Rai Auto targets car dealers with new kit

As car manufacturing and materials become more high-tech, repair and maintenance is also falling in line with it. For instance, garage equipment supplier Rai Automotive Systems is girding upto offer OE dealers an advanced range of products as well as car repair training.

It is installing a new Griffon model crash repair bench at its upcoming training facility at Faridabad. Its 5,000 square feet rented facility will be ready by the end of March and will train about 3,000 to 4,000 workshop technicians and ITI students annually.

Rai Auto has invested around Rs 55 lakh, funded through internal accruals, for readying the training centre where training will focus on body and paint shop repair especially for ITI students. The supplier is also in talks with authorised passenger car dealers to send their technicians to the training centre for improving their workshop skills.

The Griffon crash repair bench will facilitate practical demonstration of repair at the centre. The bench has been imported from Celette of France, which deals in crash repair systems. The Griffon bench is an integrated vehicle lifting system, enabling use of the runway decking plates without dismantling the anchoring clamps or crossmembers.

Another new product that has just been installed at Toyota’s dealership in Pune a couple of weeks ago is the paint booth for water-borne paints sourced from Blowtherm of Italy. To facilitate the use of water-based products, Blowtherm has developed a new system, Blowpower, that increases the air velocity four times compared to the traditional ventilation system. The benefits include shorter flash-off time between coats, shorter curing time, energy saving, higher efficiency, easier use and higher profits due to increased productivity and improved paint quality.

While paint booths for spraying water-borne colours cost between Rs 20-30 lakh, normal paint booths are priced at around Rs 6 lakh. But water-borne colours are now increasingly preferred due to environmental concerns. The supplier is also gearing upto introduce small crash repair benches for damaged cars which need minor repair. Till now it offered crash repair systems for larger vehicles. Also in the pipeline is the 3D wheel alignment machine model Sphere ARP 3D from Space of Italy by mid-2012. These aligners come with exclusive 3D targets, are extremely light weight and without electronic components. Further, they require no maintenance.

Other equipments supplied by Rai Automotive includes welders and plasma cutters, panel repair systems, preparation stations, infra-red dryers and lifting equipments.

CEO Rishikesh Sahay says that the garage equipment market in India is worth between Rs 500 and Rs 600 crore. The changing market trend necessitates good quality equipments for which demand is slowly rising as competition against Chinese low-cost products stiffens. “The more advanced car repair equipment also ensures quality repair jobs with better returns on investment,” he adds.

Further, Rai Automotive also provides aftersales support and technical knowhow to customers. Now, armed with the new range of garage equipments, it is targeting a revenue of Rs 65 crore in 2012-13. Last fiscal it clocked Rs 30 crore and is optimistic of touching Rs 40 crore in FY’12. “Today India is a preferred destination for every car maker worldwide for its growing car parc. The garage equipment industry has a vital role in keeping up with the automotive aftermarket and this will grow,” concludes Sahay.

SHOBHA MATHUR