An interview with Krishan Atri, Managing Director (Asia Pacific), Valiant-TMS India, a company that specialises in advanced engineering and design, manufacturing and procurement, especially for the automotive sector.
What is the current status of the company in India?
We are doing very well. We have recently acquired a turnkey body shop project from Volkswagen India for their new ICS (Indian compact sedan) model. We will be working on this project with our parent company, TMS Austria. In fact, this will be our first global project together. The commissioning and handover is planned for March 2016. Our products and technologies include us as a turnkey supplier for body in white, powertrain and aerospace.
Body in white or BIW, refers to the stage in automotive design in which a car body’s sheet metal components have been welded together – but before moving parts, the motor, chassis sub-assemblies or trim, have been added and before painting. Further, our India plant has now become an approved supplier for Boeing.
With the kind of expertise the company has developed over the years, we are in a position to provide advance processing, SE, GD&T, design and engineering, fixture/gripper/tooling design in CATIA V5/Fides 4.4, line simulation in Robcad or I-Grip, assembling of fixtures and robotic cells, tool tryouts in-house, powertrain and automation assembly, industrial washing machines for engines, and material handling systems. We offer a range that begins on the drawing board and ends with installation.
Have you introduced any new technologies of late?
We have been developing low-cost robotic washers for the Asian market. Also, there has been a lot of innovation in BIW technology for developing low-cost tooling. We are continuously working with some of our Japanese customers to deliver low-cost solutions for the Asian market. For our automotive clients, the parent company has always played a niche role in robot programming and integration. The constant improvement in manufacturing technologies and processes means the knowledge of integration has never been so important. Valiant-TMS is certified by leading robot manufacturers in integration services such as simulation, thus allowing our customers to confidently implement robot technology with best practice processes and manufacturing equipment. This robot integration experience has been used by specialist companies like Kawasaki, FANUC, Motoman, and others.
How have these been in tune with the demands of the auto industry?
Our constant effort at improvisation and development has helped us capture a good amount of share in India’s BIW market. We are now working with Honda for local sourcing to optimise time, quality and cost.
Could you elaborate about your powertrain division?
Our company’s equipment has been a key element of countless successful vehicle powertrain program launches. Our R&D efforts have been rewarded with numerous exciting new technologies that are currently in use producing some of the most dependable, fuel-efficient and clean automotive engines and transmissions in the world. Beginning at the casting stage, we have extensive experience designing and integrating complete sand core assembly automation systems, which includes process development, robotic integration, end effector design and manufacturing, standard material handling equipment, and complete controls integration.
Our latest industrial washers have allowed our customers to reach never before attained cleanliness ratings while lowering overall capital investment. This is a credit to our standard, flexible designs. Confirming component quality is the key to ensuring a successful production launch. We integrate leak test equipment from leading vendors with our standard flexible systems and design and manufacture optimum tooling. Our range of systems meets requirements for both low and high volume production lines. When it comes to assembly, precise placement and installation of parts, optimising cycle time and ensuring that our equipment repeats this process with consistent accuracy is what drives our process.
What are your other services for the automotive sector?
The tool and mould group provides full service global capabilities. Through a fully integrated computerised management system, the entire process from part concept to mould is quality assured with attention to every detail. We supply various plastic injection moulds, compression tooling, trim dies, rotational moulds, stack moulds, hydroform tooling, fixtures, gauges and secondary equipment. Through our turnkey solution division we provide innovative and efficient manufacturing solutions for body manufacturing, engine and transmission production as well as final assembly systems and plastic injection tooling.
What was the turnover of the company in 2014?
We touched Rs 25 crore in 2014 and we expect to reach Rs 45 crore in 2015.How has the company done in Thailand and Southeast Asia, China and Malaysia?
We have done an excellent job with General Motors and Ford Thailand in our powertrain business unit. We recently completed the installation of robotic washers in General Motors Korea. And we are now supplying spare parts and service support to our customers in Asia as well. China is taken care of by TMS Austria while we have not yet explored business opportunities in Malaysia.
What are your expansion plans?
In terms of our infrastructure, we are planning to take a three to five acre premise on lease in Chakan. This is yet to be finalised though. Our existing manpower is 100 and we are planning to expand this up to 150 in the next one year. As of now our major clients include Volkswagen, Honda, Toyota, Tata Motors, and General Motors and there will be some new additions in the months to come. With the recently launched ‘Make in India’ campaign, we are all geared up to bring to India our complete portfolio of products and technologies. This is also in view of the fact that the India is poised to become a global automotive hub.
A brief introduction:
It isn’t too often that one hears about a Canadian company setting up manufacturing operations in India. Yet one such company that took the lead was Valiant-TMS Systems (P) Ltd that set up its production facility at Pune. A subsidiary of the Valiant Group, the company specialises in providing solutions for welding and production automation systems, especially to the automotive OEMs. In 2009, the company bagged its first order placed with its parent company by General Motors for its India and Thailand operations. That same year it received its first Indian order from Volkswagen.
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