The story
Rajkot's engineering base began with small workshops making oil engines for Saurashtra's farmers and their irrigation wells. As groundwater fell, firms moved from diesel engines to submersible pumps, then to bearings and auto components for OEMs and the replacement market. Bhaktinagar, Aji and Shapar-Veraval industrial areas now host hundreds of machine shops that supply each other.
In numbers
The Rajkot engineering (diesel engine and pump) cluster had 375 units, Rs 200 crore turnover and 7,500 workers (district profile 2012-13).
Brief Industrial Profile of Rajkot District 2012-13 (MSME-DI Rajkot, Ministry of MSME) · 2013The bearing cluster had 60 end producers, Rs 400 crore turnover, Rs 220 crore exports and 6,600 workers (district profile 2012-13).
Brief Industrial Profile of Rajkot District 2012-13 (MSME-DI Rajkot, Ministry of MSME) · 2013The automobile parts cluster had 303 units, Rs 750 crore turnover, Rs 400 crore exports and 9,500 workers, making more than 300 types of parts (district profile 2012-13).
Brief Industrial Profile of Rajkot District 2012-13 (MSME-DI Rajkot, Ministry of MSME) · 2013The pump-set cluster had 161 units, Rs 300 crore turnover and 4,700 workers (district profile 2012-13).
Brief Industrial Profile of Rajkot District 2012-13 (MSME-DI Rajkot, Ministry of MSME) · 2013
Ways in for a newcomer
- CNC job-work for auto and pump makers
- Making pump and motor components
- Testing and calibration services
- Trading pumps and spares to farmers
Problems the cluster faces
- Diesel engine demand shrank as farmers moved to submersible pumps
- Competition from cheaper Chinese products
- Shortage of trained machinists
- Few firms with their own brands
Businesses to start here
Submersible Pump Set Manufacturing (Agriculture) →Monoset Water Pump Manufacturing →Automobile Piston Manufacturing →Auto Cylinder Liner Casting and Machining →Two-wheeler Engine Cylinder Casting →CNC Engineering Workshop (Precision Job Work) →Diesel Engine and Pump Set Repair →