Shivalik Bimetal Controls Limited (SBCL.NSE), headquartered in New Delhi, continues to reposition itself as a technology-led engineered-materials partner as it deepens its role in global electrification, energy transition, and advanced industrial applications. Founded in 1984, the company has evolved from a single-product bimetal manufacturer into a multi-site, vertically integrated supplier with a growing global footprint.
Management Summary and Strategic Vision
SBCL is led by Chairman N.S. Ghumman and Managing Director Kabir Ghumman, overseeing a workforce of more than 1,000 skilled employees across three manufacturing campuses. Management’s long-term strategy centers on forward integration, moving beyond component supply toward high-value sub-assemblies and system-level solutions.
Kabir Ghumman characterizes the company’s positioning as a “dual-process fortress,” built on proprietary manufacturing technologies that allow SBCL to secure long-term customer design-ins, maintain pricing discipline, and defend margins. The management team emphasizes durability of customer relationships, technology depth, and disciplined capital allocation over aggressive capacity-led expansion.
Operational and Product Developments
SBCL is actively reshaping its product mix toward applications with higher complexity and margin potential.
Automotive Busbars and Connectors
A major product expansion is underway at the company’s upcoming Pune, Maharashtra facility. Scheduled for launch in April 2026, the plant will focus on automotive busbars, connectors, and assemblies, with an initial proposed capacity of 1 million busbars and 40,000 assemblies per month. This marks SBCL’s entry into deeper participation within EV battery management systems (BMS) and power distribution architectures.
Shunt Resistors
Shunt resistors have emerged as SBCL’s largest value contributor, accounting for roughly 50% of business value. These ultra-low-ohmic components, manufactured using Electron Beam Welding (EBW), are critical for current sensing in electric vehicles, smart meters, energy storage systems, and data centers.
Thermostatic Bimetals
The company continues to invest in its legacy bimetals business, producing 77 proprietary grades through high-pressure diffusion bonding. These materials are used in thermal protection for switchgear, appliances, and industrial equipment, providing stable long-term demand.
Silver Contacts and Assemblies
Through vertical integration, SBCL supplies ready-to-use sub-assemblies, combining silver contacts with complex stamped components. This enhances customer stickiness and moves the company closer to end-application integration.
Mergers, Acquisitions, and Vertical Integration
SBCL’s inorganic strategy has historically focused on technology acquisition and vertical integration, rather than scale-driven consolidation.
- In 2023, the company completed a stake buyout of its partner Checon, strengthening its position in electrical contacts and assemblies.
- Earlier, in 2011, SBCL acquired cold bonding technology and equipment from Sandvik Heating Technology (Sweden), enabling expansion into advanced bimetal and trimetal bonding processes.
Management continues to evaluate selective opportunities that add process capability or accelerate entry into adjacent high-value applications, while maintaining capital discipline.
Competitive Positioning and Technology Moats
SBCL operates in a niche segment characterized by high entry barriers and long qualification cycles.
- In-house machinery design: SBCL builds its own EBW equipment at roughly half the cost of imported alternatives, lowering capital intensity and placing the company on a favorable cost curve.
- Breadth of offerings: With 77 bimetal grades, SBCL significantly exceeds the global industry median, enabling faster customization and shorter development timelines.
- Customer stickiness: Average customer relationships exceed 20 years, and requalification cycles of up to 24 months act as a strong deterrent to competitor displacement.
These factors collectively reinforce SBCL’s ability to defend market share despite competition from global precision component suppliers.
Geographic Expansion and Global Footprint
SBCL serves more than 300 customers across 38 countries, with exports forming a core pillar of its strategy.
- Europe: The company recently established Shivalik Bimetals Europe SRL in Milan, Italy, a wholly owned subsidiary aimed at accelerating customer acquisition and supporting regional OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers.
- India: The Pune facility strengthens SBCL’s presence in India’s automotive and EV ecosystem, complementing existing operations in Solan, Himachal Pradesh.
- Central India: A joint venture facility in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, supports cladding material production.
Management’s focus remains on deeper penetration with existing global customers rather than rapid geographic diversification.
Government Schemes and Policy Tailwinds
SBCL is positioned to benefit from several policy-driven structural themes:
- Smart Metering National Programme: India’s planned rollout of 250 million smart meters includes localization requirements, creating a favorable environment for domestic suppliers such as SBCL and potential access to production-linked incentive frameworks.
- Trade Agreements: Management expects recently concluded and upcoming free trade agreements with the US and Europe to support export growth and reduce entry barriers.
- Labor Reforms: The implementation of new labor codes in late 2025 prompted restructuring of employee benefit obligations, aligning the company with updated regulatory standards.
Credit Profile and Financial Stability
While no external credit ratings were disclosed, SBCL maintains a conservative financial profile.
The company operates on an effectively zero-debt basis, funding capital expenditure, including the Pune expansion, entirely through internal accruals. A strong cash position allows for strategic working capital decisions, such as building copper inventory to mitigate supply chain risks and ensure delivery reliability.
Management Outlook
Management views the operating environment as structurally favorable but tactically uneven, citing global demand variability and evolving geopolitical conditions. The company’s priorities remain:
- Advancing forward integration
- Scaling high-value, application-specific products
- Deepening customer design-in relationships
- Preserving technology-led differentiation
SBCL’s long-term strategy emphasizes quality of growth over speed, positioning the company as a specialized partner in electrification, energy transition, and advanced industrial applications rather than a volume-driven materials supplier.