Mirka KWH launches OSP for auto body shop, eyes Rs 100 cr revenue in five years

Bangalore, September 20: Mirka India, a 100 percent subsidiary of Finnish body shop equipment supplier Mirka KWH OY, has launched the Optimised Surface Preparation System (OSP), a dust-free sanding system used in auto body shops.

Speaking at the product launch in Bangalore, Manoj Soni, managing director of Mirka India, said: “OSP is designed to significantly reduce repair times and costs and therefore improve the business profitability of the car repairer and customer satisfaction by turning around a vehicle sent in for repair much faster than any conventional system.”

He said OSP, which is the first of its kind in the world, was launched globally at the Automechanika trade fair in Frankfurt last year and is slowly being rolled out worldwide, with India being the second country after Mexico to have a full-fledged release.

Soni added that the system consists of unique abrasives along with an industrial vacuum unit and mounted on a special trolley that shrinks the repair area by well over 20 percent compared to conventional repair techniques currently in use.

Mirka India has been selling its sanding tools and accessories in India since 2010. Its products are used in around 410 body shops among 2,500 ‘A’ class auto body shops across the country. At present, 29 body shops in North India, Western India and Kerala are using USP; the Bangalore launch was for the Karnataka market. The company is targeted sales of USP to 75 body shops across the country by end-2013.

The company’s abrasive range of products, sanding tools and accessories are used in various industries including Automotive Refinish Trade, wood furnishings, general hardware and construction.

The company posted a turnover of Rs 15 crore in 2012 and is aiming for Rs 22 crore in 2013-14. By 2018, it is gunning for the Rs 100 crore turnover mark. Around 44 percent of its total revenue comes from the Automotive Refinish Trade.

JAISHANKAR JAYARAMIAH

Photographs: (L-R) Vinay Mathur, VP, Mirka Asia – Pacific; Nina Nyman, global chief marketing officer – KWH Mirka; Ulf-Peter Astrand, global product manager (Automotive Refinish Trade); and Manoj Soni, managing director, Mirka India at the launch of the Optimised Surface Preparation System in Bangalore.

Ulf-Peter Astrand, global product manager (Automotive Refinish Trade), KWH Mirka demonstrating the usage of USP.