CM Smith & Sons, the 75-year-old pre-Independence company, has launched transmission cases for heavy commercial vehicles (HCVs). As a leading producer and supplier of grey cast iron products and ductile iron castings, the company is capable of producing castings weighing five to 150 kg a single piece. Established in 1943, CM Smith & Sons has been catering to diversified industries, including automotive, and has been supplying fully finished parts to OEMs since 1956.
Mr. Bikash Singhi, GM – Marketing & Sales, revealed the company’s future plans: “Our company Chairman is 90 years old, and we have built for him a battery-operated car to roam around the factory. This showcases our capabilities, and further we are geared up for the upcoming electric vehicles. We have already started making batteries for EVs, and to prove our strength, we have already built an indigenous golf cart.”
The company has also built an indigenous robotic hand for grinding the parts automatically without depending on manpower.
CM Smith has newly launched transmission cases and differential carriers for its Indian customers. He added: “Till now, the cases were done by only a few foundries in India. Not only have we begun manufacturing them but have already started offering bulk quantities to Indian OEMs. Specifically, one major Indian truck and bus OEM has asked us to quickly develop transmission cases for them. We have developed it within a month, and now we are supplying around 10,000 units per month. We have also set up a new molding line for it.”
The USP of CM Smith is fully finished components with machining and sub-assembly ready-to-fit parts for vehicles. On the export front, the company has been supplying parts to Europe and North America.
Mr. Singhi shared: “All along we have catered mostly to the domestic market. Now, exports are going big too. Global and domestic markets are booming. In India the trend is shifting from lighter to heavier vehicles. If earlier we had more of 16 tonners, now there are more of 21 and 31 tonners, and we supply mostly to this segment.”
The company closed last financial year at Rs. 240 crores and this year it is expecting 50 per cent growth rate. Mr. Singhi further said: “We are putting up a new furnace which will add around 1,000 metric tons to our monthly capacity. We are also expanding our machine shop.” CM Smith currently has one plant in Ahmedabad and three in Nadiad.
Comparing the global and Indian markets, Mr. Singhi observed that it is more or less the same except for the cost being the only deterring factor. He explained: “Technology-wise our products are superior because our foundries are comparable to the European foundries. Our products for HCVs have high demand in Europe, the US and other geographies.”
CM Smith & Sons is capable of manufacturing to any metallurgical specifications, and that is the key factor in delivering success through the decades to its doorstep.