The Jullundur Motor Agency (JMA) is one of the largest distribution houses for automobile spare parts in India. The company, started
in 1927 in Amritsar, has completed 86 years of relentless service to the automobile trade and industry. The JMA Group with companies like JMA Ltd., JMA Rane Marketing Ltd., ACL Components Ltd. and Jullundur Auto Sales Corporation Ltd., and with 80 branches operating all over India, has together achieved a sales turnover of over Rs. 415 crores in 2012-13. The company has been listed among India’s 500 fastest growing companies with turnover below Rs. 1,500 crores by Inc. India for 2011-12.
A team from MOTORINDIA recently had an opportunity to meet Mr. Virat Sondhi, Chairman & Managing Director, JMA Ltd., and discuss the company’s success story and its future endeavours. Mr. Sondhi is one of the most respected persons in the auto ancillary aftermarket. With over 54 years of close association with the industry, his diligent working style and pragmatic approach, he has taken the company to greater heights.
Mr. Sondhi speaks of the olden days, during the 1950s and 1960s when Indian industries were struggling to make ends meet with customers preferring foreign products and business was done in a traditional way. “In India, our first product was from India Pistons, and later we dealt with more TVS products. In terms of spareparts sales, we are the second largest in the country, only after TVS. We are in the field for a very long time and is the only company in India now to have our fifth generation members entering the business.”
Ms. Aditi Arora from the 5th generation has now taken over as Vice President of the company. After her MBA, she joined the company and has undergone training in leading industrial houses like Brakes India, Sundram Fasteners, Wabco India, Rane Brake Lining, Rane Engine Valves, Rane TRW, Rane (Madras), etc. She has also done an in-depth study of the different systems and policies of TVS companies at Madurai under the guidelines of Ms. Shobhna.
Ms. Aditi Arora is now playing a key role in giving new direction to the HR policies of the group and has already initiated various incentive schemes to increase productivity of the working force in each department, motivating everyone of them to perform better.
After taking over the leadership of the JMA Group, Mr. Deepak Arora, who is currently heading operations of the company as Jr. Managing Director, has pumped in new energy and provided aggressive leadership to accelerate the company growth in recent years.
Mr. Arora, representing the gen next, has big dreams and always wanted to achieve something big. With his vision and far-sightedness he has more than doubled the turnover of the company. “My focus is to go for widespread distribution. We have installed an ERP system in our head office which would give quick information about all our branches and help monitor their performance closely”, says Mr. Arora.
JMA Group has its corporate office at Gurgaon and seven regional offices in Delhi, Jaipur, Kanpur, Jullundur, Pune, Chennai and Kolkata to manage distribution. The group with its 75,000-strong customer base and 650 employees pan-India represents the TVS Group, Rane Group, Amalgamations Group, Anand Group, General Motors India, Delphi Automotive Systems, Luk India, Neolite ZKW, Contitech, and many more as their distributors. It has also added new product lines from Mahle Filters, Spicer India and Neolite ZKW.
Meanwhile, the JMA Group and Carraro India Pvt. Ltd. have signed an agreement recently to sell Carraro brand agricultural and construction equipment through the JMA Group network. The agreement was signed by Mr. Deepak Arora, JMA Ltd., and Mr. Alexander Bossard, Chief Executive Officer, Carraro, Italy.
Asked about its future plans, Mr. Arora says his company proposes to expand the network and take the business to the next level by taking up vehicle dealership.