Eicher Engineering Components, a business area of Volvo Engineering Commercial Vehicles Limited has opened its state-of-the-art plant at Dewas, Madhya Pradesh. Peter Karlsten, president and CEO of Volvo Powertrain Corporation, inaugurated the facility, accompanied by senior officials of Volvo Powertrain as well as Siddhartha Lal, managing director and CEO of VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), and Pradeep Kapse, CEO of Eicher Engineering Components.

It may be recalled that the Dewas plant was acquired by VECV in late 2006. Since then, VECV has invested more than Rs 50 crore in the plant’s expansion and technology upgradation. The TS-16949 quality certified facility is equipped with the latest technology machines like CNC hobbing, shaping, heat treatment furnace, out-diameter and inner-diameter grinding.

The plant has a production capacity of 100,000 gears a month and also crown wheel pinion manufacturing capability with world-class heat treatment facilities. These products not only help meet VECV’s captive consumption requirements but are also supplied to various OEMs in India and in the US.

Plant upgradation

The upgradation programme has resulted in the plant being fully modernised. Kapse elaborates, “The expansion is in soft cutting of gears by CNC hobbing and shaving machines supported by some PLC-based shaping machines. To harden the gears, some seal quench and continuous gas carburising furnace of state-of-the-art technology were installed. To grind the gears, CNC OD and ID grinding machines were installed. To support the infrastructure, a modern plant was constructed with sufficient power generation capacity and compressed air and quality measurement machines provided.”

He adds, “We have employed about 140 people and the headcount should double over the next three years. Low-cost automation is being used to increase productivity as the variety is very large with small lot sizes hindering full scale automation.”

Eicher Engineering Components has targeted sales of Rs 35-40 crore this year and is optimistic of at least 30 percent growth every year for the next three to five years, according to Kapse.

Spread over 18,000 square metres, the Dewas facility houses some technologically advanced machines and equipment. The plant has a battery of Mitsubishi CNC hobbing machines and SIMCAT red-ring CNC shaving machines; Fellows shaping machines, CNC bore and cylindrical grinding machines, Hofler and Kingenberg gear testers for checking gears up to 600 millimetre dia and sophisticated heat treatment facilities including PLC-controlled sealed quench furnaces. The advanced technology in this plant ensures that the transmission gears shafts manufactured in this facility are of the highest quality.