our most important customers and the major operators on the Indian undercarriage market.

The event began with a religious ceremony, of great significance in India, in which the members of the Berco and ThyssenKrupp delegations were blessed by a Hindu priest in a charming, “picturesque” ritual. According to custom, every new activity must be accompanied by a prayer to the God Ganesh, the god of “first times”.

After the religious ceremony and the welcoming of the guests, there was the hoisting of the flags of Berco, ThyssenKrupp and India, performed respectively by Bruno Saturni, Karsten Kroos and Dara Damania, who then, together with Mr. Arend and Mr. Keles, planted five new trees to symbolise the birth and herald the growth of the new factory.

A particularly festive moment occurred when, just as Bruno Saturni “unveiled” the Berco track chain with the inaugural plaque, there was an unexpected shower of confetti accompanied by fireworks.

After the ceremony, everybody went in to the building where, on a stage erected for the occasion, Bruno Saturni outlined the worldwide activities of Berco and illustrated the reasons, expectations and prospects for Berco Undercarriages India.

Karsten Kroos followed by stressing the importance of ThyssenKrupp in India and the role of the new Berco India branch in further strengthening the presence on the local market, emphasising that the key to success lies in the links we are able to stablish with our customers. The institutional proceedings were followed by the performance of a typical Indian dance, underlining the bond between our team and the local society.

The guests were then offered a tour of the site, with a hands-on inspection of the products from the production lines and a chance to talk to the engineering staff, accompanied by a buffet with an abundant range of typical southern Indian dishes. It has been a pleasure working with our colleague s from TKII India and all the Indian companies that took part in the construction of the factory.

There are many reasons to be satisfied, and one in particular derives from a statement made by the Indian Industrial Development Authority, in which the Berco Cherlapally factory is defined as a new model to be emulated. This compliment makes us extremely proud in that it is representative of the standards of our industrial achievements outside Italy, giving us all the more reason to press ahead with the attainment of the growth targets linked to this important development.