Barani Hydraulics is a name synonymous with custom-built hydraulic presses. Established in 1988, the company has grown by leaps and bounds and its products today have become the preferred choice of bluechip auto companies both in India and abroad. Its clientele includes marquee names like Saint Gobain Ceramics, Valeo Friction, Faurecia Interior, Ashok Leyland, Wheels India, Brakes India, Rane Brake Linings, Mahle Engine Components, etc. Barani’s products are now being exported to nearly 190 countries.
Passionately espousing the vision that he has for the betterment of the hydraulic machinery making industry as a whole for 2020 and beyond the company’s Managing Director, Mr. Karuppannaswamy, stated that the resounding success of Barani Hydraulics in some of the most competitive global markets with highly demanding and discerning customers is an endorsement by itself of what ‘Make in India’ can achieve.
Dwelling on the topic, he added: “So far as I’m concerned, engineering is a common language. It may not be difficult to manufacture machines of global standards. We have been able to penetrate some of the most difficult markets. Likewise, other Indian manufacturers too have similar capabilities. Leading Indian companies in the auto sector have been importing machines from the US, Europe and Asian countries. The Indian manufacturers’ contribution to their capital equipment requirement is only 15-20 per cent. This has to go up. My vision for 2020 and beyond for this market segment is that this percentage should go up to at least 50%. This way, we will be helping our country’s economy to grow.”
The company which had its humble beginning has grown now into one of the leading manufacturers of hydraulic presses today and has lined up a series of targets for itself as part of its vision for 2020 and beyond. Elaborating on these plans, Mr. Karuppannaswamy said: “Our target is to be a leading global player by 2020, and I’m sure the way our exports have been growing, from about 5% in 2012-13 to almost 50% now, we will reach this target. Our production capacity right now is 10 to 15 machines per month. With increased global penetration, I expect it to rise up to 20 to 25 machines per month in another couple of years. We are targeting manufacturing around 250 machines per annum by 2020.”
Continuing further, he said: “In terms of machine installations in the auto sector, we are doing around 1,000 units. Our target is to increase this to 1,500. We intend doing 2,500 installations across all sectors by 2020. When it comes to the turnover of the Barani Group, we are targeting a business of Rs. 500 crores by 2020.”
The Group, which also runs an educational institution – the Jayshriram Group of Institutions offering UG and PG programs in Engineering and Management with around 2,100 students and 200 staff members – has another interesting proposal lined up. “As someone who has been watching the engineering education scenario closely, I feel that there is a dearth of students specializing in hydraulics. We at Barani intend to set up an exclusive hydraulics school by January 2017. Initially, we will be offering three and six-month courses. At one level, the courses will be for our students and staff members. At the second level, it will be for our customers. Subsequently, we plan to get approval from AICTE and start a B.E. or B.Tech program industrial in hydraulic engineering in 2018. If this happens, we will be the first college to offer this unique stream of engineering.”
By M.K. Prabhakar