Chennai-headquartered BorgWarner Cooling Systems India will soon move its operations to its own facility in the Sriperumbudur SIPCOT complex, about 45km south of the city. Since its inception in 2001, the company has been operating from two rented locations in Ayanambakkam, about 20km from Chennai, which did not have any space for further expansion. Therefore, a plan was put in place in early 2008 and considering the company’s future requirements it acquired a 6.35-acre plot in Sriperumbudur. Construction is nearing completion and alongside production machines are being moved into the new premises. Currently the IT facilities are being installed and the new plant will fully be operational soon.

V D Umashanker, managing director, BorgWarner Cooling Systems India and BorgWarner Morese TEC Murugappa, told Autocar Professional that the company has invested about Rs 30 crore for a built-up area of over 60,000 square feet. However, the capacity has not been increased over the existing plant, considering the market environment especially in fiscal 2008-09. The company is fully dependent on commercial vehicles, which was the worst hit during the slowdown and yet to recover fully. BorgWarner hopes to increase capacity based on market conditions as the superstructure has already been created. Indications are that the company might look at this option before end of calendar 2010.

As its products like viscous fan drive helps in controlling emissions and address environmental concerns, the administrative building in the new premises will be a LEED-certified green building. The company has been manufacturing viscous fan drives, which control the radiator fan based on the thermal characteristics of the engine as per its specifications, to optimise efficiency. Of late the company has increased the range of viscous drives with varying performance parameters to cater to increased demand from OEMs.

Recently it developed a new variety of cooling systems that is integrated with the ring fan, which offer better performance for commercial vehicles. The ring put over the fan helps reduce noise, which is normally generated at the tip of the fan during high speeds. It also significantly enhances and directs the air flow to the engine, eventually enhancing performance. In some cases, OEMs require these kinds of efficiencies based on the specific applications. The company supplied pilot batches to a few customers and commenced series production for a customer.

BorgWarner has been catering to a host of customers including Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors, Tata Cummins, Eicher, and Mahindra & Mahindra. Currently it is developing products for a few new customers including MAN, Volvo and Daimler. “They are already our customers globally and as they commence their production in India we will be catering to their requirements,” says Umashanker.

“The new plant offers a lot of space for future expansion and we hope to increase our product portfolio and increase volumes. We might also transfer some manufacturing / assembly line from its associate company BorgWarner MorseTEC.

He said Exports from BorgWarner Cooling Systems are not significant since the company was established with the prime objective of catering and expanding the domestic market. BorgWarner already has a presence in Europe and China apart from the US catering to respective regions. However, the company and other entities are sourcing components for their global operations.

In addition to wholly owned subsidiaries such as BorgWarner Cooling Systems and BorgWarner MorseTEC, the global company has two joint ventures – Turbo Energy Ltd in Chennai and Divgi Warner Ltd in Pune. BorgWarner Morse TEC makes engine timing chain system and transmission chains and supplies to OEMs like Maruti Suzuki.