Friends Auto (India) Ltd. (FAI) was founded by the late Mehar Singh Chawla in 1964. Working earlier for a spring manufacturing company, he established FAI with the help of five friends. Initially the company manufactured bushes used for leaf springs. In 1971, it switched over to leaf springs and assemblies for LCVs and HCVs with a production capacity of 20 tons.
Later, in association with the Unik Group promoted by professionals of proven track record of manufacturing experience of over five decades, FAI commenced production of automotive components like rear axle shafts, automotive fasteners, clutch systems, hangers, shackles, U-bolts, wheel spanners, etc.
FAI is now headed by Mr. P.S. Chawla and Mr. A.S. Chawla, Directors, who are being ably supported by a team of qualified professionals. The current turnover of the company is Rs. 300 crores, which is projected to be raised to Rs. 2,500 crores in the next ten years.
These details were given out by Mr. C.P. Kohli, Executive Director of the company, while addressing the 3rd Commercial Vehicle Summit held in Pune.
Mr. Kohli, with his vast experience of over 40 years, has been known as a visionary leader and is a strong believer in quality. He is popularly known as CPK in the country and nick-named Kaizen Kohli by the Kaizen King, Mr. Masaki Imai of Japan.
FAI always keeps its dynamics on the basis of technology, R&D and quality maintenance & improvement in line with the varied requirements of customers. With its vast experience and expertise, the company vision & mission have now been redefined along with continued investments under the guidance of Mr. P.S. Chawla in the areas of leaf springs and suspension technologies / engineering.
Further, to ensure a steady progress, the company addressed issues like linking Vision to Mission, ensuring that the measures taken were effectively reviewed and maintained during implementation.
Under the company Vision, all business divisions are considered individual profit centres. They are the leaf spring business plants I and II, fasteners business (plant III), and Mehar Steels Ltd. (MSL) specialising in steel rolling business.
FAI remains committed to delighting its customers by providing them consistent product quality at competitive costs backed with timely delivery of all its automotive products. To achieve organisational excellence, the company would keep working as a team to improve its products / processes.