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MOTORINDIA
l
August 2012
95
MI: What is your present standing in the Indian
market, and do you have any capacity constraint in
meeting the demand of peak volumes?
EKP:
We are supplying auto slack adjusters to all the
commercial vehicle manufacturers in India. With regard
to our standing in the Indian CV industry, we enjoy a
business share of 65 per cent plus, and we are the most
preferred supplier to all the existing OEMs and the new
entrants in the CV industry.
On the capacity front, our installed capacity for au-
tomatic slack adjusters with our three manufacturing
units located in Chennai is around 2.5 million pieces per
annum, which can meet the entire demand for the CV
industry in India today.
MI: At the recent Auto Expo, we could see a
number of new products displayed. Could you please
touch on the status of these products?
EKP:
Out of the few new products displayed at the
show, we have already launched clutch boosters and
brake lining wear sensors, and they are regularly sup-
plied to Tata Motors. Negotiations are on with other
OEMs. We have already augmented our production ca-
pacity to meet the expected growth in demand.
MI: Who is your technology partner for these new
products? How strong is your design team?
EKP:
Like auto slack adjusters, I am happy to say that
these two products were indigenously designed and de-
veloped by our own engineers to meet quality and func-
tional requirements of vehicle manufacturers, as well as
meeting all technical standards. Also, our R&D team is
a mix of experience and youth and currently employs 40
technical persons headed by 4 General Managers with
a wealth of experience. The R&D set-up is certified by
DSIR.
MI: Can you please throw more light on your R&D
activities?
EKP:
Our R&D facility is located at IIT Madras –
Research Park, with a strategy to work closely with IIT
professors, students and also to utilize the test labo-
ratories available at IIT. Since our R&D is located at
Taramani, we have the additional advantage to use the
various Government laboratories located in the area. We
are also working on new technologies to meet the ex-
pectations of our customers on quality, reliability and on
cost. Currently we have four design patents registered
both India and abroad and three more patents have been
applied for. Our R&D is focusing on continuous product
improvements and new product initiatives.
The best part of our R&D team is that they fre-
quently visit the field, meet the end custom-
ers, take inputs and apply them for design
improvements. This is an ongoing activity
at our end.
We are strengthening our test facilities by
adding sophisticated and latest test equipment like
brake dynamometer, vehicle data acquisition system
from LINK – USA, etc.
MI: You mentioned about lining wear sensor.
What prompted you to develop this product?
EKP:
First let me say the wear sensor is a technology
product which we developed in consultation with the
Electrical / Electronics Department professors of IIT-
Madras. The trigger to develop this product came from
Tata Motors ERC Group, and the amount of support and
help extended by them towards validating this product is
worth mentioning. Wear sensor is basically an electro-
mechanical devise, which indicates when the brake lin-
ing is due for replacement. With the introduction of auto
Clutch Booster
component zone