The exemplary aftersales service network and commitment towards product innovation makes the JTAC brand an undisputed market leader in bus air-conditioning.
A number of bus air-conditioning and thermal solution suppliers participated in the Busworld with a vibrant display of their respective products. But Trans ACNR-owned JTAC brand sported a lounge-style expo stall with absolutely no products on display. Instead, there was an artificial golf course with an indoor putting mat, open for visitors to swing the club and try their luck in golfing! Indeed, JTAC was absolutely more conspicuous at the Busworld this time than any other air-con supplier.
“We are here at the expo to reaffirm our commitment toward the bus industry and strengthen our relationships with a wide spectrum of customers at the show”, said Mr. Shatrughan Kumar, Managing Director, Trans ACNR.
“Most of them know our products across the board, what we make and how they perform. We don’t really have to present them, having consistently displayed them in earlier Busworld and Prawaas shows.”
“Also, as you can see, most of the buses displayed at this show are equipped with JTAC units, which are testimony of our commitment and sustained focus on the bus AC industry. Hence, we opted a mature approach to cultivate interactions with the bus industry by emphasizing our mutual relationships”. he added.
The JTAC brand has grown phenomenally in the last couple of years. All major OEMs, bus body builders and fleet operators recognize the company’s leadership in its domain. It boasts a wide range of products for both competitive and premium market demands, with exceptional product warranty and after sales service assurances.
The company is an OEM supplier of bus HVAC systems to Daimler India, SML Isuzu and Olectra-BYD, along with Ashok Leyland which has given its nod of approval recently. In fact, the JTAC products will be rebranded as Ashok Leyland’s genuine OEM spares in the Gulf market.
Many dealers of Tata Motors in the same region are already buying its bus air-con systems, with Tata Marcopolo having audited its factory, awarding them a vendor supplier code and started sourcing units, the company says.
Asked about the emerging market competition in the field from the new players, Mr. Kumar replied that the development is quite natural. “Although demand for bus air-conditioning is a bit dull now, the domestic market is still growing at 30-35 per cent annually and has greater potentials likely to open up in the coming years. So, there are massive investments from local and foreign players to seize the prospects. It’s ultimately the superiority of products and customer engagement to decide their market success,” he opined.
Being an indigenous player, Mr. Kumar said JTAC pays greater attention to understanding the local air-conditioning requirements and getting back the customer responses on product performance and maintenance practices.
“We custom-design and tailor-make systems to suit the specific needs of bus builders and OEM products, so that they don’t necessarily have to rework with their body structures”, he observed. A whopping 25 per cent of the company’s manufacturing facility area is dedicated to proto development of new and unique products based on the customer requirements.
JTAC also revealed that a highly-specialized and locally developed air-con solution for the burgeoning electric buses market in on the anvil and will be ready by November this year.
JTAC ‘Silent series’ redefines sleeper coach experience
With the expansion of air-conditioned sleeper buses in the long-distance, intercity applications, JTAC’s newly-launched ‘Silent series’ air-conditioners are enhancing the appeal of sleeper bus travel by offering reduced in-cabin blower noise level and optimum cooling performance.
In fact, MG Group’s ‘Glider’ and ‘Dreamz’, sleeper coaches that debuted at the expo are equipped with these air-conditioning systems, demonstrating their suitability for both value and premium market requirements.
Mr. Shatrughan Kumar explains: “The Silent Series tries to offer comfortable, disturbance-free ambience for the passengers in the sleeper cabins, especially during night time journeys. Noise reduction is achieved by employing the VLN series (Very Low Noise) condenser fans and redesigned evaporator blowers whose coil surface area has been increased by 300 mm”.
Further, in a standard air-conditioning system layout, the return air grille happens to be present at the center of the bus, creating nuisance to cabin occupants right in that area with noise and improper cooling. In the Silent series, the return air is shifted to the aisle area, thus sparing the passenger compartments.
JTAC claims that the Silent series offers higher COP in its class, along with lower life cycle costs. Robust copper coil construction is an added advantage.
“We are now testing variable rpm condenser fans whose speed is controlled based on temperature requirements read by air-pressure sensors. In regular systems, the cut-off system disturbs the passenger sleep by arbitrary on-off accelerative noise. With this new technology, the fan speed management can be very gradual, thus enhancing passenger experience”, said Mr. Kumar.