Subros Ltd., a leading manufacturer of thermal products for automotive applications in India, is actively looking at bagging orders from fleet operators and various State transport undertakings (STUs) in the country. The home-grown firm, which provides a range of bus air-conditioners and transport refrigeration solutions, in addition to its core business of passenger vehicle air-conditioning systems, has set up a greenfield facility at Oragadam near Chennai in order to consolidate its CV AC operations. Nearly Rs. 25 crores has been invested in the first phase and a similar amount will be spent in the second phase once volumes pick up.
The three-decade-old firm manufactures compressors, condensers, heat exchangers and all connecting elements required to complete AC loop, and caters to all vehicle segments like passenger vehicles, buses, trucks, refrigeration transport, off-road vehicles and the Railways. Its products are backed by technology from its JV partner Denso, the world leader in its domain.
Talking to MOTORINDIA, Mr. Ramesh Suri, Chairman, Subros, said: “Our product range spans across auto air-conditioning and engine cooling systems for passenger as well as commercial vehicles. We manufacture compressors, HVACs, pipings and heat exchangers to suit various vehicle configurations. In order to sharpen our focus on commercial vehicle air-conditioning business, we have established the facility at Oragadam which is also serving as the production base for thermal engineering products for aftermarket applications. We are gearing up to shift our entire bus AC lines from the existing facilities to our brand new Chennai plant. We have also forayed into refrigerated vans wherein we provide refrigerated kits as well as containers.”
Talking about the response to its product lines, he affirmed: “The orders have been pretty decent with OEMs to begin with. Moving forward, we are confident of getting orders from bus and truck fleet operators as well as from various STUs. We also look forward to cashing in on the upcoming JNNURM schemes.”
It is to be mentioned here that Subros provides a complete range of bus air-conditioners and transport refrigeration solutions. Its roof-mounted air-conditioners range from 6 KW to 45 KW in capacity and are suitable for ambulances and buses (4m to 12m). Subros AC systems have achieved high cooling performance and greater air flow volume due to the introduction of highly efficient evaporators and condensers, with better design leading to lowering air flow resistance. Fuel saving has been achieved by increased refrigeration cycle efficiency with the introduction of new multi-flow condensers. All Subros ACs use environment-friendly refrigerant. For cabin ACs, it has allied with Force Motors for its Traveller vans, Ashok Leyland for Dost, Tata Motors for its Super Ace, World Truck, etc. Plans are also afoot to tie up with bus-making OEMs in the medium term.
Furthermore, the company provides a complete range of transport refrigeration solutions suitable for storage volume of upto 50 cu.m. Subros is the only company offering integrated solution consisting of refrigeration kit and superior technology, patented, specialty insulated container. It is currently sourcing the chassis of the Super Ace LCV from Tata Motors, fitting the refrigerated container on it and supplying it back to the OEM. The company has also tied up with Ashok Leyland for Dost and M&M for Bolero for a similar business model.
“We provide a complete range of transport refrigeration solutions suitable for storage for both chilling & freezing applications. We design world class transport refrigeration systems keeping the energy efficiency, cost effectiveness and safety features in mind so that every kind of food item reaches its destination in the same condition it is being loaded,” stated Mr. Suri.
Subros has manufacturing plants at Noida (two units), Manesar, Pune, Sanand and Chennai with an annual capacity of 1.5 million AC kits, besides a well-equipped R&D center and tool room at Noida. The company is in the process of ramping up its output to two million units as and when the market dynamics change.
With the AC business for commercial vehicles witnessing an unprecedented boom, Subros has set a target of 10 per cent of its total turnover from the non-car segment in India, which might gradually increase to 30 per cent in due course. The company is also test-marketing its products for off-the-road (OTR) vehicles like mining trucks, construction equipment, etc. With new product lines and segments, the home-grown mobile AC manufacturer is aiming to clock Rs. 1,500 crores by FY 2015-16 and Rs. 2,000 crores by FY 2017-18 from Rs. 1,300 crores currently.
“With the new government at the helm of affairs, we definitely see an uptrend in CV segment sales. With a huge thrust on infrastructure and road sectors (by the new government), we do foresee a massive uptake in sales of heavy haulage trucks plying on long routes. Moreover, there will also be a surge in demand for refrigerated vans as cold supply chain management is also expected to get a big boost. That will help us to triple or even quadruple our sales in non-PV segments. We are very hopeful to replicate our success in cars with commercial vehicles,” Mr. Suri signed off.
It may be recalled that Subros was founded in 1985 as a joint venture public limited company with 40 per cent ownership by the Suri family and 13 per cent by Denso Corporation and Suzuki Motor Corporation each, in technical collaboration with Denso. The company has grown from a capacity of 15,000 AC units comprising largely an assembly operation into the largest and only integrated manufacturing unit in India for auto air-conditioning systems.