Ridewell is providing the complete engineering and design support for the JV, and while most of the components will be manufactured in India, a few critical components will be imported from the US.
Ridewell is a $43 million global player. It is a major manufacturer and supplier of air suspension systems for buses, trucks and trailers. Its truck and trailer suspensions are mostly for the heavy duty applications of Class 6, 7, and 8 vehicles. The company is also expanding into the light duty market with new products such as the “Featheride” trailer air suspension and light duty offerings for the bus industry.
Ridewell supplies truck suspension systems to Peterbilt, Mack, Navistar, Kenworth, Mercedes, Hyundai, MAN, etc., and R.V. air suspensions to OEMs like Blue Bird, El Dorado National, Optima, Thomas Built, Krystal Enterprises and Encava, and Country Coach for vehicles ranging from low-floor shuttles and heavy duty transits to high-end motorcoaches.
In India, Jamna is initially starting with development of air suspension for buses. The company is working closely with Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland and VECV for developing air suspension systems for the complete range of buses, including low-floor, semi low-floor and high-floor buses. In addition to air suspension system for buses it is also working with commercial vehicle manufacturers for lift axle and bogie suspension for 9-tonne, 26-tonne and 32-tonne trucks.
The biggest advantage for Jamna is its strong connections with Indian OEMs. India’s largest spring manufacturer with four units, JAI introduced the parabolic springs technology in India way back in 1988. About 95 per cent of European trucks run on parabolic springs, whereas in India a switch-over from traditional conventional springs to parabolic springs in heavy commercial vehicles has just started.
Started as a partnership firm in 1955, JAI is one of the top seven suppliers of commercial vehicle leaf & parabolic springs in the world. With a share of 60 per cent in the domestic market, it is a leading supplier of springs to a lot of OEMs like Eicher Motors. With its current capacity of 114,000 mtp per annum, it is going ahead with its 60,000 mtp greenfield plant at Jamshedpur to cater to Tata Motors’ needs.
Jamna Auto’s customers include Ashok Leyland, Eicher Motors, Volvo, Swaraj Mazda, Ford India, General Motors, Suzuki and Toyota. Its products have been approved by reputed OEMs worldwide like Daimler, Volvo, General Motors and Ford.
There is growing demand for air suspension systems in India, with a market size of close to 4,000 units. Currently there are a few companies in this segment like Wheels India, Madras SAF Holland and Hendrickson. Wheels India continues to dominate the market with over 90 per cent market share.
For Jamna Auto, its a natural step forward. The company is the market leader in leaf springs and parabolic springs, with very strong relationship with most of the domestic OEMs. The tie-up with Ridewell will help Jamna Auto enter this fast growing segment.
Mr. Laroiya says: “We have developed our products after extensive discussions with OEMs understanding their requirement. We are ready with the proto types and by June 2010 the products will be available. We are starting with the low floor buses initially and then move to the other range of products. We pride ourselves on offering better features. We have vast knowledge on bus design, suspension and on how to design to provide maximum design and comfort”.
