Ahmedabad-based Precision Autowares has designed an oil pump for a variant of the Scorpio sport-utility vehicle. The specialty lies in its lower cost where efficiency is not compromised. A pilot batch of 400 pumps has been supplied and regular production will begin soon, said PB Rajmohan, managing director. Initial volumes will be around 2,000 units per month.
The company supplies about 10,000 oil pumps to Mahindra & Mahindra’s tractor and automotive divisions. The challenge in developing the new pump for the Scorpio was to develop one with higher output to match the engine’s increased cooling needs. The engine with this pump has piston cooling jets which demand faster cooling processes. Conventional pumps work on gerotar method and the size of the rotor must be increased to achieve higher efficiency. Precision pulled it off through gear drive design.
The company is working on another pump for a utility vehicle maker which plans to launch a mini truck to take on the Tata Ace. Prototypes have already been submitted. Talks are on with BEML to supply machined parts. Since its inception, Precision has been making components for oil, water, power steering oil and hydraulic pumps. Over a period of time, it got into fully finished pumps.
Rajmohan added that Precision also exports pumps and parts to the aftermarkets in the UK and the US. For the last few months, it has been supplying pumps to Case New Holland’s UK plant through a leading Tier-1 company. It also exports fully finished pumps and components to another Tier-1 company in Germany that supports the requirements of Iveco and DaimlerChrysler. At present, the company is working with a major American aftermarket company which meets the needs of trucks and off-road vehicles. On commencement of regular supply, it will export 3,000 pumps a month in about 25 different variants.
According to Rajmohan, creation of additional capacity is inevitable with new businesses in place. Plans are on to induct few vertical machining centres. It has earmarked capex of Rs 1 crore this year. There will be changes in the shopfloor to make it much leaner. “We will do away with conventional machines and have them replaced with CNC alternatives. The old machines will be given to our vendors who have agreed to commission units close to us. This will be a win-win situation for both as we will have a check on quality and are assured of regular supply without logistics-related problems,” he said.
In the near future, Precision is exploring the option of another foundry. It will also expand machining operations. Land has been identified and the Rs 2.5 crore foundry with high pressure moulding lines will be commissioned within three years. Shree Sainath Industries, an associate company, makes pumps for tractors and utility vehicles. Over 70 percent of products are exported primarily to Perkins of the UK. It has recently developed an ‘engine balancer’ for Perkins and a Chennai-based engine maker. While volumes for the UK company are 3,000 units annually, it will be about 2,000 for the Chennai company. It is also developing a new model for this customer and annual average volumes will be around 2,000 pieces.