Sundaram Auto eyes big jump in US market share

The rubber division of Hosur-based Sundaram Auto Components aims to tap a 20 percent market share of brake chamber diaphragms in US-based OEMs. It supplies to a host of Tier-1 brake system manufacturers at present giving it a15 percent market share. Sundram Auto is developing new-generation brake chamber diaphragms and regular supplies will begin this fiscal, Suryanarayanan T Hebbar, president, told Autocar Professional.

Part of the TVS Group, Sundaram Auto has two divisions certified to TS 16949, OHSAS 18000 and ISO 14001 standards. While the the rubber division produces moulded and extruded rubber components, the plastics division makes injection-moulded plastic parts and assemblies. The rubber division was set up in 1981 as a captive unit to meet the TVS group’s needs. It has since grown into a preferred supplier for many local and global customers.

The division’s productivity has risen substantially from 75kg per man per day in 1998-99 to 1,050kg. A friendly workforce and supporting infrastructure (including in-house machine development) has helped in a big way. A case in point is the batch control machine which was developed at a fraction of the cost of the standard catalogue machine and has reduced rejections from 5,700 ppm in 2001-02 to single-digit in 2005-06.

A highly-motivated workforce and total employee involvement (TEI) practices have helped maintain high productivity standards. During 2005-06, each worker was credited with over 50 implemented suggestions and rewarded by managing director, Venu Srinivasan. Not surprisingly, in quality circle projects, the company beat the Japanese benchmark by averaging eight projects per circle per year as against 4.2.

PLASTICS DIVISION

The plastics division, set up in 1988 as a captive unit, caters mainly to the automotive sector as well as to the electronics, telecommunication and appliances industries. Clients include Ashok Leyland, Ford, Hyundai, Maruti, M&M, Toyota, Tata Motors and Volvo. Freightliner and Mack trucks are the big global customers.

In 2005-06, about 24 percent of sales came from exports. Sundaram Auto makes a host of products including brake chamber diaphragms, airbrake hoses assemblies, inlet and outlet ducts for air filters, rubber and metal bonded components. Its core strength has been rubber diaphragms for various applications and this includes development of formulations specific to customer applications. Thus far, it has developed over 55 unique formulations and makes about 12,000 diaphragms a day.

Typically, it is reduced costs that determine demand from overseas markets for sourcing diaphragms. Sundaram Auto has taken a lead in providing quality products on time at a competitive price. Its strategy is in line with the TVS Group’s TQM practices and this involves achieving 40 percent of total revenue from new products. Hebbar believes that this is possible.

##### TECHNICAL ALLIANCE

The company has benefited from TQM, lean manufacturing and low-cost automation. It has targeted sales of over Rs 150 crore this fiscal, up from Rs 120 crore in 2005-06. Sundaram Auto is scouting for a technology/joint venture partner. “These tieups would make us more technologically competitive in the future,” Hebbar says.

At present, it has a technology pact with Elring Klinger of Germany to make engine-related plastic components. The company offers a slew of services like material development for rubber, product design and engineering, prototype design and tool development, component manufacturing and assembly of modules. It now plans to introduce plastic painting, tool manufacturing and other value-added options.

The Chennai plant will soon operate out of a larger factory to cater to growing demand. It will start off with 10 machines with a capacity ranging from 60-650 tonne. According to Hebbar, regular production will begin by the end of this year. the new facility will cater to the needs of vehicle manufacturers and Tier-1 companies near Chennai.

Sundaram Auto is also setting up a greenfield unit in Himachal Pradesh which will service TVS Motor Company and other manufacturers in the northern region. This Rs 9 crore unit will begin production by September 2006. Hebbar said that the Chennai and Himachal Pradesh plants will eventually have similar set-ups and become strategic business units.

The company has recently established a 'Centre of Excellence’ in Bangalore to offer design and engineering solutions in manufacturing plastics and rubber components. It hopes to cash in on the current trend in collaborative product development where OEMs involve the Tier-1 and 2 companies during the early stages of product development.