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MOTORINDIA
l
January 2012
The OEMs have given us good sup-
port and value what we bring to the
table. Though we are present from
1993, the real game started in 1998.”
3M in India has manufacturing
facilities in Bangalore, Ahmeda-
bad, Pune and Pondicherry with
more than 1,800 employees. They
are multi-product plants and are
not restricted to the automotive af-
termarket. The plant at Pimpri in
Pune and in Bangalore manufacture
aftermarket products. Some prod-
ucts are localised while a few oth-
ers are sourced from different 3M
plants around the world. Primarily,
the volume requirement determines
whether the Indian market can af-
ford localised production and also
the plant capacity.
The company also outsources a
few products in India, but it is done
strictly as per 3M formulations and
specifications. “We have a strong
base in India, one reason being our
localisation. We have a unique posi-
tion of having global expertise, local
talent, local understanding of Indian
body shop, service centres and con-
sumer needs. It has poised us for
future growth in this market”, Mr.
Gadgil remarked.
OEMs are not interested in just a
product supplier relationship; they
look at enhanced production. On
the collision repair side they look
at a value chain on the auto-refinish
process. The product line is suited
for the entire process and produc-
tivity comes ahead of cost in their
priority.
3M solutions are greatly balanced
between consumer needs and dealer-
ships’ profitability. Another impor-
tant aspect of its success in India is
the large network of products which
is evident in the availability of 3M
products in the smallest of towns.
Region-wise business spread in In-
dia indicates that the South contrib-
utes 35-40 per cent, North and West
25-30 per cent each and the East ac-
counts for 5-10 per cent. The busi-
ness is quite well spread with sales
people present in most States.
“Collecting customer voice is an
important aspect for us. We encour-
age them to let us know what the
dealerships face on the shop-floor.
Our people spend time observing
technicians at work while we focus
on technology and innovation. We
collect feedback, analyse them and
put them before the back-end R&D
team. Our Indian team is connected
to global product developers. We
should have technological expertise
in six or seven platforms to be suc-
cessful in automotive aftermarket”,
Mr. Gadgil added.
3M Automotive Aftermarket Di-
vision’s collision repair business
in India provides a comprehensive
range of solutions to body shops and
service shops. The products have
been endorsed by all prominent
OEMs, with a well-qualified sales
team backed by a technical team to
support the requirements of body
shops.
3M India, the Indian leg of the
global leader 3M, has shown con-
sistent growth over the years, and
with a quality-driven strategy, it is
bound to continue making steady
progress in the future.
w
products & components
The company’s USPs for
the Indian market are fo-
cused on the collision re-
pair business, training,
skill-development
and
process standardisation.