Sundaram Clayton (SCL), one of the largest aluminum die-casting companies and a part of the $5-billion TVS group, is exploring options to enter the overseas markets with a new manufacturing plant as it has gained lot of global customers in the recent past.
The company is also entering into high-tech magnesium die-casting manufacturing to meet the rising demand from premium/luxury car manufacturers in India as well as abroad, said CN Prasad, group president and CEO, Sundaram Clayton.
The company, which won the coveted Platinum manufacturing excellence award from Frost & Sullivan recently, is also setting up a new die-casting plant at Oragadam near Chennai to take its total capacity to 60,000 tonne per annum from current 40,000 tonne per annum in the next 18 months, Prasad said.
He said: “With exports contributing nearly 30% to our overall sales, coupled with recent wins of Cummins, Volvo, ZF among others in addition to Daimler Benz, BMW, Ford, Hyundai, we are exploring the possibility of setting up a plant in the overseas market to avoid logistics constraints, saving costs as well as to provider better services for these clients on just-in-time basis through its existing offices such as the US, Germany and Sweden.”
“Exports continue to be robust despite recession. We are supplying those components (engine and transmission components), which are still in great demand and we have not been impacted. Rather, we have won new clients such as Cummins (for its entire global operations), Volvo, ZF among others recently,” he said.
To a question, he said: “Started off in a smaller way in 2003, the contribution from exports to overall sales has gone up to 30% from 15% four years ago due to our improved quality and operational efficiencies, coupled with cost advantage. Our target is to improve the quality further to rope in more OEMs as well expand the existing clients network overseas.”
According to PH Narayanan, president, SCL, “We are setting up a new plant at Oragadam with an annual capacity of 12,000 tonne to make aluminum die-castings for automotive industry. In the next 18 months or so, our total capacity would touch 60,000 tonne which will help retain our market leadership in India while help meet overseas clients’ demand.”
