Rajkot components industry woos auto majors

Vimukt Dave / Mumbai/ Rajkot Mar 16, 2012, 00:53 IST



The Rajkot based auto components industry seems to have attracted major auto companies including Tata Motors, Asia Motor Works (AMW) and Peugeot once again.

At a buyer-seller meet held on Thursday in Rajkot, major auto companies evinced interest to work with auto components manufacturers from Rajkot. Organised by The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in association with Rajkot Engineering Association (REA), the meet saw participation from more than 90 companies.


"Peugeot is in the process of setting up a manufacturing unit in Gujarat and for our components requirement we will come to Rajkot. Safety and quality is priority for us and if any component manufacturer matches our requirement, we will be happy to do business with them," said Purvish Shukla, India vehicle project purchasing manager, PSA Peugeot Citroen.
Even Asia MotorWorks (AMW), which currently importing its cabin from China, is looking for increased localisation. "We have three vendors in Rajkot and as we are focusing on localisation, Rajkot seems to be the best option for us as it is nearest place from our factory," said Nagesh Azad, senior general manager - materials, AMW.

Similarly, Tata Motors also evinced interest for the region even as its officials met vendors in the CII buyer-seller meet. "We have two direct suppliers from the city and we are looking the vendors that have new technology and who can match our measurements. Further, Rajkot definitely has good potential to grow more. However, the city needs to concentrate more on quality," said Prashant Saxena, senior general manager, vendor development and procurement, Tata Motors Limited. Already, Rajkot based Bhavani Industries and Amul Industries are supplying parts to Tata for Nano. Meanwhile, according to VM Jha, deputy director, MSME development board of India, the meet will also motivate the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to produce value added products. "There are so many small manufacturers in auto components industry at Rajkot and they are growing by 15-20 percent every year," said Jha. There are 500 auto component manufacturers at Rajkot. Out of these around 50 are suppliers to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) while the remaining are small players which supply to the retail market. The industry in Rajkot produces more than 300 types of parts for the automobile industry and employs about 10,000 people. Turnover of the industry is around Rs 800-1000 crore per annum.

(Source : http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/rajkot-components-industry-woos-auto-majors/467850/)

Asia Motor Works launches 16 ton single axle tipper model

Written by James    
Tuesday, 29 November 2011


Bangalore: Asia Motor Works (AMW) has launched the 1618 TP single axle (4*2) tipper powered by a 178bhp diesel engine. The model marks AMW’s entry into the competitive 16 ton segment of the Indian commercial vehicle market.

AMW, which began full scale production in 2008, currently sells 1,000 trucks every month through 87 touch points across the country. This represents a volume growth of over 100% compared to the same period last year, making AMW the fastest growing truck brand in India. The company rolled out its 20,000th truck from its manufacturing plant in Bhuj, Gujarat during September 2011.The planned capacity of commercial vehicles is at 50,000 annually with the facility being set up at a cost of Rs. 1,500 crores. It currently employs about 2,000 people and uses state of the art production processes to build world class trucks for the Indian market.

In addition the Company has installed capacity for 24,000 tipper bodies, 100,000 tonnes of fabricated components, 45,000 tonnes of pressed metal and 30,000 tonnes of frames for chassis production. The company recently acquired a forging unit in Mysore in southern India, which produces axles and other forged components.

AMW also manufactures components for the automotive and general engineering industries. AMW’s capacity of 15 million wheel rims makes it the largest single location plant in Asia and the company supplies pressed metal components to auto and white goods manufacturers.

AMW has also emerged as the number 2 player in the 25 ton and above Tipper segment of the Indian commercial vehicle market, displacing Ashok Leyland. AMW’s share of this segment is currently at 26% and the company plans to launch several new application specific models aimed at growing its overall volumes and share in the future.

The total addressable market of HCVs in 2010-11 was 220,000 commercial vehicles per annum, which is currently growing at about 9% per annum. During the current fiscal year, AMW has successfully entered into all segments of the HCV market and is poised to grow strongly thanks to its increasing penetration in the construction and mining segment of the commercial vehicle market.

(Source : http://machinist.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4014&Itemid=2)