Jamna Auto Industries Ltd. (JAI), a leading leaf spring manufacturer, has enhanced its presence in the aftermarket space by catering to State transport undertakings (STUs) in the country. The 60-year-old auto component firm, which sees its aftermarket vertical contribute 20 to 25 per cent to its overall business, has maintained that deliveries of its products have already begun to various regional undertakings across the country. This is simply because JAI is the largest manufacturer of tapered leaf springs and parabolic springs for automobiles in India. In other words, it has been a trusted and preferred supplier of tapered and parabolic springs to all major CV manufacturers for over 50 years.
Interacting with MOTORINDIA, Mr. Madhukar Sharma, Global Head – Aftermarket, JAI, said: “State Road Transport is another business we are betting big on. Earlier this was not a focus area and this year we have forayed into this segment. I am happy to share that we have got good results and are quite hopeful to do excellent business with STUs and have recently started supplying leaf springs to them for various kinds of buses. We are catering to the entire spectrum of buses, from selling zero units last year to 500-600 tonnes this year, having achieved this is a remarkable feat. We are hopeful of selling approximate 1,000 tonnes per annum by 2016 to them.”
It may be recalled that the Delhi-based company was established as a small outlet in 1954 in Yamuna Nagar, Haryana, and today it has become one amongst the world’s largest producers of leaf springs having multiple manufacturing units and four hubs located pan India and supplying to CV giants like Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors, BharatBenz, Volvo-Eicher Commercial Vehicles, MAN, Asia Motor Works, Mahindra Trucks & Buses, etc.
“We are a 100 per cent supplier to Volvo Trucks, Ashok Leyland, and Daimler trucks (BharatBenz) and also supply to Eicher Motors, AMW and Tata Motors. Any CV manufacturer foraying into India prefers us as the first option because our leaf springs are superior in quality,” he reveals.
In addition to being a pioneer in leaf and parabolic springs, JAI has a tie-up with Ridewell Corporation of the US to bring the latest technology in air suspension system to provide world class ride comfort for buses like Volvo, Scania and MAN, among others.
When MOTORINDIA wanted to make a deep-dive into its aftermarket business, Mr. Sharma stated: “As the direct market (OEMs) is reeling under the constant slowdown, we have widened our focus in the aftermarket business to maximize our share of business as it is right now. Having said that, we are not shying away from the OEM segments as we are still bagging reasonable orders from OEMs. Moreover, the recent cut in excise duty in the interim Budget may give some breather to the domestic CV industry. Currently, nearly 20 to 25 per cent of the total group turnover is derived from the aftermarket vertical. And going forward, we expect an incremental contribution from this vertical. By the end of this financial year, we are hopeful of achieving Rs. 250 crores ales (dealer billing price) in this space and could foresee approximate Rs. 500 crores sales (dealer billing price) by FY 2016-17 assuming that the markets will revive.”
It is to be mentioned that JAI is running its manufacturing facilities in Yamuna Nagar, Malanpur (near Gwalior), Rudrapur, Chennai, Hosur and Jamshedpur. The annual capacity of all the plants is 180,000 tonnes and currently 70 per cent of the output is utilised.
Talking about its sales and distribution plans, he noted: “We have streamlined our network of warehouses. We are running 4 hubs which are regionally based – Rudrapur for north, Chennai for south, Jamshedpur for east, and Nagpur for west. In addition to that, we have 12 depots and warehouses. We have roughly 5,000 primary and secondary dealers covering close to 400 towns. Going forward, we do have plans to set up bespoke ‘Shoppe’ for the areas in the areas where we are lacking on distribution .”
He went on to add: “Our R&D centre at Malanpur is in full swing, and we are jointly working with OEMs for both parabolic and conventional springs. Since JAI has dominance over the parabolic leaf springs technology, we will be actively focusing on the parabolic springs. Of late, we are also strengthening our base in LCVs like Tata Ace, Mahindra Gio and Ashok Leyland Dost. We are hopeful of capturing a reasonable market share in that space. To expand our export base, we wish to ship our products to various new countries in Europe and America, in addition to already captured Asian countries.”
JAI is also looking forward to the second Automechanika show in New Delhi which is likely to be held at Pragati Maidan. “Unlike other Auto Shows, the biennial Automechanika (held in 2013) had its own importance when it comes to cracking deals or showcasing our products to the prospective clients. It is actually a return on investment as we see our potential clients walking into our stalls. I can confirm that just as we participated last year, we would be replicating that in a gigantic manner next year as we are expecting a grander response to the event,” he added.
Talking about his vision for the company, Mr. Sharma signed off by saying: “Since I look after the aftermarket vertical only, what I can reiterate is that we could foresee clocking of approximate Rs. 500 crores sales (dealer billing price) by the year ending 2017 and double that amount in 4-5 years.”