LGB Impex’ tactical approach to Indian bus market

Long-term plan aims at fully-built vehicles

LGB Impex is the latest to enter the growing list of companies with an objective of rolling out fully-built buses in the Indian market. The company, established in 2011 with the motto ‘Everything for Buses’, is a partnership company between two entrepreneurs Mr. Darshan Singh and Mr. Riyaz Hoda, focusing on buses and related accessories. We find out more about LGB’s ambitions, in a tête-à-tête with Mr. Riyaz Hoda, Director – Foreign Trade, LGB Impex.

Mr. Darshan Singh has been in the bus body building industry since 1968 with Gobind Body Builders, a company which rolls out around 300 buses annually. Mr. Riyaz Hoda has been dealing with specialty bus paints through his company Lexus Paints since 1999. As a first step, LGB has introduced bus air-conditioners in partnership with Songz Automobile Air-conditioning Co. Ltd., China, one of the leading and largest transport air-conditioning manufacturers in the world.

Product range

LGB has focused on some of the key parts of a bus body considering safety and comfort as its main areas of focus. Says Mr. Riyaz Hoda: “Safety is of foremost importance to us while comfort is an attraction for passengers to adopt bus travel.” The company offers a range of imported lights and lamps, the first few of which are already on vehicle trials. LGB is also in talks with a potential partner for signing a joint venture in this product segment.

Another product segment on LGB’s radar is bus seats in which the company is planning to offer high-end seats for luxury coaches and safety utility seats for school buses to begin with. The seats are being imported with test trials set to begin shortly. LGB plans to assemble the seats locally in India by the end of 2013.

LGB is also sourcing aluminum die cast locks and hinges which will soon be available with warranty in the market. The products are being tested and will be available with a minimum warranty of 12 months after passing necessary quality checks.

In the transport air-conditioning segment, LGB Impex has launched the Songz brand of air-conditioners in India as the latter’s authorized agent. LGB will be involved in the assembly, sales and service of the bus air-conditioning units and also truck refrigeration systems through its vast service and sales network across India. LGB has set up a facility in the Mohali industrial area near Chandigarh. Although Songz has been in the Indian air-conditioning segment since 2006, its partnership with LGB brings the former’s own brand into India for the first time.

Songz has a whopping manufacturing capacity of around one lakh bus air-conditioning units per annum and made close to 40,000 units in 2012. The company has a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility spread over 100 acres in the Shanghai industrial zone in China. The company manufactures most of its parts in-house to maintain the quality standards. It has a well-equipped R&D facility and testing centre which helps it strike a good balance between the quality and cost of the products. ‘Supercool’ is its brand name for truck refrigeration systems for which the company has a joint venture with a Finland-based company and shares a partnership with China International Marine Containers (CIMC).

Once it establishes the above products in its portfolio, the company is keen on designed and developed a range of fully-built buses for the Indian market. The vehicles are expected to be rolled out locally in 2016.

Customer-oriented policy approach

During the last three months of 2012, LGB had received orders for around 250 bus air-conditioning units in the aftermarket segment which has proved a big boost to the company. With growing penetration in the aftermarket, LGB expects to sell 600-800 units in the segment in 2013. It also plans to set up an SKD assembly unit in 2014, mainly catering to the requirements of OEM segment.

On the marketing side, the company has taken a different approach rather than the usual ‘sales and service’ policy. It has adopted a ‘service and sales’ route to enhance customer confidence in its products and services in the market. “During the first six months of our operations we focused only on setting up service centers at strategic locations across the country. We have around 55 service points across India and have recently opened authorized service centers in Delhi and Bangalore which are two major commercial vehicle hubs in the country. We will differentiate our service by offering guaranteed quality service and also provide warranty for some of the parts”, adds Mr. Hoda.

With a growing network of service centres across the country, the company has identified its areas of focus for the coming months. It plans to set up a large stock of genuine spare parts in order to readily cater to customer requirements. Also on LGB’s priorities is regular on-field and off-field training of its technician, in addition to an engineer training at Songz’ Shanghai facility. The company will be setting up authorized service centres throughout India for providing warranty service for all its parts, including the refurbished ones.

With a wide product range, a smart India-specific strategy, aggressive pan-India network expansion, established global partners and ambitious targets for the coming years, LGB Impex is certainly looking to take the Indian bus industry by storm!