Mumbai: Hestamp, a Spanish auto component company specializing in metal parts, has invested Rs 26 crore in a new hot stamping plant in Pune to meet the country’s growing demand for safe and light vehicles.

The company claims that Hestamp’s hot stamping technology can reduce the overall weight of a vehicle by up to 30%. Hot stamping is one of the solutions for manufacturers to reduce the weight and emissions of white structural bodies. In addition, the hot stamping process improves the performance of the vehicle during a collision and contributes to passenger safety. The new plant in Pune will be one of 70 hot stamping lines around the world producing lighter and safer metal parts. With new crash standards set to take effect later this year, most domestic automakers are upgrading their vehicles to the new standards. The plant will be serviced by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), Ford Motor Co. and Tata Motors. The new Pune plant is expected to employ 130 people by 2017 and will introduce hot stamping technology in the country.

Raman, President, Hystamp India Nanda said, “The new Hot Stamping Technology plant will reduce the overall weight of passenger cars and enable OEMs to better comply with new national emission standards, fuel efficiency requirements and future laws and regulations. Then. “Bharat NCAP.”

Since 2008, Hystamp’s new plant in India is the third market in which the group has invested nearly Rs. 10,000 crores since its inception. In addition, the company has a research and development center specializing in the lightweighting of vehicles to improve safety. pLoire Gestamp, specialist in the design and manufacture of stamping lines for the group, is installing in the new plant a hot stamping line with 1,200 tons of stamping presses with automatic connection of tool changers, thermal imaging cameras and monitoring systems.

Hystamp has supplied India to Ford, Volkswagen Skoda, Renault and Nissan. Since Hystamp started its operations in India, its sales have grown nearly nine-fold from Rs. 1.3 billion in 2008 to Rs. 1.04 billion at the end of 2015.

One of the world’s largest suppliers of components, Hystamp has developed an industrial model through hot stamping that covers the entire value chain, including stamping lines and die manufacturing.