Suspa is a worldwide leading manufacturer of gas springs and dampers, as well as crash management, safety and height adjustment systems. These products are used in hundreds of applications in a variety of markets. Suspa, founded 1951, also has manufacturing locations in Germany, China, India, the US and the Czech Republic, with sales offices throughout the world. In many fields, Suspa is the consistent innovator and market leader.
The company is a leading source for innovative system solutions for lifting, lowering, tilting and damping. In Germany, Suspa employs over 750 people in the locations Altdorf and Sulzbach-Rosenberg. Worldwide we employ over 1,500 people in seven of our own production facilities. Suspa manufacturers close to 30 million gas springs globally.
Suspa established its business in India in 1993 to cater to the demand for gas springs in the Indian and south east Asian markets. India is an interesting and a very important market for gas springs as it is used more on a hatch backs than on sedans. Today the company has a 70 per cent marketshare in India catering to the requirements of Maruti, Tata Motors, Hyundai and General Motors in automotive business and JCB, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra, Fiat, New Holland, SMKannapa, TAFE, Elgi in industrial applications. The company caters to the 100 per cent requirement of Tata, GM and Hyundai. With Maruti Suzuki it has an 80 per cent share with all new product introductions fitted with Suspa gas springs. Suspa also caters to the majority of the requirement of JCB in India and for their requirement in UK as well.
“We have a large marketshare in the passenger car segment, and now we would like to increase our presence in the truck, bus, tractors and construction equipment segment”, says Mr. Werner Kleinschmit, Managing Director of Suspa India.
A gas spring is a type of spring that, unlike a typical metal spring, uses a compressed gas, contained in a cylinder and variably compressed by a piston, to exert a force. Gas springs are used frequently in automobile construction, where they are commonly used to support the weight of vehicle doors while they are open. The range of applications is very multifaceted and goes from pure mechanical, to partial automatic, to fully automatic system solutions.
Suspa has developed innovative and individual applications for lifting, lowering, tilting, and damping for all types of vehicles, like systems for opening and closing of doors, trunks, hoods and lift gates, components for the vehicle interior, and components for automobile bodies and convertible tops. These solutions are realized in a large number of automobiles and also for utility vehicles of all types. The international experience and the total knowledge of the company always flow into the customer‘s applications.
Typically in cars, the product is fitted on the back door of hatch backs. In buses, the application for gas springs is in the luggage compartment and rear engine compartment. In the past bus drivers had to lift up the heavy luggage compartment doors with a lot of effort. Today it’s easier and less strenuous: liftline gas springs helps in opening and closing of these heavy doors effortlessly. Suspa is ramping up with Volvo in India for the bus business and supplies to many of the other bus manufacturers. Similarly in G90 trucks of Ashok Leyland it is used on the front grill.
In tractors, the front hood or the door of the engine compartment come fitted with gas springs. Similarly application is in construction equipments like JCBs. Suspa’s Varilock (lockable gas springs) are also used on reclining seats by seat manufacturers like Pinnacle, Fainsa, Harita and Krishna Maruti These are broadly the major applications for gas springs which Suspa is catering to in the Indian market. The engineering team at Suspa is constantly looking for newer applications where gas springs can be adapted, like on roof hatch in buses, battery fuel opening doors in truck and buses. Suspa obtains experience from many projects and markets, not only from the automobile industry. These experiences flow into the development of new products and solutions. The focal point always revolves around lifting, lowering, tilting and damping.
In terms of technology, currently the product is a simple mechanical product but the company is already working on future technologies like electro mechanical gas springs or powered systems as it is popularly known. The future will be more of electronically controlled gas spring systems, says Mr. Kleinschmit. In addition Suspa is an expert in energy absorption and crash management systems.
Suspa India is continuously investing on its Indian facility and expanding its capacity and manufacturing process. The company has an installed capacity of 5 million gas springs a year which is the largest in India till date. Currently Suspa India manufacturers 3 million units of gas springs per annum. The company has invested Euro 2 million on the Indian manufacturing facility till date and is planning to add a new paint line and an additional facility to manufacture piston rods, which is currently being imported. Suspa India is certified for ISO/TS 16949-2002. The company has received the Hyundai 50 ppm Award and is now working towards 0 ppm.
