Albonair GmbH, headquartered in Dortmund, Germany, specializes in the development and production of exhaust after-treatment systems for on-road and off-road vehicles as well as for passenger cars. The portfolio of the global supplier covers SCR systems, diesel particulate filter systems, diesel oxidation catalysts and combined systems.
Within just five years of its establishment, the company has managed to gain acceptance of leading vehicle manufacturers across the globe. With emission norms set to become more stringent, Albonair is aiming to reach the top through its technology-driven approach. MOTORINDIA makes a visit to the company’s Chennai facility and interacts with Mr. Lakshminarayanan. G, Head-Business Development, Albonair India Pvt. Ltd.
As one of the most advanced suppliers in the market, Albonair stands for German engineering. The company develops individual solutions that are tailored to the specific system requirements of its customers. As a supplier of components as well as a system integrator it offers every customer the optimum solution to meet nationally applicable exhaust regulations. A team of highly-qualified engineering experts with a broad professional background in the development of exhaust after-treatment systems ensures that Albonair offers excellent quality at competitive conditions.
At Dortmund where its central Research and Development department is also located, Albonair has a team of about 110 employees. The company also has presence in Shanghai, Chennai and Detroit with a combined workforce of 150 employees. A member of the multinational Hinduja Group, the company is jointly managed by its Managing Directors, Dr. René Rüdinger and Dr. Georg Hüthwohl.
Gearing for an increase in production volume for 2013, Albonair is already expanding the production space at its headquarters in Dortmund. From next year, the company will start producing Euro VI dosing systems in a newly-built facility for a major European commercial vehicle manufacturer.
Expanding the production space will enable Albonair to increase its annual capacity to 200,000 dosing systems, says Mr. Lakshminarayanan.
In order to comply with stricter exhaust emission regulations, especially in emerging markets such as India, commercial vehicle manufacturers are forced to integrate exhaust emission reduction systems. Albonair’s exhaust after-treatment systems enable manufacturers to comply with the stringent emission targets at an affordable price.
With a view to leveraging on the huge opportunities in the Indian market, Albonair India Pvt. Ltd. was established in December 2009 with its facility located at Sriperumbudur near Chennai.
Albonair India produces after-treatment systems for India and neighboring countries using German technology. The main operations of the company relate to production of SCR- and DOC-housings as well as assembly of tanks necessary for the reducing agent AdBlue. Other important operations handled from Chennai include development activities, sourcing of locally available parts, quality management, sales and marketing and customer support.
In April 2010, the first exhaust after-treatment system was produced at the Chennai facility for a leading Indian commercial vehicle manufacturer. In India, demand for exhaust after-treatment systems has shot with the introduction of BS IV norms in major cities. A multifold in volume can be expected once the norms are enforced nationwide.
Currently, Albonair’s Chennai facility has an annual capacity of manufacturing 12,000 systems in one shift, but with the impending changes in legislation, massive capacity expansion is on the cards, he adds.
The state-of-the-art facility is equipped with imported machines, meeting the company’s quality policy. The plant is designed in line with Albonair’s parent facility in Dortmund, Germany and certainly has a German touch to it in terms of quality standard. The SCR systems produced at the facility are thoroughly tested before packaging, after which they are prepared for dispatch. With volumes expected to rise with increasing demand in the coming years, the company has already geared up for capacity expansion near its existing facility. Though the plant is just an assembly facility, it is maintained as per global standards and is inspected by a team of professionals from its parent facility including the Managing Directors at frequent intervals.
Technology-driven
The Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology has established itself globally as a method to reduce nitrogen oxides in exhaust gas. Currently it is the most commonly applied technology to comply with the European Euro IV, V and VI standards as well as the American EPA 10 and Tier 4 Final standards for commercial vehicles. Since 2005, this method is deployed in series-produced European commercial vehicles.
In emerging markets such as India and China, CV manufacturers are increasingly shifting from Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) to SCR technology to meet emission targets. One main reason for the change is the fact that, in addition to cleaner emissions, the system also maintains low fuel consumption and low operating costs. Albonair has pioneered SCR solutions and has also developed a unique system for spray formation in exhaust gas after-treatment, the air-assisted system with external mixing.
While the airless dosing system and the air-assisted system with internal mixing are the conventional types, Albonair’s air-assisted system with external mixing is a breakthrough technology with the distinct advantage of producing very fine spray quality. The system eliminates the requirement of mixers. This would lead to a higher back pressure, and further there are no moving parts on or in the injector. The urea stream is completely insulated by accompanying air when entering the hot exhaust stream, which enables the injector to be located almost anywhere as desired. The injector itself can withstand high temperatures up to 800°C while injector clogging is excluded as the AdBlue cannot come in contact with the air in or before the mixing point, thus avoiding the typical crystallization during shut-off times of the engine and the system.
With the system’s nozzle being one of the most critical parts in the SCR technology, Albonair has developed its own nozzle, which is a key driver behind the global success of its SCR systems.
Operating in a segment which is bound to witness huge growth in the coming years, especially in developing markets like India, driven by world-class technology and efficiently supported by a dedicated workforce across its facilities, Albonair is certainly in the right direction to becoming one of the leading suppliers of exhaust systems worldwide.