Rico Auto Industries was among the high-profile debutants at the show this year. The company, an OE supplier of engine and transmission components and a leading global player in castings with customers all around the globe, entered the aftermarket space only last year. True to its reputation of being a heavy-weight and well-accepted supplier, Rico Auto has expanded massively in the aftermarket in just 15 months of entering the field.
Says Mr. Abhishek Kulshrestha, Vice President – Corporate Materials & Aftermarket Business, Rico Auto Industries Ltd.: “We were not present in the aftermarket until last year, primarily due to the taxation policy and business trends but once GST was implemented and also when we realized that our brand name was being used by fake suppliers, we decided to enter the market.”
Rico Auto’s aftermarket foray has evoked tremendous positive response and encouragement from the industry. The company has already appointed 62 distributors across the country and will be ending the current financial year with a spares business of Rs. 30 crores which is quite impressive considering this would be its first full year of operations in the arena.
The company has set high target for itself for the coming year and is betting big on its product quality and brand image to help it sail through strongly. “We started with just nine components for two-wheelers and now have over 500 components including brake shoes, brake pads, coil springs, wiper blades, filters and even clutch assemblies, all manufactured in-house. We believe in one quality, whether it is for OEs or the aftermarket though, as a policy, we do not supply our OE products in the aftermarket. For FY20, we have a target of Rs. 100 crores and are adding new products for the same. We have very strong presence in two-wheelers and are focusing aggressively on the passenger car and commercial vehicle segments”, shares Mr. Kulshrestha.
On aftermarket exports, Rico Auto has opened a dedicated division for the same, in order to step up its focus on the SAARC and ASEAN regions and also on the African market.
Sharing his views on the response to his company’s first presence at ACMA Automechanika, the VP says: “This is our first participation at the show and the response has been excellent, right from day one. Many of our existing vendors, distributors and channel partners have visited us and we have got many new leads as well. We are pleasantly surprised by the number of foreign buyers here including a group from Latin America who showed keen interest on our two-wheeler components.”