BEBBCO takes agile approach to meet changing customer needs in CV bodybuilding

From meeting the requirements of customers in building tippers, load bodies, military trucks, ambulances to electric bus bodies, Bharat Engineering and Body Building Co. (BEBBCO) has been creating new benchmarks and proving its excellence with innovative work, observes Rajesh Rajgor

Navin Bhalotia, Director, BEBBCO

The outbreak of the pandemic has increased the need for emergency care vehicles like ambulances, capable of offering immediate healthcare support. Realising the need, Jharkhand-based, Bharat Engineering and Body Building Co. (BEBBCO), known for its fabrication work for buses, load bodies and tippers for medium and heavy commercial vehicles, prepared a corona virus testing van along with a slew of emergency vans that are in high demand. Speaking exclusively to MOTORINDIA, Navin Bhalotia, Director, BEBBCO, says: “We have been making ambulances but this vehicle was special as it was made in just 12 days, right from design to procurement of material and machining.”

“It is made on a Tata 709 chassis and is currently deployed with the city of Raipur, Chattisgarh and is one amongst our best creations so far. We have deployed all the required facilities for swab testing and sterilisation to facilitate the working of a laboratory. We also can provide features like an auto-loading stretcher, oxygen system with cylinder, medicine cabinet, medical kit box, fire extinguisher and jump seat for the attendant along with anything extra required in an emergency vehicle. Our optimum ergonomics design makes sure that the transport is comfortable and safe for the patients as well as for the paramedics to test and support patients,” he adds.

Prior to this, the company has been working on orders for buses from the Jammu Kashmir State Transport Corporation. “We have a separate bus line that can churn out 120 bus bodies per month and we are proud to assist the STUs with their order for 300 bus bodies that will be delivered in batches even during the ongoing tough times of the pandemic. We work with all the major STUs in India, but the last few months have been difficult in terms of acquiring new bus orders. These new orders are therefore much needed for the revival of our bus segment,” asserts Bhalotia.

Although the public transport bus market has been on the slowdown, the company is preparing for the future by gaining expertise and know-how to assemble and prepare electric bus bodies. “It is in the slowdown that we have to think about new opportunities and electric buses are going to be the next big thing in India. As such, we are chalking out plans to fabricate and assemble them here in our plant. This will enable Indian buyers to purchase three buses at the cost one imported bus that will be ‘Made in India’ for Indian roads,” Bhalotia says.

Green Shoots on the Truck Side

BEBBCO has been making load bodies and tippers for all the OEMs and is a preferred partner to the OEMSs in Jamshedpur. The company’s in house set-up right from designing to development of the final product ensures that the products are done under a single roof. “Each and every body is engineered with precision to offer best quality products that enable sturdy carrying capacity and at the same time offer long-lasting durability. Our designers discuss about the requirements of the customer with respect to weight distribution uniformity to enable better tyre mileage and fuel efficiency. In addition to this, our fully built load bodies include customised features like a climbing ladder, toolbox, front guard, side door, etc.,” Bhalotia elaborates.

On the tipper side, the company’s manufacturing plant has the capacity to roll out 900 tippers per month. “Right now, tippers ranging from 20 to 40 cubic metres are in demand. Given the road infrastructure work and several government projects like Sagar Mala, the demand for RMC tippers will increase. Keeping an industry-focused approach, we use high-grade material that is lighter in weight and gives a higher payload. Our engineers make sure that the vehicles also have higher stability for harsh road conditions. As a result, it helps our clients to stay ahead in the competitive market,” Bhalotia informs. The company has been successfully building bodies and tippers to meet the requirements of customers possessing vehicles from the stables of Tata Motors, BharatBenz, Swaraj Mazda and Volvo Eicher.

BEBBCO is also one of the leading suppliers of mobility solutions for the Indian Army meeting their various requirements. With over 35 years of experience behind them, the vehicles are constructed in a manner to suit the demanding needs and extreme weather conditions and tough terrains as required for military operations. “Our militarised commercial vehicles are used for carrying essential supplies and meeting the transportation of soldiers. We are currently in advance discussions for a big order to deliver field artillery tractors (FATs) for the defence sectors,” he reveals.

Diversification for Growth

The company exudes immense trust and believes that employees are its most important asset. “We are what we are today due to our skilled, honest and loyal workforce. In return for their work, we ensure they are awarded with right pay scale. We also hone their skills and enhance their potential to prosper as the company grows. Even during the nationwide lockdown, we retained most of the staff and supported them so that we could get back to our feet as soon as we restarted operations,” Bhalotia states.

It is with this backing of its young and energetic team backed with experienced seniors in design, manufacturing and engineering that BEBBCO has been preparing to take up work in refrigerated containers, tip-trailers and trailers. Along with the manufacturing units, BEBBCO hosts an in-house research and development team along with a team of skilful and creative designers. “These teams make sure that the vehicles have an aesthetic styling while making no compromise with the comfort and safety. The team is involved with each customer from a very early stage of business to give the right output,” Bhalotia explains.

In order to realise its ambition of becoming a sort-after design and engineering firm and be well-diversified across various requirements, the company has been bolstering its design and engineering set-up from time to time. Bhalotia believes it is this investment that will get them closer to becoming a company worth Rs 1,000 crore. “We have a turnover of Rs 200 crore at present and if we have to meet our vision of achieving a target of Rs 800 crore by FY 2025-26, we will have to diversify into refrigerated vehicles, milk vans, aerial work platforms and municipal vehicles. We are also into manufacturing railway side walls and want to get into venturing railway wagons. With faster adoption of technology in material handling, welding and automation that we are contemplating to set up in our lines, the desired result would surely be achievable,” Bhalotia says.

BEBBCO has also known for its vehicle dealerships for Toyota, Mahindra and Mahindra passenger vehicles and the commercial vehicle dealership of BharatBenz. With all the variants introduced from time to time, BEBBCO trucking is fast gaining traction in its dealership businesses in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. “My father, Gajanand Bhalotia, had founded the company BEBBCO in 1983 and has added new business partners and focused on improving our services in Jharkhand. Over the years, our customer base has extended not only to multiple states of India but we are also a well-recognised brand in the foreign markets of the Middle East and South African countries where we export our products. For the last three decades we have strived to set new benchmarks and we will carry on with our emphasis on quality and innovation while the next generation gets ready to take over the reins in near future,” Bhalotia states.

“It is in the slowdown that we have to think about new opportunities and electric buses are going to be the next big thing in India. As such, we are chalking out plans to fabricate and assemble them here in our plant. This will enable Indian buyers to purchase three buses at the cost one imported bus that will be ‘Made in India’ for Indian roads.

– Navin Bhalotia, Director, BEBBCO