Forging A Global Story: How Naresh Jalan Led Ramkrishna Forgings To Global Frontiers

Walk into Ramkrishna Forgings’ manufacturing floors on any given day and you’ll find a rhythm — machines that don’t sleep, metal taking shape, and teams working with a confidence that comes only when a company knows exactly where it is headed. That rhythm has a source. It comes from the man who has guided the company through expansions, setbacks, downturns, breakthroughs, and some bold bets — Naresh Jalan.

His journey is not the conventional “startup-to-scale-up” narrative. It is the story of an industrial leader who built quietly, consistently, and with an unusual appetite for risk. The way Naresh thinks about the future of manufacturing is often a few steps ahead of market sentiment. He doesn’t wait for cycles to turn. He works as if the cycle has already turned and that the company must be ready before everyone else.

A Shift in Mindset and Model

Six years ago, Ramkrishna Forgings was known largely within commercial vehicle circles. Dependable, high-quality, respected but not widely visible. Naresh wanted to change that. Not by chasing headlines, but by changing the fundamentals.

The company expanded its verticals, entered new continents, and began moving up the value chain. What was once a two-vertical business servicing 15 geographies now spans nine verticals and reaches over 35 countries. That expansion wasn’t executed with fanfare. It came from a systematic push: better products, deeper validation cycles, tighter engineering control, and a willingness to carve space in markets where Indian suppliers historically struggled to break in.

Reading Global Markets Like a Conversation

Many leaders talk about “global challenges.” Naresh tends to break them down with a simplicity that comes from experience. When North America slowed down recently, he didn’t dramatise the situation. He acknowledged the real issue — demand shrinking at the OEM level. Tariffs were part of the conversation, yes, but not the entire story. If trucks aren’t being built, nothing moves. That’s the reality.

Yet through that slowdown, RKFL didn’t halt. It kept winning orders. Large American programs continued. European demand picked up. The company even increased its revenue year-on-year in a quarter when the macro picture looked anything but stable. That steadiness is not accidental. It comes from years spent building trust with customers who value reliability over noise.

Europe, for instance, was once a tough market to enter. In 2019, RKFL was working with just one major European OEM. Today, it supplies almost every major commercial vehicle manufacturer in the region. That shift didn’t come from aggressive pricing; it came from proving capability. Validation, quality, consistency. And the understanding that Europe rewards suppliers who show up year after year without cutting corners.

The Railways Bet That Changed the Conversation

If there is one decision that reflects Naresh’s long-term thinking, it is the move into railway wheels.

Most companies would hesitate before entering a space dominated by imports from China, Ukraine, and Europe. But Naresh saw a structural gap — India was dependent on imports for a component that is absolutely critical for passenger and freight mobility. He knew that without domestic forging capacity, India’s railway modernisation timeline would always run into bottlenecks.

That thought process led to one of the biggest industrial partnerships in recent years to build Asia’s second-largest forged wheel facility. The plant will produce 220,000 wheels annually, half of which already have guaranteed offtake from Indian Railways for 25 years. It is the kind of project that lifts an entire sector, not just a company.

And the move into complete undercarriage assemblies — from supplying individual parts to delivering fully validated systems — shows how far RKFL has climbed up the value chain.

Preparing for an EV Future Without Making Noise About It

Weight reduction, aluminium forging, cold forging, precision machining — these are not buzzwords at RKFL. They have been integrated into the company’s R&D roadmap for years. While many in the industry spoke about EV disruption, Naresh quietly prepared for it. Processes were upgraded. Material-science capability deepened. New lines were installed. And an international footprint was established through the Mexico facility, giving the company a strategic seat inside the USMCA ecosystem.

The EV transition is global, but the winners will be those who can combine high precision with dependable supply. Naresh understands that deeply — and has shaped the company’s capabilities to match that future.

A Leadership Style Rooted in Calm Urgency

Unlike many high-profile industrial leaders, Naresh doesn’t seek the spotlight. Those who work closely with him say his strength lies in clarity. He can break a complex scenario into two or three core variables and then move decisively. He believes in adding capacity before demand forces his hand. He believes in staying invested even when markets are uncertain. And he believes that if a company wants global respect, it must behave like a global company first — not after.

Today, Ramkrishna Forgings sits in a unique position. It is still expanding, still diversifying, still building. But it already carries the confidence of an institution that has crossed the point where growth is dependent solely on market cycles. It is moving into railways, EVs, aluminium, global machining, and deeper engineering solutions. And it is doing so with a steady hand at the wheel.

The global mobility landscape is changing rapidly. Supply chains are being redrawn. Markets are rebalancing. And expectations from suppliers are rising. In the middle of all this, one thing stands out: RKFL is prepared. Not by luck or momentum, but by design.

And the design has Naresh Jalan’s imprint all over it — patient, strategic, ambitious, and unmistakably Indian in its grit.