Texmaco Rail to establish locomotive plant in South Africa after Rs 4,100 crore deal
Times of India | 23 July 2026
Kolkata: City-based Texmaco Rail & Engineering Ltd, a part of Adventz Group, is set to establish a plant in South Africa to manufacture locomotives and wagons, with an initial investment of Rs 200-300 crore that could scale up in later phases.
The company’s first overseas facility is expected to begin operations in 2027. Additionally, Texmaco is set to commence manufacturing new tank wagons at its Sodepur plant within the next three months in collaboration with Czech firm Nymwag.
The decision to set up the South Africa plant comes nearly two months after the company secured a Rs 4,100 crore contract from the country. Awarded by Tsiko Africa Logistics and Barberry Holdings, the deal covers the supply of 30 diesel locomotives and more than 2,235 freight wagons, along with a 15-year maintenance partnership.
Saroj Kumar Poddar, chairman of the Adventz Group, told TOI: “This contract is a milestone for us. Given the large volume of orders, we have decided to set up a manufacturing plant in South Africa. In the first phase, we will invest around Rs 200-300 crore for this project, which will increase in subsequent phases.”
Texmaco, which operates eight manufacturing plants across India, currently posts an annual turnover of nearly Rs 4,400 crore. The company has forged multiple international partnerships to ramp up production of specialised wagons, locomotives and railway components.
“We are already making tank wagons and have collaborated with Nymwag to manufacture modern tank wagons at our Sodepur plant, starting within the next three months. We have also tied up with Korea-based Sampyo for manufacturing weldable crossings, and entered into a major trilateral partnership with Touax Group and Trinity Rail to roll out a freight railcar leasing platform in India,” Poddar said.
Akshay Poddar, director of Texmaco Rail & Engineering Ltd, noted that the company is also exploring manufacturing Vande Bharat and Metro rakes in the future. “Our technology sets us apart from other Indian players in this sector. Through our collaboration with Touax, we will manufacture wagons with higher payload capacities,” he said.
Indrajit Mookerjee, vice chairman of the company, added: “Of the order received from South Africa, half the supplies will be delivered in 2027-28, with the remainder completed in phases.”