Welspun Corp Ltd’s record ₹17,200 crore (or $1.8-billion) order has put its US business at the centre of the company’s next growth phase. The contract, linked to a major Permian Basin export pipeline project, takes its global order book to about $4.4 billion, with more than 60-65 per cent expected to be executed from the US over the next three to three-and-a-half years. For managing director and CEO Vipul Mathur, however, the bigger story is not the size of the order but what it says about Welspun’s US strategy. The company believes its local manufacturing footprint in the US, capacity investments and customer relationships have positioned it for a broader wave of North American energy-infrastructure spending, particularly around the Permian Basin and Gulf Coast.
What enabled Welspun to win an order of this scale? Was the company’s US manufacturing footprint a decisive factor?
This is indeed one of the biggest and most prestigious orders in the history of Welspun. At this stage, we are not disclosing the customer details. However, the order pertains to a major export pipeline project in the Permian Basin, United States, one of the world’s largest energy-producing regions. The pipes will be used for LNG export infrastructure.
Our local manufacturing presence in the United States has been a key strategic advantage in securing this order. Over the years, we have invested in building capacity closer to our customers, which enhances responsiveness, execution reliability and alignment with customer requirements. For large, critical infrastructure projects of this nature, local manufacturing significantly strengthens competitiveness, and this order is a strong validation of that strategy.
What does the order tell you about the opportunity in the US energy infrastructure market? Is this a one-off project or are you seeing a larger pipeline of opportunities?
We see this as part of a broader structural opportunity in the North American energy infrastructure market, rather than a one-off project. There are multiple large-scale projects under consideration, particularly in key energy hubs such as the Permian Basin. This order reinforces our positioning to participate in the next phase of energy infrastructure development in the United States.
The North American energy infrastructure market continues to present significant opportunities, with strong energy production in regions such as the Permian Basin driving demand for energy evacuation and pipeline infrastructure towards the Gulf Coast. Several large and complex projects are also at different stages of development and execution.
Does Welspun need significant additional capex to execute the $1.8-billion order, or can it be absorbed by existing US capacity?
The order will be executed through our existing USA manufacturing facilities, supported by ongoing investments. We continue to focus on debottlenecking and targeted capacity augmentation to strengthen our ability to address future opportunities. We believe our planned capex and augmentation initiatives will provide us with sufficient flexibility to participate in the opportunities we see in the market. As the project pipeline develops, we will continue to assess capacity requirements accordingly.
With the order book now at $4.4 billion, what kind of visibility does this give Welspun over the next few years?
Our current order book of $4.4 billion provides strong visibility over the next few years. More than 60-65 per cent of the business will be executed from the USA, with the overall order book to be executed over the next three to three-and-a-half years. All contracts are negotiated on a fixed-price basis and denominated in US dollars. The order book provides revenue visibility through FY28-FY29.
The latest order will be executed across multiple locations in the USA and India, and each will have a different execution timeframe. Broadly, we expect execution to be spread across these two years, with revenues recognised in line with project milestones and delivery schedules.
What gives you confidence that the current US momentum can continue beyond this order?
The demand remains strong, and we are seeing multiple large and complex projects at different stages of development and execution. Our investments in capacity, technology and customer relationships have positioned us well to participate in this growth. We see the latest order as reinforcing our positioning for the next phase of energy infrastructure development in the United States.