High-level German delegation visits Bosch’s Pune plant

Pune, which is gaining increasing significance both as an auto and industrial hub, saw a high-level official German delegation visit it today.

The delegation, led by Winfried Kretschmann, minister president of the Southwest German federal state of Baden-Württemberg, visited Bosch India’s Pune plant. The Indian state of Maharashtra and Baden-Wurttemberg share a sister-state relationship.

Minister president Kretschmann said, “Smart cities, smart mobility, and innovative solutions for engineering and automobile production are the focus of our trip. And this is why I am especially pleased that we are beginning our trip here in Pune at Bosch – a company that is ensuring that cities and mobility systems worldwide become smart.”

The delegation members got an overview of Bosch’s development and manufacturing capabilities driver assistance and safety systems domain, primarily Anti-lock Braking Systems (ABS), the Electronic Stability Program (ESP) and hydraulic actuation products. Spread across seven hectares, Bosch’s plant in Pune commenced operations in 1997 (formerly Kalyani Brakes, which Bosch acquired in 2005). Bosch currently employs around 1,000 associates at two manufacturing facilities and one development center in Pune

Geared up to meet demand for ABS and ESP

The Indian government is gradually upping the ante on the safety technology front for automakers. This has also meant that safety tech suppliers like Bosch, which with its ABS and ESP, is gearing up to meet increased demand from vehicle manufacturers, both for two-, four-wheelers and HCVs.

This was also acknowledged by the minister president Kretschmann: “The Bosch Group has already contributed significantly to the development of technologies that bring us closer to the vision of emissions-free and automated cars as part of a future digitally connected mobility system. This means that infrastructure will be better used, traffic jams avoided, and multimodal transportation improved. Moreover, the number of traffic victims will decrease drastically, and energy consumption and pollution will be reduced.”

Sales of vehicles fitted with ABS in India in 2016 improved significantly due to a combination of factors, such as legislation mandates and improved customer awareness. These factors led to strong demand and sales, as India currently registers an ABS fitment rate of approximately 50 percent. As a leading provider of the technology in the region, Bosch has benefitted significantly from this development and expects to further leverage this advantage in the coming few years. To keep pace with future demands, the Bosch Group in India has been building capacity at its Pune plant. “Over the past nine years, Bosch has invested over Rs 400 crores in Bosch Chassis Systems India. We are committed to growing this segment of our business and to that end the development of the Pune plant is crucial and necessary,” commented Soumitra Bhattacharya, managing director, Bosch Limited, and president, Bosch Group India.

Bosch Chakan plant's productivity up with Industry 4.0

Bosch’s Chakan plant is a member of the International Production Network (IPN) for ABS and ESP. Each single machine for the ABS line is connected, not only with each other, but also with other ABS lines in the IPN. These lines are managed by a Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES).

The MES has an Andon system, including some benefits to enable quicker react to deviation in the manufacturing process, continuous improvement and finally, online benchmarking with the rest of the global manufacturing plants. Through this, Bosch’s Chakan plant has achieved a quality level close to zero defects and is a global benchmark in the IPN in some aspects. Furthermore, it has also recorded very high customer satisfaction apart from seeing significant increase in productivity. The plant has started implementing Energy Management Solutions. In the near future, the plant will look to implement Industry 4.0 solutions for preventive maintenance, and Operator Support Systems.