‘Our new EcoForce diesel fuel injection system has global appeal.’

Stanadyne of the US, which designs and manufactures diesel and petrol fuel systems, is betting big on next-generation tech for cleaner emissions in India. Dr John Pinson, president and CTO, Stanadyne, speaks to Kiran Bajad on the game-plan for the India market and the launch of the new EcoForce diesel fuel injection system.

How important is India for Stanadyne globally and what are your growth strategies for this market?
India is a very important market for us and it is our focus right now. We are also making constant investment in the India operation. We see a tremendous need in this particulate emission scenario for above 50hp and below 50hp engines and adding EcoForce to our portfolio allows us to address nearly the entire off-road market in India.

We see this strategy holding until the next emission norms are expected; it could be 2020 or later and in that time we will access the market in its transition to Euro 4. 

Why is your focus only on the off-road any segment in India? Globally you also cater to on-road vehicles.
If you look at Stanadyne’s journey, just five years ago we were exclusively focused on the off-road segment globally. Then we decided to diversify our product and made huge investments in new products. This has resulted in our new GDI (gasoline direct injection )and common-rail products. In India, we started with the off- road segment as we had the product available with us and where our knowledge was good but now we want to extend to grow that from off-road to other applications.

Which are the other markets you cater to with your common-rail systems?
Our GDI has huge volumes in the USA. We launched our common-rail pump in China last year; we have crossed 60,000 units and are reaching 100,000 volumes soon and beyond. So both in China and the USA, we have had strong entry; this is our first footprint and we will work to expand it. However, we will not abandon our strong base which is off-road where we have a huge customer base and technology. We see the off-road segment has very unique needs that are not easily meet by systems which are designed by on-road applications.

How important is EcoForce in India for Stanadyne?
We believe this product will have very large global appeal. The market demand which happens in India depends on the regulatory norms. As and when they (the government) wants to reduce particulate levels, then this product could create huge demand. Demand for EcoForce will be driven by performance and fuel economy. 

Is EcoForce designed specifically for the Indian market or are you also looking to export it from India?
It has been designed for the Indian market but we believe there are other markets which could use a very similar approach. We believe there is intermediate demand in China – about 20-25 percent of the Indian market, so we foresee strong demand in China.

We also see strong demand in Europe, Eastern Europe and South America but the primary markets are going to be India and China. Fuel pumps are heavy and expensive and very cumbersome to ship and import them.

What will be the localisation level for this new product?
Our plan is to have 100 percent localisation but at present the product is 90 percent localised.

Also read: Stanadyne launches new diesel fuel injection system for India market