Interview with Rohit Saboo
President and CEO, National Engineering Industries (NEI)
Date:
06 Sep 2016
| Author: P.Tharyan
NEI, popularly known
as NBC Bearings, had at the 2016 Auto Expo in New Delhi displayed among other
things PreSet hubs for commercial vehicles. How is this business progressing?
We partnered ConMet to manufacture PreSet Hub assemblies for
heavy commercial vehicle applications in 2014. PreSet hubs utilise pre-adjusted
bearings to facilitate proper installation, extend seal and bearing life and
ease maintenance. We manufacture and assemble PreSet hubs inside our factory in
Durgapura, Jaipur, where quality control is monitored every single step of the
way. Using state of the art machines and technology we have achieved the
highest levels of precision. Over the years, PreSet Hubs have saved maintenance
costs, labour, time, eliminate failures due to bearing’s incorrect adjustments
and minimise risk of assembly damage or incorrect assembly of seals.
How is the bearing
industry performing in the country? What about NBC Bearings?
The bearing industry in India is on positive growth trend.
The future growth of bearings industry is expected to be led by industrial
production as well as demand from automobile sector. The demand for ball,
roller and plain bearings is projected to rise 7.3 percent annually to a
hundred billion by 2018. According to a new research on “India Bearings Market
Outlook to 2019”, the sector is expected to cross over USD 4 billion benchmark
by 2019. The bearings market in India is very dynamic and competitive where
machine & manpower play an integral role.
NBC’s manufacturing prowess boasts of a vast range of
bearings that cater to diverse applications in various industries like
Automotive, Industrial and Railways. Going forward, Railways is an important
segment. We manufacture all types of ball bearings, taper roller bearings,
double row angular contact (DRAC) bearings, cylindrical roller bearings,
spherical roller bearings and special along with axle Boxes for Railway Rolling
Stock. In 2016-2017, one of our key focus areas is on shifting from standard
bearings to new generation bearings which would be bearings with higher life
and lesser friction.
With your Savli plant
in Gujarat becoming operational, how do you see your business growing? Will
this plant focus more on exports? Very briefly tell us about your other plants?
The plant in Savli, Gujarat is our 4th plant and we are
manufacturing bearings for automotive segment in the plant. Capacity of Savli plant is approximately 40 million bearings
annually. Savli makes a significant contribution to the company’s exports,
which is expected to scale up further in the short term. Currently we are
looking for 25% contribution to exports from this plant but it will go up to
50% in due time.
The company has four manufacturing plants located in Jaipur,
Newai (Rajasthan), Manesar (Haryana) and Savli (Gujarat). All our plants are
equipped with global manufacturing and process technology and our current
capacity is to the tune of 150 million bearings per year. The Savli plant
contributes approximately 40 pc to our total production capacity.
Can you tell us about
the green initiatives undertaken at the Savli plant?
NEI has conceived and conceptualised the Savli plant in
Gujarat on a green footing. The ability to develop sustainable buildings has
brought the plant novel and prestigious IGBC Platinum Certification, which is
the highest green rating available in India. The plant implements a wide range
of eco-friendly initiatives such as Rain Water Harvesting, rooftop solar photovoltaic
panels, VRF air conditioning, insulated PUF panels for roof, high solar
reflective (SRI) top coating, LED lights, sewage treatment plant, native plants
to consume less water, autoclave aerated blocks for energy efficiency and
recycled fly ash and low VOC paints.
Additionally, the spaces are designed for maximum daylight
entry and three dimensional energy modelling has been performed to optimize
energy and daylight simultaneously.
