TREMEC begins operations in India, sets up transmission plant in Pune

Plymouth, Michigan, USA, July 10, 2013: TREMEC has announced the start-up of its new state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Pune, India. The facility, which will manufacture rear-wheel-drive transmissions and drivetrain components for India and the Asia Pacific region, will become a critical part of TREMEC’s global supply chain.

The 95,000 square-foot vertically integrated manufacturing plant is designed to produce transmissions for the commercial and passenger vehicle market. The first product assemblies for an Indian/Japanese automotive joint venture were shipped from the plant in May, 2013.

Citing the operating and logistic opportunities for the new plant, Robert Neal, CEO and managing director of TREMEC, said: “In India, the automotive sector is one of the largest industries showing impressive growth over the years. The country is the fifth largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles and the fourth largest passenger car market in Asia. This strategically located plant will enable us to make increasing contributions to the overall industrial development of the country, resulting in multiple choices for Indian consumers at competitive costs.”

To fast track the plant’s manufacturing capabilities and to drive operational excellence, TREMEC has appointed Shrikant S Bairagi (pictured) as managing director of Tremec India Automotive, a wholly-owned subsidiary of TREMEC. Bairagi, who is a mechanical engineer, has over 20 years of automotive manufacturing expertise. Prior to joining TREMEC, he ran the India operations for HUSCO Hydraulics (a division of HUSCO International) as managing director – leading a cross-functional management team with full strategic planning and P&L responsibility.

He began his career as a methods engineer with Motor Industries Company (Bosch), where he was later promoted to senior engineer to develop new products and processes. He was transferred to Robert Bosch North America in 1996. After spending eight years with the organisation, Bairagi returned to India to become general manager of Perfect Circle India in 2004. This led him to the position of associate vice- president of manufacturing at Mahindra Hinoday Industries, Pune in 2007.

“With his extensive manufacturing background, especially in the areas of optimising discrete processes, Shrikant is a perfect fit for our team as we continue to grow our global operations,” said Jeremy Holt, vice- president of TREMEC. “His experience and knowledge will help us lay the groundwork for smooth, unified operations.”

TREMEC’s product portfolio Torque transfer solutions from TREMEC are found in products ranging from European supercars to American performance vehicles, to medium-duty and Class 8 commercial vehicles worldwide. The portfolio includes manual and automated rear-wheel-drive transmissions, dual clutch transmissions, gears, shafts, clutches, shift controllers, synchronisers, and mechatronic systems with integrated clutch systems and control software. TREMEC also provides turnkey engineering services, from design and modeling through manufacturing and vendor management.