‘Pani’, as he is known to most in the industry, started Chithra Air Suspension (CAS) in 1999. The company is engaged in manufacturing air suspension kits, with specialization in retro fitment for heavy and light commercial vehicles. CAS has till date built more than 3,000 air suspension kits for various fleet owners in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra and Gujarat. The company has now ventured into manufacturing air suspensions for light commercial vehicles as well.
Globally there are only two popular types of air suspension designs, namely, sub-frame (leaf) and link system. With expertise in both designs, CAS introduced the link system in India with the idea that this technology is more relevant to Indian road conditions compared to the sub-frame system and provides better driving comfort.
The air suspension system operates with “pneumatic circuit of sophisticated valves and linkages” which increases passenger comfort and reduces wear and tear of the vehicle body and chassis. With this, passengers on the rearmost seats can also have the same riding comfort as others.
CAS has set up a new manufacturing facility in Bangalore at an investment of Rs. 12 crores. Its existing facility at Tada in Andhra Pradesh manufactures all the components required for an air suspension system.
The company which received ISO 9001-2000 certification is working towards acquiring ISO 14000 certification. With a workforce of around 160 persons, it is supported by a professional team of technically qualified people specialized in designing air suspension systems for all types of vehicles.
CAS was started in 1999 mainly for servicing air suspension systems. In fact, it was in the mid-1990s that air suspension as a technology was introduced on buses. The growth was rapid, but lack of service support was a major issue. CAS, with its base in Bangalore, started servicing air suspension systems fitted on buses run by private operators. With its wide experience in servicing and understanding of the customer requirement and Indian road conditions, the company took the bold decision of manufacturing its own brand of air suspension systems in 2000. So far more than 3,000 air suspension systems from the company are in operation.
Today CAS offers air suspension solutions for the complete range of vehicles, starting from the HCV to the LCV range of buses. In fact, CAS was the first company to develop the link type air suspension for Tata Motors’ 1616 luxury bus launched in 2003-04.
Pani feels that CAS products are more suited for Indian roads, thanks to its design done after taking into consideration the Indian road conditions, the specific requirement of its customers and overloading in buses.
CAS is currently catering to the requirement of most of the private operators. The key reason why private operators prefer CAS is its service offered 24/7, 365 days in a year. It is this dedicated service provided by CAS which has helped the company compete even with other big players in the industry. CAS is also in the process of getting approvals from ARAI for its products, which would help it in tapping the OEM segment.
