Chennai's Automotive and Auto Components Industry Updates!

[bonoslack7]

http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/ford-...st-257576.html

Around 350 employees of Ford India Pvt Ltd held a protest outside the company’s plant at Maraimalai Nagar near Chennai today demanding the reinstatement of nine dismissed employees, said a union official.

Ford India Employees Union General Secretary A Satish Kumar said, “The company dismissed nine people today and we want them to be reinstated. The company is targeting one category of employees.”

Employees of Ford India can claim reimbursement of medicine charges on submission of pharmacy bills.

On an enquiry, the company found that the nine employees had submitted bogus bills and they were dismissed.

Queried about that, Ford India in a statement said, “Nine employees at Ford’s Chennai operation violated the company’s code of integrity. Their employment was terminated after due enquiry process. The plant continues to operate its normal production schedule.”

According to Kumar, the nine dismissed employees belong to the production associates category and are paid on hourly basis.

“The company had conducted verification of the medicine bills only for this category of employees alone while the reimbursement scheme is there for all the employees. It is common knowledge that majority of the bills submitted for reimbursement are bogus,” he said.

He said no formal strike notice has been served on the company.

[Subra]

What kind of justification is that? Majority are bogus and so accept it?

[krishnaswamy]

Originally Posted by Subra

What kind of justification is that? Majority are bogus and so accept it?

that is the problem with the Indian Tax Law..
upto 15000 Rs, is tax free on medicines. So people will tend to get receipts from medical shops and present it..

[PremChn]

Originally Posted by Subra

What kind of justification is that? Majority are bogus and so accept it?

During 2008-09 recession few IT companies employed this technique to layoff their employees.

[krishnaswamy]

Originally Posted by PremChn

During 2008-09 recession few IT companies employed this technique to layoff their employees.

they have taken all the reasons to lay off...
people are moved to bench deliberately for a month and shown the door.
some people's salary is corrected.

[Anniyan]

Auto industry opts for Gujarat as Tamil Nadu loses power.

Those who are interested can read the full article in moneycontrol.com

[krishnaswamy]

Originally Posted by Anniyan

Auto industry opts for Gujarat as Tamil Nadu loses power.

Those who are interested can read the full article in moneycontrol.com

cross posting from TN-AA
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...ostcount=17212

[sanjaysan]

Originally Posted by Anniyan

Auto industry opts for Gujarat as Tamil Nadu loses power.

Those who are interested can read the full article in moneycontrol.com

[sanjaysan]

TVS buys Universal Components of U.K.


In what is seen as a well thought out strategy to beef up its global presence, the over $6.6-billion TVS Group has quietly acquired Sheffield-based Rs.200-crore Universal Components (UC) U.K., a leading independent wholesale distributor of commercial vehicle parts and accessories in Britain.

The acquisition is done through TVS Europe Distribution Ltd., a special purpose vehicle. TVS Europe Distribution has bought 90 per cent shares in UC for an undisclosed consideration.

According to R. Dinesh, Joint Managing Director of TVS & Sons, the acquisition is funded through investment by a couple of group outfits — Srichakra Tyres and Associated Auto Parts.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Mr. Dinesh said the TVS entry would help UC manage the scale and deepen its ties with global suppliers. “We will utilise Universal's marketing expertise and best practices in our businesses in India and other Asian markets,” he added.

Universal Components employs around 100 people and sells both manufacturer-branded parts as well as its own brand of parts. It currently has over 12,000 part numbers and is set to double it in the next 3-5 years.

The UC acquisition, he felt, would help TVS develop its presence in the heavy commercial and light commercial vehicle spare parts range in other Asian markets. David Kernahan, Managing Director of UC, was confident that the alliance with TVS would help bring in ‘low cost country sourcing' for UC. He said UC had plans to scale up the sales to Rs.325 crore.

The UC buy comes in the wake of a successful acquisition of Multipart Holdings in 2009 by TVS Logistics.

Multipart has since been renamed TVS Supply Chain Solutions.

[karkal]

Ford workers end sit-in protest

The parties were scheduled to meet again on Friday in the presence of the state mediator to resolve the disputed dismissal of the nine workers, Palanivelu said

Chennai: Workers at the Chennai factory of Ford Motor India Ltd. decided to end a sit-in protest prompted by the dismissal of nine employees following talks with the management on Thursday.

[tamilnaduboy]

[tamilnaduboy]

[ceeznic pirate]

TAFE to invest Rs 180 cr for expansion

Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd (TAFE) plans to invest Rs 180 crore to expand capacity in this fiscal.

The Rs 8,000-crore company, part of the Chennai-based Amalgamations group, has four plants in India with a capacity to produce over 1.8 lakh tractors a year. It also has a 15,000-unit facility in Turkey. It is now setting up a new facility in Madurai with an investment of Rs 100 crore. This plant will produce 60,000 units. Thus, by the end of the current year, the company's total capacity in India will be 2.5 lakh units.

It also proposes a Rs 40-crore facility to produce other harvest implements. This facility will, most probably, be located in Chennai. Besides, it plans to invest Rs 40 crore in some backward integration projects including a painting unit in Turkey.

Addressing a press conference here today, Ms Mallika Srinivasan, Chairperson, said that “structural changes in the farm sector,” such as shortage of labour and easy access to credit, would lead to more mechanisation.

Last fiscal, the company's sales grew by 27 per cent to 1.48 lakh tractors from 1.17 lakh in 2010-11. In revenue terms, the company clocked a turnover of Rs 8,020 crore against Rs 6,150 crore in 2010-11. Its export business, too, grew by 28 per cent to 20,396 completely built units (Rs 1,200 crore).

The company has invested close to Rs 200 crore last year in product development, capacity expansion and vendor development programmes, said Mr R.C. Banka, President.

Source

[murlee]

Valeo, Anand group tie up for auto parts aftermarket biz

Auto-component company Valeo has forged a joint venture with Anand Group for aftermarket business.

Valeo Service India Auto Parts will distribute automotive products produced by the manufacturing companies of the two groups in the independent aftermarket across India, under the Valeo brand name. The joint venture company will be based in Chennai.Valeo has been as an automotive supplier in India since 1997. It has over 2,000 employees across five production sites in Chennai and Pune and an R&D facility in Chennai.

With the joint venture, Valeo is targeting the “fast-growing” automotive independent aftermarket business in India, said a press release.

Valeo manufactures clutches, friction materials, lighting systems, security systems, starters and alternators. The Anand group makes automotive systems and components.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...ue&ref=wl_home

[bonoslack7]

http://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com...-industry.html

Chemetall Surface Treatment, the global metal surface treatment business of Rockwood Holdings, has invested in a new state-of-the-art production plant in Chennai, India, in response to the increasing demand for local sourcing of products in this growing region.

The new plant in Chennai, known as the Detroit of India, has a significant importance for automotive OEMs and component manufacturers, the company said.

The automotive industry in this region is of particular interest for Chemetall, as it triggers innovation, sets high quality standards and feeds many other metal-producing industries.

With a modern production plant close to the Hyundai, Ford and Renault Nissan manufacturing facilities, Chemetall is following its strategy to provide state-of-the-art quality technologies as well as local support for global customers, it said.

“The investment in our new plant is a further milestone in Chemetall’s expansion strategy and it clearly demonstrates the importance of the Indian market“, said Joris Merckx, president of Chemetall Surface Treatment.

“To keep pace with the growth dynamics of the Indian market, we have built our new facility in the heart of the automotive industry,” said Asis Ray, managing director of Chemetall-Rai, the local business unit of Chemetall.

“Our global customers located in this region require premium quality and local availability. Now we offer both.”

The design and construction of this new plant sets new benchmarks in safety and quality, while responding to the increasing demand for local sourcing in this growing region, Rockwood said.

The new plant will also be complemented by the recently-acquired business of Gramos, one of the major local players of surface treatment technology for the Indian automotive industry.

[karkal]

NISSAN JUKE

Nissan Juke is an upcoming model of Nissan India. The Company has numerous plans for Indian customers, lately the Company has announced that it will launch fabricate small and low-priced car with obedient degree, provide efficiency and cognition due to Micra’s lusterless performance in Indian mart. Now, the organization also plans to actuation mini-SUV or crossover collaborating with Renault to grab Auto industry. The all new SUV is already calumny as Nissan Juke which is prompt to conduct frame in the upcoming which is ready to Show case in the upcoming Geneva Motor show. We can see the all new SUV by the end of 2011 which will compete with Toyota Cruiser and the upcoming SUV VW Rocktan in Desi mart. Nissan Juke is based on its V platform (similar the Micra), the 5-seater Nissan Juke will be prefabricated in Nissan India’s Chennai plant.

Nissan India has already revealed the particulars of the engines, as per as the authorized reports ofNissan, the Juke module comes in petrol as well as diesel engines. The petrol engine comes in 4 versions that is 1.6i 86kW Petrol 2wd 5-speed manual, 1.6i 86kW Petrol 2wd Updated XTRONIC CVT, 1.6i Turbo 140kW Petrol 2wd 6-speed practice and 1.6i Turbo 140kW Petrol 4wd XTRONIC CVT M6 engine whereas the diesel engine comes with only one model that is 1.5 dCi 81kW Engineer 2wd 6-speed manual in Desi mart and global as well. Customers are waiting peculiarly for this SUV especially for Diesel edition. The car present be worthy for urban and rural areas, the engine of Juke is powered in specified a way that it can be fit to turbid and deceive anchorage.

Contd...

[karkal]

BMW 7 Series

[krishnaswamy]

Nissan Juke.. in India?
steering in left hand side?

[wlbkng]

Originally Posted by krishnaswamy

Nissan Juke.. in India?
steering in left hand side?

It will be RHD when it is introduced in India. It already has RHD models for UK & Japan. Picture shown is just a rendering..

[karkal]

Tractors exports grow on new products and widening reach

As Indian auto products gain acceptance in the international market, leading domestic tractor firms and global brands in India are bullish on exporting more number of India-built tractors to global markets. These companies are ramping up investments in capacity and R&D to tap the high HP (horse power) global markets as well as meet the new emission norms.

“Exports contribute about 11 per cent to the total tractor sales of the country. After a fall in volumes during FY09-FY10 despite government support measures for exports, tractor volumes to overseas markets staged a smart recovery in FY11 and the growth momentum continued to be healthy in FY12,” said Subrata Ray, senior VP – corporate ratings, Icra.

Expansion of export basket through entry into more markets and increased product offerings in the higher HP segment have spurred export growth during the past two financial years for the domestic players. M&M has reported 13 per cent growth in exports at 13,722 units for the financial year 2011-12, while Tractors and Farm Equipment (TAFE) has recorded 28.2 per cent growth in tractor exports. Overall tractors exports from India are expected to register a growth rate of about 13 per cent for the FY 2011-12.

At present, TAFE, M&M, John Deere and Same Deutz are the major tractor exporters from India. “While Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the US remain major export destinations, the expanding footprint of Indian tractor makers in African and new Southeast Asian markets is expected to drive export growth over the medium-to-long term.

Export to countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia is driven by the Asian Free Trade Agreement, paving way to falling duty structure among member countries. Further, export volumes are expected to benefit from the introduction of higher HP tractors by Indian manufacturers, pointed out an Icra report.

“North American markets continue to be strong for tractor exports. Europe is not very bright, but better than last year. We see good growth coming from Asia and Eastern Europea,” said Mallika Srinivasan, chairman and CEO, TAFE.

TAFE, which garnered turnover of Rs 1,200 crore by exporting its tractors to 73 countries in 2011-12, has developed tractors in the range of 85-100 HP for overseas markets and is likely to commence exports. It is also gearing up to unveil a range of tractors from January 2013 to meet the new emission norms in regions like North America and Europe.

John Deere India exports about 25 per cent of production from its Pune factory to the US, Mexico, Turkey, North and South Africa, and Southeast Asia. The export volumes are estimated in sub-20,000 units levels. Meanwhile, the company is setting up its second plant in India, while ramping up the capacity of first unit to meet growing demands. Italy-based Same Deutz-Fahr has also been exporting from India to Turkey and east Africa. The company is making new investments of €38 million in its Ranipet plant in Tamil Nadu to ramp up the capacity and to set up R&D and testing centre.