TIRUPATI: BFG India, a subsidiary of BFG International has been leading in offering world-class Fiberglass Reinforced Plastics (FRP) products to Vande Bharat Express and the majority of the country’s metro projects.
Based in the Sri City Special Economic Zone (SEZ), BFG India has been the region’s leading manufacturer of FRP composite products and structures for a variety of industries including wind energy, construction, transportation and marine since 2009. BFG India’s notable clients are Alstom, Bombardier, Volvo, Indian Railways’ Integral Coach Factory (ICF), GE Energy, Gamesa, Cochin Ship Yard, Thermax, RCF, MCF and Bechtel.
According to the sources, BFG India was selected to design, supply and build the interiors, toilet cabin as well as front end for the Vande Bharat Express, the very first modernised train designed by ICF as part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative. It has completed the given tasks in a record-breaking 10 months. In total, 329 different types of FRP panels were fabricated for the whole train. Panels of varied colours were made and integrated to meet the project’s aesthetic objectives.
As part of its strategic supplier partnership with Bombardier Transportation (for Delhi metro rolling stock) and Alstom India (for the metro rolling stock of Chennai, Lucknow, Kochi, Mumbai-3, Sydney, Montreal metro projects), BFG supplies FRP parts as well as interiors, front ends, driver cabs, side walls, central ceilings, lateral ceilings, gangway partitions including cab partitions and others.
The front ends are made of BFG’s unique phenolic material, which provides a high strength-to-weight ratio. All components meet BS-6853 fire safety requirements. BFG engineers proposed unique jigs and fixtures to handle the issues of combining FRP elements with metal parts. The hand laminated, gel coated panels manufactured met NF F 16-101 safety criteria.
Lauding BFG India’s contribution to Vande Bharat Express and most of the metro projects in the country, Founder Managing Director, Sri City, Dr Ravindra Sannareddy said, “It is very heartening to note that BFG’s ‘Made at Sri City’ FRP products are used across different sectors including railways.” Being the ‘home’ for numerous multinational and Indian manufacturing industries, Sri City stands out as a true manifestation of ‘Make in India’ campaign in diverse industries.
In Sri City, BFG India Private Limited has 23,600 sq m workshop with cutting-edge facilities. The superstructure for Kochi Catamaran Ferry Water Metro Project, a pioneering project in India was also designed by BFG. The mega-sized, infusion-made FRP superstructure is 25 metres in length, 6.5 metres in width and 2.5 metres in height. The carrying capacity of this catamaran ferry is 100 people. The whole superstructure of the catamaran ferry was created in BFG’s facility in Sri City. BFG has obtained IRIS TS 22163 Silver Grade Certification.