Chassis Brakes International India has been developing and producing innovative brake systems for the Indian automotive industry for over three decades. The company has recently inaugurated its new technical center at Chakan, Pune. The inaugural function, Dr. Thomas Wuensche, CEO, Chassis Brake International, said: “The new technical center is a state-of-the-art facility fully capable of validating foundation brake parts for two, three and four-wheelers along with NVH and vehicle testing. As we are autonomous globally, this technical center puts us in a position to show our customers that we are here for a long run and to be successful not just today but even tomorrow. We have been servicing not just global customers here like Suzuki, Honda, Renault – Nissan, Piaggio and Toyota but also local customers like Tata, Mahindra, Bajaj, Hero, etc.”
Commenting on the test center’s capability, Mr. Anil Khandekar, Regional President, Chassis Brakes International India, said: “The benches in our new technical center are more precise in validation. We can measure with more accuracy than what we were previously doing. While that is on capability, we also have more space here to accommodate work. In terms of growth, we crossed the Rs. 700-crore turnover in FY2016-17 and want to achieve our target of Rs. 1,000 crores by FY2019-2020 alone in India.”
Bracing advancements
The new technical center made at an investment of Rs. 30 crores over time will enable Chassis Brakes International to brace its essentials as well as prepare for technological advancements. Mr. M. P. Raajha, Director, Sales and Engineering, Customer Line Organization, Chassis Brakes International India, said: “We can validate the brakes systems for the front and rear axle, right from its strength to its durability, performance testing, various temperatures and friction materials. The customer expects that, when a product responsibility is given to us we are able to handle it end to end, from design to validation till it is handed over to the manufacturing plant for serial production. Depending on the orders, we can handle 10-12 projects at a time at this facility. It has been developed, keeping in mind the expansion planned for the next 10 years.”
Mr. Raajha added: “There is a lot of electrification on the brakes that is happening and it has caught up big time in the developed market. We are having preliminary discussions with a lot of potential customers in India anticipating rapid electrification of braking systems. We will be ready by the time the customer matures here, so as to validate electric products at the test center. Perhaps, electrification in disc and drum brakes are already available with us in European markets and we would soon be prepared to meet the demands of the Indian OEMs.”
As close as it gets
Undoubtedly, India is a key market for Chassis Brakes International. Hence the technical center in Pune is an indication of the company’s commitment to India. “India contributes 10 per cent to our global revenues and we believe it is going to only grow as the Indian market evolves towards more safer and smarter products,” beamed Mr. Wuensche.
Referring to the test center’s standardization to global tech centers and proximity to the customer, Mr. Bernd Schemer, Executive Vice President, Customer Line Organization, Chassis Brakes International, said: “The test benches at this tech center are state of the art and on par with what we have globally. We can use the service of the India center as and when required as the standardization in quality has been achieved. Although we have a global product architecture and standards, we always wanted to be close to the customers, and this tech center will primarily cater to the domestic requirements.”
Chassis Brakes International India’s two-wheeler plant, set up in collaboration with J.Juan Spain, is located in Jalgaon. The plant specializes in the production of hydraulic disc brakes, master cylinders, brake hoses and combined braking systems for the country’s leading two-wheeler OEMs.
The company also produces rotors at its Manesar plant and aluminum casting at the Jalgaon plant. The Jalgaon facility also assembles calipers and drum brakes.
“As far as drum brake is concerned, we are the leader in India and we are growing in disc brakes too. To elaborate on what I mentioned earlier, from business prospects, we are growing at 6-7 per cent and we have plans to grow by 15 per cent in the next two years. In the replacement market we are a bigger player. Out of Rs. 700 crores of our business size, Rs. 100 crores comes from the aftermarket. This includes products for three-wheelers as well as small and light commercial vehicles,” concluded Mr. Khandekar.