New products evoke good market response
Tata Autocomp Hendrickson Suspensions Private Ltd. (THSL) has successfully engineered the rubber-metal suspension and introduced two verticals – ULTIMAAX and HAULMAAX suspension – in the last couple of years. The ULTIMAAX suspension is for higher payload and high stress mining operation tippers, whereas HAULMAAX is for tractors, haulage trucks as well as for surface mining tippers.
When we caught up with Mr. Sanjay Sinha, CEO, THSL, to get an update on the products, he said: “The industry is warming up to our products and the absorption is really good. We introduced the rubber metal suspension 1½ years back, but before we could launch we were preparing 3 years prior to that. What we bring here in India is already present at the global level, the point is only about absorption in the Indian market. In the last 8 months we have seen good growth and, as promised, our products are enabling more than 4,000 hours of duty cycles in some of the segments like stone crushers, mining and road construction. A progressive rate spring on the rubber-metal suspension provides unique balance of empty ride quality and loaded stability, and we are willing to bring more new products in the tipper and tractor segment.”
One can recollect that THSL had introduced the lift axles way back in 2008 and used to sell around 2,500 suspension systems a year. Today the company is selling more than 6,500 suspension systems a month! “That’s a dramatic change in the last 10 years, given the market dynamics towards change in a conservative commercial vehicle space. We have a strong plan for the next 4 years and are prepared for regulatory changes even for higher tonnage load in axles from 7.5 tonnes up to 12.5 tonnes,” declared Mr. Sinha.
The company is also mulling over bringing a Z spring-based advanced lighter air suspension for electric buses. “We firmly believe that our technologically advanced product will give drive stability and comfort, which will help ease the OEMs inherent challenge in packaging the battery in a way that can translate into driver and passenger space,” revealed Mr. Sinha.
Modularity amid standardization
With over-loading coming under regulatory checks, everybody is looking for light-weighting solutions to have a better payload. OEMs are investing in modularity, as bringing in newer platforms is expensive. Hence optimizing a particular size or section for newer products/models will be beneficial.
“OEMs are producing more as per the end user’s requirement today. Tonnage of vehicle will grow by adding different modules as people are looking at faster movements which means faster acceleration which needs more power, especially post the GST. From that perspective the demand will go up and so the productivity of each vehicle will. We as an industry will hence decide upon what can be standardized, whether it is engine, chassis, cabins or transmission, or would create combination of one of the two. This is not just an Indian phenomenon, it is happening across the globe; where huge modularity is being implemented and catered to very specific needs of the end customers,” Mr. Sinha observed.
“It is therefore quite understandable, that a lot of work that THSL is doing on product engineering is to ensure modularity, by addressing the light-weighting material and design concept which reduces the overall cost. “If we want to exist in a particular market we have to ensure we do innovative designing and material changes like light weighting with high durability for Indian application. A mass production based on a standardized design is as important as designing for a specific requirement,” concluded Mr. Sinha.