MOTORINDIA ONLINE EDITION: 2009-03-01

LIST OF BUS BODY BUILDERS IN INDIA

Mercedes-Benz' new plant inaugurated

Plan to widen CV product range

Mercedes-Benz India is enlarging up its presence in the Indian commercial vehicle market. The company plans to introduce tractor trailers and city buses and is even exploring the possibility of introducing multi-axle coaches in the Indian market. The company recently inaugurated its new manufacturing plant at Chakan near Pune with a capacity to manufacture 1,200 commercial vehicles (trucks and buses) and 5,000 passenger cars on a single shift basis. The plant was inaugurated by the Maharashtra Chief Minister, Mr. Ashok Chavan.

The company has invested Rs. 300 crores on the new plant, which was completed within 13 months from the start of construction – among the fastest green-field projects to be created. With an area of 100 acres of land and independent assembly facilities for passenger cars and commercial vehicles, the infrastructure was created to address future expansion needs, underscoring the long-term growth plans of the company in India.

Mercedes-Benz has a long history of involvement with the country. Its first association in 1954 was a collaboration with Tata Motors for the production of trucks; subsequently it also co-operated with Force Motors in 1969. Mercedes-Benz then was the first luxury carmaker to set up local production on Indian soil in 1995. A year later, the Mercedes-Benz Research and Development unit was established in Bangalore.
Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Chairman of the Board, Mercedes-Benz India, said: “A strong brand, committed employees, strong after-sales service network. A growing market, increasing demand and exciting products: these are the ingredients of Mercedes-Benz’ India story. And it all happens here – at the new home of Mercedes-Benz in India.”

Dr. Wilfried Aulbur, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, added: “Over the years we have grown – and from the 600 units back in 1999, we sold 3,600 units in 2008, with growth doubling consistently in the last three years. I am convinced that this facility marks the beginning of a new era for the company in India – and today is a red-letter day for us all”.

The new plant has two independent assembly facilities for commercial vehicles and passenger cars. In the commercial vehicle facility, there is a common assembly line for building both truck and bus chassis. Currently the assembly line builds one chassis every day, but as and when there is more demand for the product, production can be increased. At the end of the assembly line, the company has installed head light alignment system, brake testers from Maha and Wheel Alignment Systems from Josam.

Prof. Dr. Eberhard Haller, Director of the Board, Mercedes-Benz India, observed: “As the plant manager of the largest Mercedes-Benz plant in Sindelfingen, Germany, I am impressed by the flexibility and the potential for expansion of this facility. It was created with a long-term perspective in mind, and I am sure that we will see many new products roll off the assembly line – both from the passenger cars and the commercial vehicles segment.”

In the commercial vehicle segment, Mercedes is offering the Actros tippers and a luxury bus. The company has till date sold over 500 Actros tippers since its launch in June 2007. The Actros tippers are currently imported from Germany as CKDs and assembled in India. Except for the batteries (which are from Exide) and in some cases the rear wheel tyres (which are from MRF), most of the other components for the Actros tipper, including the chassis, cabins, powertrain, transmissions and all other components, are being imported directly from Germany. The tipper bodies and hydraulics are sourced from Hyva India. In the truck segment, Mercedes is also looking at launching its products in the high-end tractor-trailer segment.

For the bus, the chassis is being imported from Daimler’s manufacturing facility in Brazil as CKDs and assembled in India. The bus body is being built by Sutlej as per the specifications of Mercedes. The company has so far sold 20 buses till date and is looking at the market for its city buses. Dr. Aulbur said that during the current year Mercedes-Benz India is planning to launch one or two models in the commercial vehicle segment. It could be both in the truck and bus segment.

Asked if there is a market in India for such high end products in India, Dr. Aulbur said: “In emerging markets like India, there will be a market for mass products which will be high volume, low price and parallely there will be a market for the high-end performance-oriented product. This is the segment where Mercedes India is planning to focus on. Volvo sold nearly 240 city buses last year and another 200 buses in the inter-city segment. This market will continue to grow in volumes and Mercedes India sees an opportunity here, says Dr. Aulbur.

Dr. Aulbur was also of the strong view that, BRTs are the way forward for Indian cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and Chennai which are drowing in traffic. BRT has made tremendous impact in most cities around the world and India should be able to leverage on the advantages of BRT. “You need multi modal transport to solve the challenges we are facing”, adds Dr. Aulbur.

Apart from Mercedes India, Daimler has signed an independent JV with the Hero Group to manufacture commercial vehicles in India. The new JV, which will set up its manufacturing facility in Chennai will focus on the mass market products in the commercial vehicle segment. The strategy is, Mercedes India will focus on the high end tippers and in the future-the tractor-trailers and Daimler-Hero will focus on the mass market segment. In fact Volvo also seems to be adopting a similar strategy with Volvo India and Volvo-Eicher.

Mercedes-Benz India has also been engagement in socially focused initiatives as well. Jobs in agriculture, eco-friendly mobility and wasteland recovery – these are the three points that the Jatropha bio-diesel project focuses upon. The Mobile Kids Road Safety Program and the Automotive Mechatronics Program focus upon teaching and education to create citizens of a better tomorrow.

The company is also helping disadvantaged children through scholarships and aid to help them continue basic and further education. Its association with NGO Cleft is also extending surgical and medical aid and assistance to disadvantaged families in Gujarat and Maharashtra. On this occasion, Mercedes-Benz India also announced its support towards re-building classrooms and providing assistance towards better facilities for students of a school in Chakan.

The Daimler Group’s procurement organization has also been active since 1998 and is the local partner for Indian entrepreneurs and industries who offer their products and services to the company worldwide.

Indian auto sector outlook

The Indian auto sector underwent one of the longest and strongest positive cycles to end-September 2008 while year-on-year sales growth has since decelerated rapidly. In Fitch Ratings’ 2008 outlook for the sector, the agency acknowledged the inherent cyclicality of the demand pattern, wherein a three- to four-year growth spurt was followed by a two-year downturn. However, Fitch’s expectation of a sector recovery has been delayed due to various macro-economic factors, including tight liquidity and credit availability, slower GDP and industrial production and depressed investment/consumer sentiment. Fitch remains cautious with regard to the demand outlook for the sector in 2009, as these key environmental factors are unlikely to improve in the near term.

The agency expects volumes to stabilise over the first half of 2009, although at lower levels than in 2008. This will result in negative y-o-y growth rates until end of the year, when the high base effect is corrected. Whilst the long-term fundamentals of the sector remain strong, the reversion to long-term growth rates around 10-12 per cent for cars and 8-10 per cent for CVs is likely to take longer and be slower than in earlier cycles. The industry volume graph over the medium-term is expected to follow more of an “L”-shaped pattern rather than the “U”-shaped pattern seen through the earlier positive cycle. Further, exports have been unable to provide the earlier cushion over 2008 due to a severe slowdown in their respective markets.

Growth rates have traditionally been more volatile for CVs than for cars – a trend being indeed witnessed in the current slowdown. Domestic CV sales declined by 9.5 per cent in April-November 2008, compared with the same period in 2007, to 298,208 units. However, the full impact of the deceleration will only be seen in the April-March financial year-end figures, as the y-o-y declines continue through the first quarter of 2009. Although CV makers have been offering discounts, it has not been enough to offset the current negatives being faced by freight operators – a reflection of the current economic environment.

Operators faced pressures at the end of the second half of 2008 due to the following factors:

* Pressure on freight volumes due to lower freight demand from exporters, slower growth in IIP, and competition from railways for large commodities. This, coupled with increased capacity built up over the cycle, has led to lower capacity utilisation.

* Operators have also faced severe cost pressures due to higher fuel and financing costs, putting further pressure on margins. However, with excess capacity, they have relatively limited ability to pass these costs on to their customers. This is seen in the softer trends in freight indices. However, the recent softening in interest rates and reduction in fuel costs could boost operators’ liquidity, although with a lag effect.

* Operators are also facing issues with regard to the higher cost of credit, and availability of finance with regard to new truck purchases. The problem is compounded by Fitch’s expectation of higher NPL levels across truck financiers, which could further hamper credit availability.

Fitch notes that stable CV demand remains contingent upon a stable economic environment, including continued positive growth in freight volumes and stabilisation of freight rates at higher levels. This will likely lead to an improvement in the financial and liquidity position of operators. Demand could also benefit towards end-CY09 from the advancement of purchases in anticipation of the new emission norms in April 2010, although this will be one-time in nature similar to that of the overloading ban two years ago. Fitch expects the above demand drivers to stabilise over the year, and anticipates a marginal soft recovery to start towards the end of 2009.

Although some relief can be expected over the near-term from price cuts from vendors, as well as softer input prices (steel, copper and aluminium), this will benefit OEMs only once the current raw material inventories purchased at higher costs are liquidated.

Slower demand, coupled with lack of financing access by dealers, has put pressure on the working capital cycles of most OEMs. Slower demand has led to inventory pileups both at the dealer level and at the OEMs’ own plants. However, car and CV makers have been taking corrective measures, primarily in the form of cutting back on production to prevent further inventory pile-ups. But these production cuts have taken place with a lag effect, resulting in stretched working capital cycles for most OEMs and putting further pressure on their liquidity.

As production and dispatches continue to lag market demand, Fitch expects the situation to correct itself over the short term. OEMs are stretching their utilisation levels of working capital limits, as well as stretching their suppliers’ payment terms to finance this liquidity mismatch.

Most OEMs are likely to face substantial pressure on operating cash flows due to slower demand, lower margins and higher working capital requirements. This will in turn put pressure on their liquidity and credit metrics over the short to medium term. Interest coverage is likely to remain under pressure due to a combination of higher working capital utilisation, increased interest costs and Fitch’s expectation of negative free cash flow (FCF) for the sector. Fitch notes that the impact on credit profiles has been more severe for pure-play CV makers, which have faced the brunt of the impact of the slowdown.

Whilst most OEMs are currently implementing large-scale expansion, some of the greenfield projects are being scaled down/deferred. This could stem the extent of deterioration. That said, a substantial part of their expansion is nondiscretionary in nature, e.g., critical capex required for new model launches, and long-term strategic initiatives. Thus, whilst the extent of capex will remain large in relation to operating cash flows, the size of these investments is likely to be lower than that projected by Fitch in 2008. The agency expects the lower growth to translate into higher negative FCF in 2010 than anticipated earlier, which will exert additional pressure on operating metrics.

A recovery of the sector remains contingent upon improved credit availability as well as recovery of key demand drivers, including GDP growth and the freight markets. The government has set out a stimulus package for the sector, which includes better credit availability for CV financiers, increased deprecation benefits for CV purchases, and a reduction in excise duties (which have already been passed on). In addition, bus sales could also benefit from the proposed assistance to be given to state governments under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. While this will, to an extent, help stem the current volume decline, Fitch believes that a recovery in freight rates will remain more critical for the CV sector, which is likely only over the medium term. Better credit availability will, however, partly offset the current impact of the slowdown for both cars and CVs.

Reflexite India offers vehicle conspicuity products

A study on highway accidents reveals that most of the accidents are occurring in the night as a result of collision on stationary vehicles, in most cases trucks or buses parked on the roadside. The reason is that the parked vehicle is not visible as there are no clear markings or illuminated strips to give an indication of the vehicle parked.

In India, close 100,000 people die of road accidents, every year and an estimated Rs. 55,000 crores is the loss due to accidents. In fact the Government has taken note of this fact and has come out with a legislation, whereby from April 1, 2009, all new cargo vehicles and by October 1 2009, all new passenger vehicles will have to be stuck with illuminated strips on the front, rear and on the sides to make them distinctly visible on road, particularly in the night.

The US-based Relexite Corporation is a global leader in the manufacture of vehicle conspicuity products. Reflexite Safety India Private Ltd., a joint venture between Reflexite Corporation and Modi Measurements of India, offers reflective marking products in the Indian market. The company also offers reflective safety solutions that find applications in fleets, traffic control, work wear, emergency service vehicle, fire fighting and personal safety.

The solutions offered by Reflexite conform to the ECE 104 specifications, offering highest brightness, visible at wide angles, easy to apply, have single layer construction, are crack resistant and available in rigid and curtain grades.

Reflexite Corporation set up in 1963 has two manufacturing facilities. The main facility is in the US and there is a conversion facility in Europe.

Modi Measurement is a 40-year-old company primarily offering products and services in the automotive industry. The company initially started with emission testing equipments. In fact, more than 90 per cent of the equipments in the country have been supplied by Modi. After emission, the company is now looking at Safety as an area to focus both in the movement of passenger and cargo.

The company has been in discussion with Relexite Corporation for the last few years and a final decision to set up a manufacturing facility in India was taken in early 2008. The agenda for the JV was to make India as a larger hub for Reflexite’s global operations. The priority was to manufacture conspicuity and other safety products.

In the dark, several moving objects are not visible to other road users until they are dangerously close. The reflective tape helps road users gauge their distance and rate of approach, where even a vigilant motorist might not see an untreated moving object in time to avoid a crash.

The retro-reflective tape is quite effective. It helps in reducing side and rear impacts in the dark. The tape is especially effective in reducing severe crashes and found to be more effective when the driver of the impacting vehicle is young. The crash reduction is almost 40 per cent when the driver of the impacting vehicle is 20 to 50 years old, but only 20 per cent when the driver is more than 50 years old.

In fact, when two vehicles collide, the laws of physics favor the occupants of the heavier vehicle. Furthermore, heavy vehicles are in most cases longer, wider and less fragile than light vehicles. As a result, they usually have greater crash-worthiness, structural integrity and directional stability. They are less roll over prone and easier for the average driver to control in a panic situation.

In other words, heavier vehicles tend to be more crash-worthy and less crash-prone. The new legislation is applicable only for the new vehicles which are getting registered. As far as the existing vehicles which are governed by the State Acts, Reflexite India is educating State-level departments on safety related issues.

Reflexite India is setting up a new manufacturing facility which will be operational by March. As mentioned earlier, From April 1, 2009, the Motor Vehicles Act has made it mandatory for all new commercial vehicles, 3.5 tonne and above, which roll out of the assembly line to have require illuminated strips to be stuck. The regulation in India is similar to the one in Europe - ECE 104. The application colors are white for the front red for the rear and yellow for the sides. This is well mandated in the notification, and it must be stuck at a minimum height from the ground. At the time of registration, the vehicle will have to comply with the safety regulations.

Forbo offers complete transport flooring solutions

The Swiss-based Forbo Flooring Systems is a global player in high-quality commercial and residential floor coverings. The company is one of the largest manufacturers of resilient floor covering with its focus on environmentally friendly, functional and design-oriented linoleum, project vinyls for specialized applications and needle felt, as well as cushion vinyls for the home market. The product range also covers many specialty products for clean rooms and operating theaters.

Forbo has three major divisions – flooring, adhesives and belting solutions. The company has a global turnover of more than $2 billion. Flooring is the biggest of the divisions with a very strong global presence across the world.

With over 100 years experience in the floor-covering industry, Forbo Flooring is one of the largest producers of floor coverings in the world. With over nine production facilities, the company has one of the largest offerings in anti-slip and comfort flooring. In addition to manufacturing the highest quality floor coverings in the industry, Forbo has also developed into a total solutions provider for the transport segment. Globally it has been supplying its products to bus majors like Irizar, Hyundai, IrisBus / HeuliezBus and Farebus.

In order to facilitate easy and efficient installation, Forbo is able to supply floor covering in the desired width or dimensions. Pre-cut kits with flooring pieces to equip the complete vehicle are also available. Forbo adhesives are designed especially for use in buses offering the ideal solution for installation.

The products offered by Forbo in the transport segment include, SureStep PUR, Safestep and Sarlon Tech Canyon. It also offers SureStep Felt with a felt backing for an excellent adherence properties that allow shortest installation time.

Transport Flooring, a unique attribute of step collection is the covering’s highly innovative construction. Forbo has used an optimized combination of quartz and carborundum – two very hard minerals that not only increase slip resistance, but also make the covering extremely durable and wear-resistant. The result? a floor that is tough, highly durable, and wear-resistant. Enabling it to provide protection against slipping much longer than conventional safety flooring.

Forbo is primarily known for Marmoleum, the green flooring, as the product is made out of natural raw material. The company has nine manufacturing facilities all over the world and sells its products across all major world markets. In India, Forbo has been present in the last few years. In 2008 the company established a liaison office in New Delhi.

“India is clearly the market for the future”, says Mr. Hardeep Singh, Country Manager, Forbo Flooring India. “Particularly in transport market we feel there is huge potential for growth with manufacturers like Volvo, Mercedes, Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland and Irizar expanding the bus segment in a big way. We are targeting the bus, rail coach and metro rail coaches segment”.

Vapor Bus International offers automatic door closing system for buses

The growth in the Indian market has attracted many global majors to supply components and complete systems for the bus segment. One such important component is the automatic door closing system, which is going to be made mandatory for all buses as per the Bus Code. Currently there are no major manufacturers of automatic door closing system for buses in India.

Vapor Bus International, part of the Wabtec Corporation of the US, has entered the Indian market for automatic door closing systems. Vapor has tied up with Pioneer Friction Ltd., an Indian subsidiary of Wabtec, for manufacturing these products in India. Pioneer Friction already manufactures brake shoes for locomotive, freight car, passenger coach and EMU applications in the Indian market

Mr. James R. Pearson, Marketing Manager, Vapor Bus International says: “Vapor Bus is the principal door equipment supplier to the North American bus industry. A broad range of products is available for transit and commuter buses, inter-city and tour coaches, and utility vehicles. The company offers complete automatic door systems as well as individual components such as actuators, door controls, door panels, seals, and door accessories. Both pneumatic and electric actuators are available. Control options range from simple electro-mechanical devices to high-capability, microprocessor-based systems”.

Mr. Gautam Chattopadhyay, Manager - Sales and Service of Pioneer Friction, observes: “As we were looking for a product to expand our offering in the Indian market, we found a very interesting product in Vapor Bus range which is relevant to the Indian bus market. The selection of a door system for a bus depends upon the type of vehicle and its total operating environment. Vapor Bus is experienced in the entire range of buses, including urban transit buses, commuter buses, inter-city and tour coaches and commercial vehicles. Vapor Bus can provide the optimum door system for any vehicle. Through our group company, Ricon Corporation, we can also offer compatible access ramps and lifts for handicapped as well as window systems”.

Ricon Corporation, a division of Vapor Bus, engineers and manufactures ramps and lifts that allow vehicle access to passengers with wheel-chairs, walkers, shopping carts and strollers. Ricon products are applicable to low and high-floor buses, commercial and personal vehicles, school buses, motor coaches and passenger rail vehicles. Ricon also supplies transit bus windows and “anti-graffiti” window accessories.

In India, Vapor Bus will provide technical, design and manufacturing knowledge, and the products will be manufactured at Pioneer’s facility in Kolkata. Initially components will be imported and assemebled in India, and over a period of time the components will be completely indigenised, adds Mr. Chattopadhyay.

The company is looking at both the city bus and coach markets. Pioneer is already in discussions with major Indian bus manufacturers for supplying automatic door closing systems for their city bus applications.

The parent company of Vapor Bus, Pioneer and Ricon is the US-based Wabtec Corporation which provides products and services to virtually every major inter-city passenger transit system in North America. Inter-city and metro cars, commuter cars and light rail vehicles are all supplied with an integrated series of components that deliver safety, efficiency and passenger comfort. The company also offers maintenance, repair and overhaul services for commuter locomotives and passenger car components.

Wabtec Corporation is a global provider of value-added, technology-based products and services for the rail and transit industry. Through its subsidiaries, the company manufactures a range of products for locomotives, freight cars and passenger transit vehicles. It also builds new switcher and commuter locomotives, and provides after-market services. The company has facilities located throughout the world.

Gibraltar launches air springs for buses

At 60, Mr. Pranob Kumar Guha is raring to take on competition. With nearly 4 decades of experience in selling air springs both globally and in India, Mr. Guha has taken the big leap of getting into manufacture of air springs. In fact, Mr. Guha has been responsible for introducing air springs technology in India way back in the 1980s. He founded Gibraltar Agencies in the early 1990s to represent a leading global air spring brand in India. Today, after pioneering this initiative, Mr. Guha has taken the decision to manufacture air springs under the brand name Gibraltor. For this purpose he has established a new company in the name of Gibraltar Air Springs Private Ltd.

It all started in the 70s when Mr. Guha, a graduate from IIT Kharagpur, headed to the US for doing his Masters. He then started his professional career in Canada working for an industrial company selling air springs. After spending close to 13 years selling air springs in global markets, Mr. Guha decided to head back to India. After a short stint at Tata Exports, Mr. Guha established Gibraltor Agencies in the 90s representing a leading global air spring manufacturer. From a turnover of $13,000 in the first year, Gibraltar ended 2007 with revenues of $1.5 million.

In the 80s and 90s air springs as a technology was still fairly new to the Indian market. In fact air springs were used more in the industrial market. With his global expertise, Mr. Guha, introduced the product and technology in the Indian market. The initial breakthroughs came more from the industrial segment like paper industries where this product was extensively being used. Over a period of time, Gibraltar started catering to all segments including industrial, bus and rail segment. Mr. Guha is recognised by the industry as the Godfather of air springs business in India.

In fact, it was only in the mid 90s that air springs as a product gained acceptance in the Bus market. In the mid 90s there was sudden spurt in usage of air springs in buses particularly on intercity luxury buses. I particularly the days when bus operators like KPN and Sharma travels launched buses with air suspension technology and it just changed the bus travel industry in India.

Today all the intercity buses and a growing number of city buses come fitted with air suspension systems. It is thanks to the pioneering efforts of people like Mr. Guha that the technology got introduced in the Indian market and have now become an accepted technology in the bus segment.

Gibraltar was the first to introduce the air springs technology in the bus market. “One of the first air springs fitted on an Indian bus was supplied by Gibraltar”, says Mr. Guha. In fact in the initial days, bus operators who started using air springs, went back to the traditional leaf springs due to the issues they were faced with. But over a period of time, Mr. Guha and his team helped fleet operators tide over the initial technical issues related to usage of air springs. This helped create very strong relationships with customers.

The biggest asset of Gibraltar and Mr. Guha is the strong relationship which it has established with its customers and most importantly the understanding of the Indian conditions and the customer requirement. Mr. Guha, with his engineering background, has also been able to indigenise most of the metal and rubber parts which go into manufacturing an air spring. In fact it is this engineering background clubbed with in-depth understanding of the Indian market which has helped Gibraltar in developing a range of air springs which is made specifically to suit Indian conditions.

Mr. Guha shares similar experience in introducing air springs in the rail segment and today the company has made lot of progress in this segment. “I hope we will be able to replicate the success of Gibraltar in rail segment as well”, adds Mr. Guha. The company has establish its sales and service network across and serves over 150 major customers across India.

Gibraltor launched its own brand of air springs a year back. So far the product has performed very well under Indian conditions, says Mr. Guha. We are able to offer a competitive product at nominal prices. Currently we have fitted and tested our products on buses and very soon we will introduce a complete range of air springs for trucks and trailers as well. This will open a huge opportunity, adds Mr. Guha. In the US, 70% of the air springs manufactured goes to trucks and 20% goes to buses and 90% of the trucks and buses in the US are fitted with air springs.

Currently Gibraltar is working with more in the after market and directly with fleet operators and state transport corporation. We have been getting repeat orders from all our customers who have used our product in the last one year, says Mr. Guha. The company plans to tap the OEM segment very soon for which it is in active discussions with all major OEMs. The company is also in discussions with ARAI and CIRT for getting its products approval. The company is also in discussion with suspensions manufacturers.

The air springs market in India is fast growing with many global majors setting up their operations in India. Firestone has set up a JV with TVS for manufacturing air springs and Contitech has recently announced its plans to manufacture air springs in India. Given this background, it is a bold move by Mr. Guha to launch its own brand of air springs. Considering Mr. Guha’s strong technical background in selling airsprings, relationship with customers and an established sales and service network across India, Gibraltar is sure garner a sizeable share of business in the Indian air springs market.

Hanover Displays executes major orders in Indian bus market

The UK-based Hanover Displays, a global leader in electronic destination sign boards for the public transport industry, is one of the early entrants in the Indian market catering to the city bus segment. It is currently working with the Pune-based Power Electronics an agent for the Indian market. In the last five years, Hanover Displays has bagged many major orders, including for 625 city buses of BMTC, in addition to 316 Volvo buses.

Established in 1985, Hanover Displays has consistently grown and developed, continually refining its product range to meet the specific demands of our customers. It manufacture passenger information systems for the transport industry which are used in over 50 countries around the world. Other than LED signs, Hanover produces a variety of other passenger information systems utilising the latest in LCD and voice synthesis technology.

Hanover is an ISO 9001 & 14001 company based in Lewes, England where all our production is carried out. The company also has sales and service centres in Hong Kong, New Zealand, Middle East and the Americas. In addition, the company has subsidiaries in France, Italy, Spain, Australia, USA & Oman.

Mr. Steven Colquhoun, General Manager, Hanover Display Ltd., says: “Hanover was one of the early entrants in India for introducing Daylight Viewable LED Destination Displays signs. One of the major orders bagged by Hanover Displays is for 316 VOLVO buses procured by Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) which are now running throughout Bangalore. This has received tremendous positive response from the general public who now find it very convenient to read the route numbers and destinations from a long distance under all lighting conditions, that too in the local language - Kannada in this case. This is a welcome contribution to commuters traveling in city transport buses”.

Other important orders include 555 city buses supplied to Nigeria by Ashok Leyland and more than 100 tarmac coaches supplied to Jet Airways and Indigo Airlines by Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland. Currently more than 1,500 buses in India are fitted with electronic sign boards from Hanover Displays.

Mr. Colquhoun says: “Our LED signs have been approved by Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland for city buses as well as for airport transfer coaches. They have already installed our LED display signs in the coaches/buses supplied in the domestic market and also for export orders”.

Hanover can provide a complete range of display signs for front, side, rear and interior positioning, which fit all currently available bus and coach models.

Many of the City Transport Undertakings (particularly those who are implementing BRTS) are increasingly looking at using Electronic signboards as these are ideally suited for such applications with the additional feature of generating sizeable revenues from indoor advertisements. Hanover also caters to the requirements of static signs for bus shelters.

Hanover is currently importing most of the components from its UK production facility with some final assembly operations taking place in India. The company is closely looking at the option of setting up a manufacturing facility in India.

Hanover is confident about the quality and reliability of its products offering a 10 year guarantee which covers all signs and controller components. Any technical fault is repaired or replaced free of charge for a minimum of 10 years. The company has a team of well trained after sales engineers to assist customers.

Globally Hanover Display Systems clocked a business turnover of £20 million pounds last year. The company sells its products in over 50 countries worldwide with 85% of the total business turnover coming from Electronic display systems for buses.

Mr. Colquhoun says: “Electronic sign boards will provide clear and precise information for the passengers and is particularly in the interest of passengers who are visually impaired. I’m positive that the government will eventually come out with a legislation which will make it mandatory to fit these products on all city buses”.

Eaton’s transmission agreement with Tata Motors

Eaton Corporation has announced that it has signed a business agreement with Tata Motors, under which Eaton’s Truck Group will supply heavy-duty synchronized transmissions to the Indian major for use on its World Truck program in India as well as global markets.

Initial transmission production will take place at Eaton plants in Tczew, Poland, and Wuxi, China, with production moving to its new facility in Pune as volumes increase.

“This is a very important achievement for Eaton in meeting our significant growth goals for India and the Asia-Pacific region in general,” said James E. Sweetnam, President, Eaton’s Truck Group. “Our relationship with Tata is an excellent indicator of our commitment to India’s commercial vehicle market and its long-term prospects for growth.”

Said Pavan Pattada, Country Manager for Eaton’s Truck Group in India: “We are very pleased to work with Tata on this important project. Eaton’s breadth of advanced technology and transmission product lines enabled us to tailor a diverse line-up of transmissions to meet customers’ needs in any environment, in any region.”

With 2008 sales of $2.5 billion, Eaton’s Truck Group is a global leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of powertrain systems and components for commercial vehicles. Around the world, Eaton offers manual and automated transmissions, clutches, hybrid power and exhaust aftertreatment systems for trucks, buses and agricultural equipment.

Eaton Corporation is a diversified power management company with 2008 sales of $15.4 billion. Eaton is a global technology leader in electrical components and systems for power quality, distribution and control; hydraulics components, systems and services for industrial and mobile equipment; aerospace fuel, hydraulics and pneumatic systems for commercial and military use; and truck and automotive drivetrain and powertrain systems for performance, fuel economy and safety.

Eaton has approximately 75,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 150 countries.

Jost India looks to the future with confidence

It was in September 2006 that I first got in touch with Jost at the IAA commercial vehicle show in Hannover. The company had just then announced its plans to set up a manufacturing facility in India for fifth wheel couplers. From then, in a span of two years, Jost has established a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Jamshedpur, close to the Tata Motors’ facility. The new facility, with a capacity to manufacture 50,000 fifth wheel couplers, was inaugurated in July 2008 and since then commercial production has started.

“We have started initial supplies to Tata Motors and are in discussion with all the major commercial vehicle manufacturers including Ashok Leyland, Volvo-Eicher, MAN-Force, AMW and also with Mahindra-International and Daimler-Hero for supplying our products”, say Mr. Amarjeet Singh, CEO of Jost India Auto Components Private Ltd.

Jost will manufacture fifth wheel couplers for the Indian market. The fifth wheel essentially provides the link between the tractor and the trailer. The coupling consists of a coupling pin (or king pin) on the front of the semi-trailer and a horseshoe-shaped coupling device called a fifth wheel on the rear of the towing vehicle (tractor).

Mr. Peter Ormond, President Jost Asia, maintained, “We are committed to the Indian market and we aim to equip many generations of new trucks and trailers in India with our safe and reliable systems.”

Jost is the worldwide leading producer of vehicle connection systems, modules and components for truck & trailer. Under the umbrella brand name of Jost, the comprehensive range of products is subdivided into three areas. The Jost brand includes fifth wheel couplings, telescopic landing gears and accessories for semi-trailers, ball bearing turntables, king pins and container locks and components for alternating systems. Under the traditional brand name of Rockinger, the company produces towing hitches and drawbar eyes for both transporters and trucks, as well as for use in the agricultural industry. With Regensburger Zuggabel, Jost completes its range of products for coupling technology with towing drawbars for both road and agricultural use. JOST is the only supplier that can provide its products and services throughout the world. The company is located everywhere, with distribution, production and development in all continents. With production plants in Germany, Spain, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the US, Brazil, South Africa, China and India, Jost employs around 2000 employees worldwide.

“As an integral part of the Jost Group, we at this new plant will contribute to the success and growth of the Jost World. The top quality, engineering excellence and the ‘Made in India’ label will all guarantee a high level of acceptance of Jost products from the very outset,” said Mr. Singh.

“In order to be more versatile in our operations in India, we have, apart from offering products decided to extend value added services as well. Our E-Coating plant is probably one of the very few and the best available in India. Enough spare capacity has been planned for an uninterrupted service to customers preferring to E-Coat their components. Proximity would benefit many Tata ancillaries and other companies in Jamshedpur. Needless to mention, customers from other states would also be serviced, should there be a need”, he added.

E-Coating (technically referred to as Cathodic Electro Deposition) is a method of painting which uses the D.C. Voltage to deposit paint on the substrate. This process guarantees the best corrosion protection working on the principle of opposite attraction. The paint particles are drawn to the metal part and are deposited on the substrate, forming an even continuous film over the surface, in every crevice and corner, until the coating reaches the desired thickness.

The plant, covering an area of 60,000 square metres, is close to Tata Motors’ factory with which Jost has already got into a long-term agreement for supply of fifth wheel couplings. The new Jost facility in Jamshedpur is spread over a 15-acre plot of land out of which only 5 acres has already been utilized. There is sufficient space for future expansion.

The company has set up a very modern manufacturing facility fully equipped with heavy-duty press shop, welding lines, CNC machines and an e coating plant. The company has set up 5 heavy duty CNC hydraulic presses with varying capacity of 1200 to 300 tonnes. The sheet metal work is done completely in house. The welding process is again a key element of the manufacturing process as the fifth wheels are mostly fabricated. All the welders are NTTF trained and have been given rigorous on the job training. A specific mention needs to be made about the ultra-modern plant for e-coating (KTL). This process of cathodic deposition of paint (CED) ensures that all JOST products remain protected against corrosion, and is absolutely health and environment friendly. In fact Jost has been able to achieve 0 ppm levels on its supplies to Tata Motors.

Globally, Jost offers both cast and fabricated version of fifth wheel couplers. The European market is primarily using cast version but in India the manufacturers prefer to go with a fabricated version. Jost products have already been tested under Indian conditions and have been found satisfactory. Jost has been selected by Tata Motors for the World Truck and Novus projects.

Globally Jost is an OEM to most of the truck majors like Daimler, MAN, VOlvo, Scania and International. With most of these manufacturers setting up their business in India, Jost sees a good opportunity for future growth in the Indian market, says Mr. Peter Ormond. The company is talking to all the truck majors including Ashok Leyland, Volvo-Eicher, Mercedes, MAN, AMW and Mahindra International.

Apart from fifth wheel, Jost India also offers many other products for the trailer segment which includes landing legs, king pins and towing hitches. Initially these products will be imported and sold through Jost’s distribution network across India. The company is in the process of establishing its sales and service network both for the fifth wheel and other products and by the end of the year it plans to appoint 10 distributors across India, says Mr. Amarjeet Singh.

Jost is also planning to conduct camps to educate fleet operators on the importance of lubrication and maintenance of the fifth wheel and other products. The fifth wheel is a vital link between the Tractor and the trailer.

But if there is one glitch in the whole story, it is the unexpected downturn in the Indian commercial vehicle industry, particularly in the tractor-trailer segment. Just when the Jost India facility was getting ready to move into fledged manufacturing, the sudden downturn in the tractor-trailer industry played spoil sport as the business is completely dependant on the growth of tractor-trailer segment.

Mr. Amarjeet observes: “We are glad this unexpected downturn has happened at the initial stage of operations. We are using this time to get our systems and process in place. We are implementing an ERP system and also working towards TS certification. By establishing these systems and procedures from day 1, we want to inculcate a new culture by investing on the best of manufacturing practices so that we don’t have to think of bettering our process at a later stage. The products manufactured in India have been approved by Josts’ global facility and the quality of these products would be the same as across all manufacturing facilities worldwide”.

Globally Jost clocked a turnover of Euro 500 million in 2007. It has been adding products to its global portfolio by acquiring companies and products which add value to its existing portfolio like the recent acquisition of ‘Tridec’ which specializes in systems for forced steering and independent wheel suspensions. Globally Jost is growing in many of the markets. China and Brazil are currently the important and fast growing markets for Jost. India would soon join the list.

Mr. Peter Ormond says: “We see Jost India play a larger role in the global business of Jost. We have invested in India for the long term and we see good growth potential in India in the next 5 to 10 years. We are also looking at the opportunity of using the Indian plant for manufacturing and exporting fifth wheel couplers to other nearby markets. But the first priority is to cater to domestic demand and at a later stage we will consider the prospects for exports”.

The company has so far invested close to 6 million Euros in the Indian plant and is targeting volumes of 30, 000 units in the next couple of years. A lot depends on the growth in tractor-trailer segment. As the roads better, there will be more demand for higher tonnage vehicles which can carry loads over long distances.

“I am confident that there will be exponential growth in the tractor-trailer segment in the years to come”, adds Mr. Amarjeet.

Kailash Vahan JVs with ShinMaywa and Rolfo

Kailash Vahan, part of the JN Group, recently signed two new joint ventures. The first JV is with ShinMaywa Industries of Japan to manufacture special purpose vehicle bodies and the second joint venture is with Rolfo of Italy for building car carriers. The JVs are part of Kailash Vahan’s plan to expand its product offerings and offer a complete range of global transportation solutions in the Indian market.

Kailash Vahan Udyog Ltd. (KVUL), started in 1986, is a leading manufacturer of tippers, trailers, tip trailers, buses, solid waste management equipments like garbage compactors, dumper placers cargo bodies, etc. KVUL has manufacturing facilities in Pune and Bangalore with 27-acre factory land. Kailash Vahan Udyog Ltd. also have heavy hydraulic and mechanical presses ranging from 500T to 1030T with a capacity to process 20000mT steel per annum. Its facilities also include cargo bodies and tippers fabrication lines. The paint shop has shot blasting unit, semi-automatic hot phosphating 7 tank process and Stoving Paint booths. It has a capacity to manufacture more than 20,000 CV bodies a year.

Mr. Raghav Gupta, Director, Kailash Vahan, says: “In the last few years, we have been continuously looking at expanding our product range by offering the best in class transportation solutions. We have tied up with some of the best global manufacturers to provide global transportation solutions to the Indian market”.

Detailing either of the JVs, Mr. Gupta said that ShinMaywa is a Japanese major specialising in special-purpose vehicles. They are market leaders in tippers, cement bulkers, garbage compactors and concrete mixers. The JV agreement was signed by Dr. Kailash Gupta, Chairman, Kailash Vahan Udyog Ltd. and Mr. Tadashi Kaneki, President and CEO, ShinMaywa Industries Ltd., in Pune on February 6. The joint venture company will be based in Pune and plans to start operations by June 2009.

The Rs. 6,000-crore ShinMaywa Group, as part of its long-term management plan ‘Value Up 200!’, has set a target of an overseas sales ratio of 25% or more. The company has decided to look at the Indian market considering the rapidly growing economy and demand for construction related vehicles for infrastructure development and also the growing demand in the areas of logistics and waste transportation. ShinMaywa is looking at the Indian market to manufacture and sell special purpose vehicles. The company feels that, through the JV, it will be better equipped to build a foundation for the production and sale of special purpose vehicles in the Indian market.

Mr. Tadashi Kaneki, President and CEO, ShinMaywa, said: “As the Indian economy has been growing, ShinMaywa is expecting a larger demand for the vehicles for infrastructure development.”

Dr. Ishwar Chandra, Chairman, J N Group, said: “This joint venture with the Japanese leader would bring in newer technology which would adequately cater to the Indian commercial vehicle manufacturers as well as various MNC’s which are establishing their base in India.”

The JV comes at a time when three Japanese commercial vehicle manufacturers are eyeing the Indian market – Hino, Nissan and Isuzu. Hino is planning to launch its trucks in the Indian market shortly and Ashok Leyland-Nissan JV has announced its plans to launch products in the LCV segment by 2011. Isuzu, through Swaraj Mazda is stepping its presence in the bus market initially and later plans to enter the truck market as well. ShinMaywa is a major supplier of vehicle bodies to all Japanese commercial vehicle manufacturers with a marketshare of over 50% in Japan. The JV with ShinMaywa will help KVUL to cater to the requirements of these Japanese majors in India.

Kailash-Rolfo JV

The second JV is with Rolfo of Italy to manufacture car carriers. The new JV company, Kailash Rolfo India Pvt. Ltd., will produce car & truck transport vehicles for the automobiles sector in India. The JV agreement was signed by Mr. Raghav Gupta, and Mr. Dario Rolfo, President, Rolfo S.p.A., in Pune on February 12, 2009.

Rolfo is a European leader, having experience well over 120 years in manufacture of range of car/truck transport equipment as well as an extensive range of general cargo bodies, trailers/semi-trailers and isothermal bodies. Their production facilities are located in Italy, France and Argentina and the products are sold all over Europe, the Americas, Middle East and Africa.

Going forward, car and truck carrier would be an important product to look at for the Indian market. All the Indian vehicle manufacturers are planning to increase their manufacturing capacity and these vehicles will have to be transported from their manufacturing facility across the country. For example, just look at Maruti Suzuki which is targetting a million vehicles in sales in the next couple of vehicles. How many car carriers would be required to cater to the requirement? Typically car carriers in India carry anywhere between 4 to 6 cars in one trip compared to European car carriers which can carry upto 10 cars in a similar trailer or on a slightly shorter length. The key difference is the design.

Companies like Rolfo come with years of experience in manufacturing car and truck chassis carriers and this will greatly contribute the success of the JV in India.

Mr. Dario Rolfo, President, Rolfo S.p.A., said: “Despite global economic turmoil, considering the large captive domestic market in India, sound and safer technology being offered by the JV company and excellent marketing & local management expertise of Kailash Vahan Udyog, inspired us to form a JV with them.”

Mr. Raghav Gupta said: “We are looking forward to this JV as this would bring European technology to us from the European leader and with our pan-India presence, we are confident that the JV company would play dominant role in domestic market. The JV company would also play a substantial role in global exports for Rolfo.”

Both the JVs are with global leaders in the respective segments and will provide Kailash Vahan access to technology, design, production process and most importantly access to global OEMs. The advantage that Kailash Vahan bring to the JV is a strong platform for both Rolfo and ShinMaywa to enter the Indian market, knowledge of the local market and access to Indian OEMs.

“Both the JV partners are serious about the Indian market and are looking at it for the longterm. They are confident about the Indian growth story and are looking to capitalise on the low manufacturing cost for sourcing components”, adds Mr. Gupta.

Other ventures

Kailash Vahan has also been working on other product segments for which it has entered into technical tie-ups.

In 2007, the company signed a technology tie up agreement with Katmerciler of Turkey for manufacturing garbage compactors. “We will build over 150 units of garbage compactors by the end of this financial years. We are also developing products for liquid waste management. We foresee wastage management as a good growth opportunity for the future”, adds Mr. Gupta.

Another small but interesting JV is with Cramaro of Italy for covering solutions for tippers. Mr. Gupta says: “Very soon a regulation is expected that all tipper bodies must get covered while transporting cargo. Cramaro produces specialized tarpaulin for tippers and even for steel coils. The JV was signed a year and products are under development”.

Despite the downturn in the market, Kailash Vahan is targetting a marginal growth this year. The company clocked turnover of Rs. 100 crores in 2007-08 and is targetting Rs. 115 crores for the current year. Some of the new products like garbage compactors has helped the company in utilising its capacities.

Kailash Vahan is expanding its product offerings, for which it is joining hands with the best global manufacturers in the respective product segments. The Indian commercial vehicle segment clearly offers good opportunities for future growth in all segments. We are just at the beginning of a complete revolution which will take place in the way goods are being transported safely and more efficiently. Companies like Kailash Vahan have taken the effort to upgrade their technology and product offering, either on this own, or by partnering with global players. We need to see how these JVs shape up in the years to come. The challenge will be in sustaining these JVs in the longrun.

LIST OF BUS BODY BUILDERS IN INDIA

Mr. Rishi Aggarwal
JCBL
Ambala-Chandigarh Road,
Lalru, District Patiala,
Punjab - 140501,

Mr. N. R. Menon
Managing Director
AUTOMOBILE CORPORATION OF GOA LTD.
BHUIMPAL-SATTARI-
GOA 403530

Mr.Sarabjit Singh
Amar Coach Builders
G.T.Road, Bye Pass , Chuggitti,
Jalandhar – 144 009 Punjab

Mr.S.S.Choudhary, Sr.Manager
Jcbl India Limited
Plot No.75,Ind.Area, Phase-I,.
Chandigarh – 160 002

Mr.Inupreet Singh Chadja
Director
Azad Coach Pvt. Ltd.
F-18, RIICO Industrial Area,
Delhi-Jaipur Highway
Kukas, Jaipur (Raj) - 303101

N.Gangadhar.
Director -Technical.
KMS Coach Builders Pvt.Ltd.
#125/1B,Kengeri industrial Area,
Near BMTC Depot,
Mysore Road,
Bangalore-560060.

Mr.Walter Buthlo, Director
Bharat Coach Builders Pvt. Ltd
Plot No.C28, Midc Taloja
Mumbai – 410 208

Mr.Kulbhushan, Director
Binwa Coach Builder
Plot No.W274, Midc, Rabale
Navi Mumbai – 400 701

Mr.Surinder Pratap Singh
D.S.Body Builders
Bye Pass,Lamba Pind
Jalandhar – 144 004 Punjab

Mr. Srinivas Reddy
Managing Director
Veera Vahana Udyog Limited
Bommasandra Industrial Estate
Bangalore

Mr. Radhakrishna
Director
SM Kannappa Automobiles Private Limited
2 , Lalbagh Wilson Garden,
Bangalore

Mr.Redhey Kant Sharma, Director
Hns Coaches Pvt. Ltd
F76,. Road No.5, Vki Area
Jaipur – 302 013

Mr. Amit Barara, Director
Sita Singh Enginner & Sons
15, Dlf Ind.Estate-Ii
13/4 Milestone, Mathura Road
Faridabad – 121 003

Mr.Anil Reddy, Partner
Auto Coach Builders
1-7-1061 Azamabad Ind.Area
Hyderabad – 500 020

Mr.Bijal B.Patel, Manager – Purchase
Ruby Coach Builder
Gidc. Phase-Iii, Naroda
Ahmedabad – 382 330

Mr K.S. Wilkau, Director – Mktg
Sultej Motors Ltd
5th Km Stone, Kapurthala Road,
Jalandhar – 144 002(Punjab)

Mr.Kailash Gupta, Managing Director
Kailash Auto Builders P.Ltd
14 Napier Town
Jabalpur – 482 001

Mr.Shiva Choudary, Executive Director
Krishnaiah Motors P.Ltd
A1,Moti Valley , Trimulgherry
Secunderabad – 500 015

Aarthi Coach Builders
3/76, Anugraham, Thadikombu Road
Collect Orate (Po)
Dindigul – 624 004

The Chief Executive
Azad Body Builders
Amer Road, Zorawar Singh Gate
Jaipur – 302 002

The Chief Executive
Sri Maniram Coach Builders
Rsr Ind.Estate, N7, M.N.Pet,
Dindigul 624 004

Mr.Subramanium
Director
Irizar Tvs P.Ltd
Trichy Road
Viralimalai – 621 31 6

Mr. Manivannan
Indian Coach
Sf No.3/94/1, Covai Road
Reddypalayam
Karur – 639 002

The Managing Director
Pee Tee Coach Builders (P) Ltd ,
Sf No.1907,Andankoil East Post,
Madurai New Bye Pass Road,
Karur - 639 002

Mr.Ravi, Proprietor
Ess Bee Coach Builders
4/74, Covai Road,
Reddi Palayamputhur, Andankoil East(Po)
Karur - 639 002

Mekco Coach Builders ,
A.T.S.Industries Complex,
Nida, Menon Para Road, Kanjikode,
Palakkad - 678 621

Mr. Krishnamohan
Sri Kamala Coach Builders
Plot No.11-A, Phase-III, Ida, Jeedimatla,
Hyderabad - 500 055

Mr. Shankar
Sree Coach Builders
128, 2nd Main,
Vinayaka Nagar, Adugodi Post,
Bangalore - 560 030

Mr. Balasubramanian, Ceo,
Automotive Coaches & Compenents
C1 & D6, Sipcot Indl. Complex, ,
Gummidipoondi - 601 201

Hmm Coaches Ltd., ,
S.C.O. 87-88, Swastik Vihar,
Mansa Devi Complex, Panchkula,
Haryana - 134 109

New Star Salem Coaches
Mr.P.S.Kannan Kutty,
2/93-A, Bye Pass Road, Meyyanur, ,
Salem - 636 004

Mr. Jeyaram
Sri Sun Coach Body Builders
Nallampalayam Road, Sanganoor (Po), ,
Coimbatore - 641 027

Mr. Govindaraj
Srt Coach
Gandhi Nagar,
Sathyamangalam - 638 402

Mr. Saurav Bansal,Director,
Swami Coaches & Engineering P.Ltd
Kheri Gujran Road, Village Mahiwala,
Teh:Derabassi - Mohali,

Mr. Ramasamy, Proprietor
Premier Automotive Coaches
Ramagoundanpudur,
N.H-67, Kovai Road, Andankoil(E) P.O
Karur - 639 002

Mr. Puneet S.Seehra,CEO
Coach Classic,
17 Dsidc Scheme -II , Okhla,Phase-II,
New Delhi, 110 020

Mr.Jayant Dixit,
Shree Damodar Coach Crafts Ltd
Plot No.97/98, Bicholim Indl.Estate,
Bicholim,
Goa - 403 504

Mr. Rajesh M.S.Namboodiri, MD
Shillibear Coaches P. Ltd
IV/137-A, National Highway,
Kallidukku, Pattikkad, ,
Thrissur - 680 652

Mr. Soundararaj, Director,
Maaruti Coach Builders P.Ltd
Andankovil (West), Govindampalayam, ,
Karur - 639 002

P. Thiyagarajan,,
Sri Gowriamman Body Builders
Thuraiyur Road, Anna Nagar,,
N.Kosavampatti (P.O), P.B.No.16,
Namakkal - 637 002

Mr. Balaji, Mg. Partner,
Sri Hari Bus Body Builders
Erode Main Road, Attur (P.O),
Karur - 639 002

Mr. Karthik, Tech. Director
Bangalore Body Builders P. Ltd
145, Mysore Road,
Bangalore - 560 018

Mr.Darshan Singh,
Gobind Body Builders
Barnala Road, Bhadaur,
Dist. Sangrur, Punjab - 148 102

Mr.Gurjeet Singh,
Bakultalla Body Builders
15-A, Andul Road, Bakutalla,
Howrah - 711 309

The Chief Executive
Namakkal Lorry Body Builders Assn ,
56, Thuraiyur Road,
Namakkal - 637 001

Mr.A.Gopal,,
Gopal Body Builders,
No.41.A, Mariamman Koil Street,,
Peelamedu Pudur,
Coimbatore - 641 004

Mr. Malkiat Singh,
Auto Body Builders
T-868, Faiz Road, Karol Bagh,
New Delhi - 110 005

Mr.T.S.Sivakumar,
T.A.S.Labour Body Builders
Workshop Line-2, Sankari Road,
Tiruchengodu - 637 211

Mr.Babulal Sharma
Rajasthan Body Builders & Engg.
16, Transport Nagar
Jaipur - 302 003

Mr. Syed Lal Maistri
Body Builder
Second Road, Auto Nagar,
Vijayawada - 520 007

Mr. Viswanathapalli Divakara Rao,
Body Builder
Fifth Road, Auto Nagar,
Vijayawada - 520 007

Karur Body Builders

Mr. T.Muruganandam
Peetee Coach Builders P.Ltd
S.F.No.1907, Andankoil East Post
Madurai New Bye-Pass Road
Karur – 639 002
Ph: 225996, 225179
Cell: 98946 35996
Fax: 225262

Mr. P.Thangraju
P. Thangraju & Co
S.F.No.647, 648 Andankoil East Post
Kovai Road
Karur – 639 002
Off: 225996, 225179
Cell: 98946 35996
Fax: 225262

Mr. K.Palanisamy
Royal Coach Builders
S.F.No.136, Thanthonimalai
Karur – 639 005
Ph: 255184, 255152
Cell: 98940 81252
Fax: 255096

Mr. R.Natarajan
Sri Sakthi Coach
Kulathupalayam
Pavithram Post
Karur – 639 002
PH: 286337, 286338
Cell: 98430 56605
Fax: 286339

Mr. Soundararajan
Maruthi Coach Builders P.Ltd
Govindampalayam
Coimbatore Road
Andan Koil West Post
Karur – 639 001
PH: 226365, 226296
Cell: 98430 35361
Fax: 226296

Mr. A.Md.Abdul Khadar
Mercury Bus Body Builders
SF 549/3, Pavithiram
Covai Road, Pavithram Post
Karur – 639 002
PH: 649235, 649234
Cell: 94431 42973

Mr. Jotheeswaran
Moorthi Engineering (D.V.N Coach)
1102, Coimbatore Road
Ramanujam Nagar
Karur – 639 002
PH: 240850, 240821
Cell: 98430 61647 / 94433 56151

Mr. T.V.Ramamoorthy
T.V.R. Coach Builders
162/15, Thanthonimalai
Karur – 639 005
PH: 255442, 255910
Cell: 98430 56542

Mr. Balaji / Mr. Kannan
Sri Hari Bus Body Builders
Opp.K.V.B. Gayathri Nagar
Attur Post, Karur – 639 002
Cell: 9840 28363 / 98940 38363
Fax: 226753

Mr. K.M.Periyasamy
S.M.Coach
Sri Mangalambigai Industries
No.27, Ramanujam Nagar East
Karur
PH: 248416
Cell: 98430 33789

Mr. N.Periyasamy / Mr. Chinnasamy
Royal Engineering Company
S.F.No.504, Veppam Palayam
Coimbatore Road, Anadankoil West Post
Karur – 639 002
PH: 286417, 286418
Cell: 98430 67271 / 94432 67278
Fax: 286418

Mr. Mayilsamy / Mr. Senthil
Star Coaches
3/13, Coimbatore Road
Anadankoil East Post
Karur – 639 002
PH: 226976
Cell: 94433 19619 / 94433 51981

Mr. Palanisamy / Mr.Jayanth
Atal Coach
Coimbatore Road
Anadankoil East Post
Karur – 639 002
PH: 227086
PH: 94437 36586 / 99943 92799

Mr. Ravindran
Nagaraj Engineering Company
(D.V.N.Coach Moorthy)
Ramanujam Nagar
Karur –
PH: 248756
Cell: 98435 12353
Fax: 248844

Mr.c.K.Shanmugam
Joy Coach
9/86, State Bank Colony
Chinna Andan Koil West
Karur – 639 001
PH: 240967
Cell: 98429 30967

Mr. S.Palanisamy
Palani Murugan Engineering (Best Coach)
Kaliyappanur West
Dindugla Main Rd, Thanthondrimalai Post
Karur – 639 005
Cell: 98430 33756

Mr. Panner Selvam
Modern Coach Builders
376 2C, Trichy Main Road
Gandhigramam
Karur – 639 004
PH: 245371, 245197
Cell: 94433 41371

Mr. Raju / mr. Balasubramanian
Super Coach Builders
Covai Road
Reddipalayam
Karur – 639 002
PH: 226364
Cell: 98424 59397 / 98424 49397

Mr. L.Balasubraanian
Balasubramanian & Bros
Back Side of LGB Rolan factory
Mochakottampalayam
Karur – 639 002
Cell: 98430 14903
Fax: 286512

Mr. Saravanan
Tiger Coach
Thanthonri Malai
Near R.T.O. Office
Karur – 639 005
PH: 257675
Cell: 98424 51557 / 98424 19557
Fax: 329390

Mr. Ponsenthil / Mr. Kannan
Alfha Coach Builders
SF-596/3, A Pudur
Andan Kovil East
Karur – 639 002
PH: 225487
Cell: 94435 93752 / 98429 88407

Mr. Ramasamy
Perimer Automotive Coach
Near M.S.Service Station
Andan Kovil
Karur – 639 002
Cell: 93457 900620

Mr. M.D.Dhandapani
KPN Builders
Reddipalayam
Kovai Road
Karur – 639 002
PH: 227497
Cell: 94431 29049

Mr. R.Govindaraj / Mr. Chinnaraj
SRT Coach
14, Mettupalayam Road
Rengasamuthiram
Sathiyamangalam – 638 402
PH: 04295 233508
Cell: 94430 33508 / 94433 33663

Mr. Arungairi
V.K.G. Coach
572/1, Covai Road
Andan Koil Keelbagam
Karur – 639 002
Cell: 94433 50823

Mr. A.Vijayakumar
The Gem Coach
SF 355/A, Trichy Main Road
Gandhigram
Karur – 639 004
PH: 246777, 646777
Cell: 92444 40011

Mr. A.R.N.Vellimalai / Mr. K.Chendrasekar
Aarthi Coach Builders
3/76, Angunagaram
Thadicombu Road, Collectorate Post
Dindigul – 624 004
PH: 0451 2460769
Cell: 97900 15469/94482 37569/98949 45169

Mr. R.Ravi / Mr.P.Velliangiri
Sun Coach
SF No.538, Venkateswara Nagar
Thondhri Malai
Karur – 639 005
Cell: 94437 47954 / 98427 52595

Mr. G.Saravanan
G.S.Body Builders
72/1, Vetenary Hospital Road
Fanpate Nandanam
Chennai – 600 035
PH: 044 24356397 , 24351971

Mr. T.Muniyappan / Mr. Bharthamani
Gemeni Coach
546/B, Covai Road
Govindapalayam
Andankoil East Post
Karur – 639 002
Cell: 94440 13119 / 97900 03053

Mr. M.Shankar
ACS Bus Body Builders
596/1A, Covai Road
Andankoil Puder
Andankoil East Post
Karur – 639 002
PH: 267070
Cell: 98421 35364 / 98430 35364

Mr. Elankannan
Bharathi Coach Builders
R.G.Pudur
Vadivel Nagar
Karur – 639 002
Cell: 98944 36708

.***

Tata Motors launches stylish Xenon XT pick-up

Tata Motors has announced the India launch of Xenon XT (Cross Terrain), a life style 4-door, 5-seater pick-up. The vehicle combines stylish on-road presence and comfortable interiors with off-road capabilities of a 4x4.

The tall aggressive stance of the vehicle is complemented by the trademark Tata grill, large wraparound clear headlamps and integrated flared fenders. Side indicators move to the outer rear view mirrors (ORVMs) and roof rails enhance the looks while lending themselves to accessorisation.

Interiors are charcoal grey and can comfortably accommodate five in two rows. The vehicle offers comfort and convenience features like power steering, power windows, central locking, HVAC and electrically adjustable ORVMs.

The Xenon XT is powered by the widely accepted 2.2 VTT DICOR diesel engine with a peak power of 140 PS and a peak torque of 320 Nm. It has a 4X4 with an electrical shift-on-the-fly mechanism and a limited slip differential similar to the Safari. These, combined with a rugged ladder frame structure, a matching suspension and alloy wheels give the vehicle off-road capabilities of an SUV. The load bed is a 1518 mm x 1414 mm area which lends itself to carrying equipment or having fun, as desired.

The Xenon XT can be customised to suit individual tastes and styles through a wide range of accessories such as bed-liners, fog lamps, canopy, boot lid, rollover bars and the like which will be on sale along with the vehicle.

Priced at Rs. 7.62 lakhs for the 4x2 version and Rs. 8.58 lakhs for the 4x4 version, ex-showroom Delhi, the vehicle comes in four attractive shades: white, black, silver and mineral red. It carries a warranty of two years or 75,000 km, whichever is earlier, and will be retailed through 58 Tata passenger car dealerships across 39 cities to begin with.

The Xenon is already being retailed in the overseas markets of Thailand, Algeria, Italy, Poland, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.

Ashok Leyland Six-Poster receives NABL accreditation

The six-poster road simulation laboratory of Ashok Leyland has received the NABL accreditation for mechanical testing in line with ISO / IEC 17025, an international standard. The accreditation, valid worldwide, acknowledges both quality management covered by the TS 16949 certification and technical competence.

The six-poster, the only one of its kind in the country, can test multi-axle vehicles of up to 60-tonne gross vehicle weight, both in loaded and unladen conditions, vehicles that are in a non-driveable condition and prototypes. It reduces testing time by a factor of six on existing proving grounds, and vehicles can be tested on different road surfaces like torture tracks and a variety of road profiles like highways, mines and ghat sections. The six-poster is equipped to replicate all conceivable road surfaces from anywhere in the world. Test conditions can be repeated and the testing process is not dependent on the elements.

Ashok Leyland has had a long tradition of technological leadership, and in recent years investments in R&D have been on the rise. The R&D spend for 2007-08 was 2.3 per cent of turnover. The six-poster, along with a host of other very advanced facilities like the component test lab using electro hydraulic actuators, resides at the company’s state-of-the-art Technical Centre situated at Vellivoyalchavadi, on the outskirts of Chennai.

$43 million Angolan bus orders for Ashok Leyland

Ashok Leyland has bagged orders worth $43.5 million for 1,000 buses from the Angolan Ministry of Transport.

Following a close study of Angola’s transport requirements, Ashok Leyland developed a unique vehicle to meet the needs of the rural population who travel to the cities with agricultural produce and return with provisions. A goods compartment was added to the seating area with 30 seats.

The vehicle built on a strengthened chassis to withstand the extra weight of goods, has a 4x4 configuration to combat trying under-tyre conditions. A total of 300 such buses were delivered within stiff deadlines starting August 2008, along with 200 Falcon buses.

In January 2009 came the second order for 500 Eagle Mini buses – 50 air-conditioned and 450 non air-conditioned. Deliveries against this order have to be completed by March 31 next.

“These orders are definitive steps in our global plans of creating a significant presence in the second hemisphere markets and come close on the heels of the orders for Defence vehicles from Honduras and Thailand,” said Mr. R. Seshasayee, Managing Director, Ashok Leyland.

“Along with our ongoing operations in South Africa and Kenya, entry into the Angolan market further strengthens our presence in the high potential sub-Saharan African region,” he added.

Peace returned to war-torn Angola with the lifting of trade embargos and the first democratic elections held there in September 2008. Ashok Leyland is working closely with transport authorities and agencies to develop a range of vehicles tailor-made to meet the unique requirements of Angola.

MOTORINDIA ONLINE EDITION

LIST OF BUS BODY BUILDERS IN INDIA

Mercedes-Benz' new plant inaugurated

Indian auto sector outlook

Reflexite India offers vehicle conspicuity products

Forbo offers complete transport flooring solutions

Vapor Bus International offers automatic door closing system for buses

Gibraltar launches air springs for buses

Hanover Displays executes major orders in Indian bus market

Eaton’s transmission agreement with Tata Motors

Jost India looks to the future with confidence

Kailash Vahan JVs with ShinMaywa and Rolfo

LIST OF BUS BODY BUILDERS IN INDIA

Tata Motors launches stylish Xenon XT pick-up

Ashok Leyland Six-Poster receives NABL accreditation

$43 million Angolan bus orders for Ashok Leyland

FOR DETAILS CONTACT

NOVEMBER 2011 EDITION

OCTOBER 2011 EDITION

Search This Blog

Latest News

TOPICS

IMPORTANT LINKS

www.motorindiaonline.com is tracked by Google Analytics