ASK Automotive to make copper-free brakes
ASK Automotiveotive Pvt Ltd, a leading manufacturer anufacturer of friction products,roducts, is getting ready with coppererfree brakes for domestic and export markets. The Gurugrambased company supplies these products at a local price to the e cost-sensitive domestic market t meeting the new w domestic and international standards.
ASK Automotive has a diverse range of productsts catering to the entire gamut of the automotive industry. The products include e brake shoes, disc brake pads, clutch shoes and d clutch plates for r two-wheelers, disc brake pads and brake shoess for passenger vehicles, brake shoes and clutch h plates for three- wheelers, ECER90-approved CV brake liningss and disc brake pads, aluminum pressure die-castst
parts, friction-free control cables for two-wheeler and passenger vehicles.
Though brakes do not have direct impact on the regulations like BSIV, and CAFE norms, frequent braking takes a big hit on fuel economy. The company is working on collective solutions for such indirect impacts. Aman Rathee, Director, ASK Automotive, told Auto-Components India, “We manufacture products which comply with the systems and environmental regulations meeting all the global standards. Our brakes have environmentrelated capabilities that will satisfy the regulation norms till 2025. The global arena is marching towards copper-free solutions in brakes and our R&D is ready with them. But the real challenge is cost in the domestic market but somehow we manage the same with local solutions globally adhered and locally priced. We are able to achieve this with increased localisation.”
The company serves two-wheeler segment in the domestic market and two-wheeler and passenger car segment in the export market. It plans to enter the domestic CV segment in 2 years. The company supplies two-wheeler products to OEMs, tier suppliers, OES (Original Equipment Spares) and aftermarket. It also has the capability to serve the passenger car segment in the domestic market. In addition to frictional products, ASK Automotive has engineering capability to manufacture and supply aluminium castings to tier suppliers for engine and other parts.
“In order to curb the challenges from noise and vibration, our R&D department stimulates actual vehicle conditions and works to improve the process and materials to find collective solutions. ABS is a complementary technology in brakes. This technology programming does not come under our purview but the brakes we produce will be compatible with futuristic technologies,” he said.
Since the braking parameters for export and the domestic markets are different, brakes have to be customised. For the higher capacity bikes the braking parameter has to be different from the lower ones. Water-logging, an issue in India, has to be addressed with a different parameter. Hence bespoke braking parameters are segmented and manufactured accordingly.
A brake’s efficiency cannot be determined by the number of years but by the number of kilometres it handles. The company stated that in city conditions for a normal commuter the brakes could withstand for a year. “In order to redefine the efficiency and to increase the life of brakes we have collaborated with companies in Canada, Japan and Taiwan to get technical inputs. From Japan we get technical support for two-wheelers and from Canada and Taiwan for four-wheelers,” Rathee said.
Exports
The company’s export domestic ratio is 8:92 and it serves predominantly the two-wheeler market in India. In exports it caters to two-wheeler and passenger car and CV segment. It is currently exporting to 12 countries. The manufacturer has plans to establish a new plant in Gujarat to cater exclusively to Honda’s frictional needs and aluminium casting needs.
The company produces 42000 tonnes of aluminium castings and 164 million frictional products a year. “We have extensively invested in creating state-of-the-art, fully automatic R&D and design facilities, as well as 12 manufacturing units spread over 1.25 million sq. feet area across India. We established our first plant in 1989 at Gurugram and have built 11 more plants in Gurugram, Manesar, Bengaluru, Gujarat and Haridwar, employing over 6100 people. All the 12 plants have been oriented to meet the goal of delivering quality products ensuring the best performance in the industry,” the Director said.
The company stated that for the past 5 years it has been growing at a CAGR of 26% and the current turnover is Rs 450 crore. About the future plans he said, “Being the leader in the friction products category for two-wheelers, we are on our way to become a premium four-wheeler and commercial vehicle friction player. We have been rigorously working in this direction and are producing and exporting passenger and commercial vehicle friction products to Europe, USA, Middle East and Africa. We have leading global players in our customer list, and intend to strengthen it in the coming years. As we grow our customer base, we will also expand our manufacturing footprint, ensuring innovation and matching dynamic needs of the industry,” concluded Rathee.