SKF India on growth path

SKF India has recently announced the beginning of work at a new manufacturing site at Haridwar, Uttarakhand. The bearings and seals manufacturer is investing Rs 150 crore in this project which will specifically cater to the automotive market segment in India. The new line, with a production capacity of 40 million bearings per annum, will go on stream by January 2010 and will make deep groove ball bearings for the two-wheeler and automotive market. While elaborating on Uttarakhand as the plant site, Rakesh Makhija, managing director, SKF India Ltd, said: “The past few months have been challenging for the economy. But SKF India continues to be optimistic about the Indian market and this expansion is yet another step towards demonstrating our commitment to being a market leader. We chose Haridwar to set up a new facility because Uttarakhand is an emerging industrial hub. Our strategic move to increase production capacity through the Haridwar plant signifies our commitment to serve our customers effectively and would enable us to increase our share in the developing two-wheeler and automotive market.”

He added, “In today’s challenging environment, we are focusing on efficiency and finding innovative ways to remain lean to keep our costs down. Our focus has been on 3Cs — customers, cash and cost and we have reduced our inventories to be better aligned to the reduced demand scenario.”

The state-of-the-art Haridwar plant will employ over 200 people. According to Makhija, “It is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2010. In the initial years, the project will cater to the two-wheeler segment, and progressively start servicing the entire automotive segment. The new facility will strengthen our company’s leadership position in the domestic market."

Auto business unit guns for business SKF India, through its different business units caters to the needs of almost all industry segments in the country including the automotive business unit (ABU), electrical and two-wheeler business unit (ETW), industrial business unit (IBU) and service business unit (SBU). It services these markets and segments through five technology platforms — bearings, seals, lubrication systems, mechatronics and services.

Makhija says, “ABU is responsible for production and sales to the car, light truck, heavy truck, bus and vehicle component industries as well as the vehicle aftermarket. The aftermarket is served through a strong network of 225 authorised stockists and 12,000 hand-picked retailers. While the ETW is responsible for production and sales to manufacturers of electric motors, household appliances, electrical components, power tools, office machinery and two-wheelers, the SBU is responsible for sales to the industrial aftermarket mainly via a network of 80 authorised industrial distributors. The business also supports industrial customers with knowledge-based service solutions to optimise plant asset efficiency. The business area of SKF Reliability Systems offers mechanical services, predictive and preventive maintenance, condition monitoring, decision-support systems and performance-based contracts. The IBU is also responsible for sales to industrial OEMs.

Knowledge engineering

SKF India, it seems, has a mission in place to share its knowledge. Makhija says, “Our company’s vision is to ‘Equip the world with SKF knowledge’. This vision is built around the vast knowledge and experience accumulated within the SKF Group over the course of its journey of more than 100 years. This extensive customer segment and technical knowledge coupled with our technology platforms is being used to transform SKF into a ‘knowledge engineering company’. The focal point of our strategy is to apply our design and application knowledge, coupled with our five platforms to deliver innovative and knowledge solutions to our customers that help them become more competitive and enhance performance.”

This programme can be seen in the company starting technical training programmes for its clients at the SKF Reliability Maintenance Institute (RMI) in Pune. Essentially designed to provide its customer’s production and maintenance personnel with knowledge results in greater machine reliability and increased uptime, the RMI is a facility to build a long-term partnership with its customers for their growth.

SKF RMI offers a series of comprehensive training courses designed to help plants eliminate machinery problems and achieve maximum reliability and productivity. The principal faculty is a pioneer in the field of user training and has vast experience in the field of training in bearing, seals, lubrication along with application and maintenance techniques. Every course at RMI is designed to address specific machine installation or maintenance problem and help customers find solutions to correct it. Some courses involve the use of highly sophisticated diagnostic equipment, while others are more basic in nature and cover such topics as bearing fundamentals and proper lubrication.

The institute provides specialised training programmes in accordance with specific requirements, residential courses, non-residential one-day programmes and even programmes conducted within the customer’s premises.

The RMI has also introduced various training modules in an interactive computer-based medium. These are known as the SKF Self-Learning Tools and are a one-stop solution for completing basic training in the field of condition monitoring, bearings, O&M of pumps and conveyors including dynamic analysis.

The company’s Application Development Centre in Bangalore, set up in November 2004, is part of the same customer-centric programme. “This Centre,” says Makhija, “is responsible for customising products and services to the requirements of each client. It has been a stalwart in the development of new products and solutions in the shortest possible time and at the lowest possible cost. The Centre provides new products as well as value-added solutions for the automotive and industrial sectors.”