Stoneridge Inc. of the US, a leading manufacturer of electronic instruments and sensors, displayed its wide range of innovative products for the CV industry ranging from instrument clusters and telematics products to digital tachographs and remote download technology at the IAA Commercial Vehicle show held in Germany recently. The company’s version of future truck driver information systems, FCD4, features a full display cluster, two rear view displays and an Android tablet working as a central information display. Its smartest One Minute Rule tachograph yet, the new SE5000 Exakt Duo2, provides the latest in tachograph technology for drivers and fleet operators. The system provides working time directive calculations, i.e., real time updates on driving and rest time of the truck driver.
In an exclusive interview to MOTORINDIA, Mr. Peter Kruk, President, Stoneridge Electronics, exchanged views on his company’s Indian business and its future expectations. He said: “We have a joint venture in India with the Spark Minda Group called the Minda Stoneridge Instruments Ltd. (MSIL), where we hold a 49 per cent stake. We started with instrumentation systems in 2004 and later became active with sensors. The JV has been very successful since then.”
MSIL is now a dominant supplier of instrumentation systems to the commercial vehicle industry and is going strong in the two and three wheeler segments. The company has state-of-the-art facilities in Pune and Chennai giving it proximity to major automotive OEMs like Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, VECV and for Volvo UD trucks in the country. “With an increasing need for new technology in the Indian market, our company has plans to expand the scope of our JV and bring in some innovations in to the country. With little improvement in the product range these products have a good demand in the South East Asian markets. We may also choose to produce and export these products to international markets from India in the future”, added Mr. Kruk.
The American company has registered a turnover of over $660 million in 2013-14. It has 15 manufacturing facilities worldwide catering to major automotive OEMs like Daimler, Scania, MAN to name a few.