Steelbird to set up new EPS plant in Baddi in Himachal Pradesh

Steelbird Hi-tech India Limited, Asia’s largest helmet manufacturer, is all set to set up a new state-of-the-art EPS plant at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh.

The company has acquired new land and is planning to make an initial investment of Rs 25 crore in the facility, which is spread over 2.2 acres. This facility will facilitate an in-house expanded polystyrene (EPS) production line. EPS is a crushable foam used in helmet production.

Commenting on the opening of the new plants, Kashish Kapur, Director, Steelbird Helmets said “Our family has been in the manufacturing of helmets for generations. As we have been making helmets since 1976, we understand the importance and what goes behind manufacturing quality helmets. Particularly when we look at the current scenario in India, less than 2% of manufacturers know about helmets and the way to manufacture them. They often overlook the manufacturing process, the tech specs, the safety protocols and the qualifying standards.”

“Furthermore, all EPS producers are packaging producers, not component producers. But let’s understand ESP is a safety component and is very significant for safety features and quality. Also, for higher quality, double density EPS is required. On this front, we at Steelbird, have the prowess to inject double density. Our helmets boast nine sizes, where each size of the EPS is different and the density of EPS in each size is different. The idea of setting up this EPS plant is, therefore, to give the best safety to the riders, " he added.

The company has bought 8836 square metres of new land adjoining the existing plant.The new plant in Baddi will have a total of 60,000 square feet of built-up area and will be ready by the end of 2022. The plant will have an average production capacity of manufacturing 22,000 EPS a day. The new EPS plant facilities will ensure direct employment for over 150 individuals. The highly automated plant will employ the latest manufacturing processes.

With this new facility, Steelbird now has eight manufacturing factories in the country, with four being located in Noida and four in Baddi. Steelbird is currently manufacturing 20,000 helmets per day and is growing at a 22% CAGR. The company also exports its helmets to over 60 countries.