BorgWarner Thermal Systems (BWTS) has laid the foundation for a new manufacturing facility near Chennai. The company currently has a full-fledged plant, again near Chennai, but it is a leased facility.
BWTS produces viscous fandrives, fans, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valves and solenoids for a long list of customers, including Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors, Tata Cummins, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eicher Motors, Force Motors and others. The new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility is being built to meet the growing demand from the auto sector.
In a press statement, Mr. Alfred Weber, President and General Manager of Borgwarner Morse TEC & Thermal Systems, says: “BorgWarner has experienced significant growth in India, where growing demand for mobility and transportation is driving production volumes, and the adoption of global emissions regulations requires more sophisticated technology to meet the new standards. Our new facility will provide ample opportunity to expand existing product lines and introduce new technologies and products to meet growing demand in India”.
According to estimates by CSM Worldwide, India will overtake China as the fastest-growing car market by 2013, expanding at an average of 18 per cent a year compared with just over nine per cent a year for China.
Just to give an idea of the product and its functioning, the viscose fan is typically connected to the engine. This device senses the temperature of the radiator (using air as the sensing medium) and controls fan speeds according to engine cooling demands. This has multiple advantages as the fan runs only when it is necessary, unlike the earlier system where the fan ran constantly.
This system ensures that the coolant is in the optimum operating band and improves engine efficiency. As an additional benefit it also helps in saving power, fuel and reducing noise.
Mr. V.D. Umashankar, General Manager of the Indian operations, said: “With stricter emission norms there is a growing requirement for these products. In 2000 we did a market study with OEMs. That was the time when the engines were getting upgraded to Euro 2 and Euro 3 standards. Initially there was a lot of resistance in the market purely because of the cost, but we were confident that the Indian market will improve, and volumes started picking up in 2004. Our first customer was Mahindra & Mahindra when they decided to use our product on their Scorpio model from day one”.
Tata Cummins was the pioneer in introducing viscous fandrives in the commercial diesel segment.
“As volumes started picking up, In 2005 we decided to set up a manufacturing facility in India. We imported an assembly line and set up a manufacturing plant near Chennai, in a rented premises. Today we cater to almost all the OEMs Tata Motors, Tata Cummins, Mahindra, Eicher, Ashok leyland, Swaraj Mazda, Cummins, ICML, KOEL, Greaves Cotton, Caterpillar and JCB”, observed Mr. Umashankar.
In 2007 the Indian operations registered a turnover of Rs. 70 crores. Considering the growth in Indian business, the group decided to invest in a new manufacturing facility. An investment of Rs. 35 crores is being made on the new plant which will be operational by the end of 2008. The new facility will have capacity to produce close to 250, 000 fans and a similar number of fandrives. Built over an area of 63,000 sq. ft. it will include manufacturing, training, design services and administrative space for over 100 employees with room for future expansion.
Designed as a ‘green building,’ the facility will be silver-certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, a set of standards for environmentally sustainable construction developed by the US Green Building Council. Over 30 per cent of the ground around the new facility will be reserved for green space and shaded with trees and plants watered with recycled waste water. In addition, several water- and energy-saving devices will be installed throughout the building. The facility is expected to be complete by October next.
Talking about localisation and exports, Mr. Umashankar said: “Today we have managed to localise close to 80 per cent of the product. We have developed quality component suppliers locally, and some of them have also qualified for supplying to our other global manufacturing facilities. We are currently exporting some of the low volume, high value products back to Europe”.
The Borgwarner Group has been in India for over 20 years now. The company first entered India in 1987 in a joint venture with Brakes India for manufacturing turbo-chargers for passenger cars. In 1995 it set up another JV, Divgi-Warner, for transmission systems producing transfer cases and automatic locking hubs at its facilities in Sirsi and Pune.
In 2002, Morse TEC began making chain products and engine timing system components through its joint venture with the Murugappa Group in Chennai. Beru manufactures diesel start systems at its facility in Pune.
