Racor Division offers proven filtration solutions
By N. Balasubramanian
Parker Hannifin Corporation, a global leader in motion and control technologies has charted out an aggressive five-year growth plan, formulated in 2009, to triple its sales in the Asia-Pacific region by end of FY14.
With a strong commitment towards this target, the company has invested significantly to build eight new facilities in China and India. The company reported a record sale of $13.1 billion in FY 2012 which is a 6.5 per cent increase compared to FY 2011.
Parker India Pvt. Ltd., headquartered in Mumbai, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parker Hannifin Corporation. As part of its growth strategy, the company has made five recent acquisitions in India to create synergies to help grow its businesses in filtration, hydraulics and fluid connector groups.
The acquisitions include the hose/fitting business of Pix Transmissions, Nagpur, filtration business of John Fowler, Bangalore, Olaer, Bangalore, Donmick Hunter, Gurgaon and Rail Road filtration business of Camfil Farr, Gurgaon.
As the company’s focus on the Indian market is for the long-term, it is also looking to establish itself with products from Racor in the filtration segment. Racor is a global leader in fuel, air, oil and coolant filtration systems for internal combustion engines and fuel delivery.
The company’s product line includes fuel filters, oil filters and air-intake filtration for engine-powered equipment in the on-highway, off-highway, marine, agriculture and stationary power markets.
Says Mr. Burkhard Hartmann, Racor Global Business Development Manager, R&D Stuttgart Officer, Parker Hannifin Manufacturing: “We definitely want to produce locally in India. In fact our target is 100 per cent localization.
We are a system supplier with cross-integration from seals, valves and fittings to hoses. Owing to our strong technical know-how, we have improved fluid control levels in the market making it more cost-effective and fuel-efficient.”
With a decade-long full-fledged manufacturing operations at Mahape, Mumbai for motion and control products, hydraulic systems, cylinders, gear pumps, hydraulic valves, motors, indigenized CNG dispensers and hose assemblies, the company is fully geared to cater to the growing needs of its customers.
Recently, it has also setup a world-class green-field manufacturing facility at Mahindra World City, Chennai. This state-of-the-art plant has started production of filtration units, seals and hydraulic components.
At the new facility, the Racor division has also localized fuel and air engineering, a move which the company is confident will be a major step forward in its commitment to Indian customers.
Parker has already started supplying products to MAN and BharatBenz as it looks to cater to the needs of Volvo Trucks and Eicher. JCB, leading manufacturer of construction and agriculture equipment is also one of its major customers.
The company is in talks with leading domestic OEMs like Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland and is keen on expanding its customer base in the country.