Ashok Leyland, the Hinduja Group flagship, has announced the formation of a new company, Albonair GmbH, in Dortmund, Germany, which will focus on the development, production and sales of exhaust after-treatment systems for environment-friendly diesel engines. Albonair will engage in R&D and product development initially in the area of SCR after-treatment systems with an emphasis on design innovation and enhanced customer value.
Dr. Georg Huethwohl, who has been a pioneer in this technology, and Dr. Rene Ruedinger have been appointed Managing Directors of the company.
Said Mr. R. Seshasayee, Managing Director: “We already had a group of scientists and technologists who were assisting us in our R&D efforts to develop vehicle emission treatment systems and products. Therefore, it made eminent sense to start a company with them and formalize the working arrangement”.
While the Dortmund headquarters will be the central hub for research and development, it will cater to the requirements of emerging markets to conduct local customer application development for vehicle and engine manufacturers. A decision on production locations is expected in the coming months.
The compelling rationale for formation of the new company is that regulations for diesel exhaust emissions are getting stricter, worldwide. The Euro 4 norms, currently in vogue in Europe, are expected to be introduced in India and China soon.
The Asian region offers enormous market opportunities for innovative exhaust after-treatment systems. While the demand will increase significantly in the next few years, these markets will look for cost-effective products, requiring innovative solutions. Over the longer term, these cost-effective systems are also expected to find application in Europe and the US. Eventually, Albonair expects to branch out into a broader range of technologies aimed at reduced vehicle emissions in conformance to evolving standards of regulations worldwide.
