Eberspaecher expands production facility
In response to the rise of electric bus movement on the back of ambitious schemes like FAME II announced by the Government, Eberspaecher has upped its activities in India.
In response to the rising penetration of electric buses bolstered by the ambitious schemes like FAME II announced by the Government, Eberspaecher has upped its activities in India. The company is also pursuing new business opportunities in the wake of the rising public and private operators demand for AC buses. Expanding its production capacities for bus air-conditioning systems in Bangalore by moving to a plant twice the size of its earlier plant, the company has been enhancing its capacities in the bus air-conditioning domain especially. Stating that they reached the capacity limit at the previous location last year, Oliver Wels, General Manager Eberspaecher Climate Control Systems Bus & Coach, mentioned that company is investing in India as a strategically important export market besides for domestic demand. Wels drew attention to the demand for high-performance thermal management systems in India.
With demand for AC buses coming from new quarters like school buses against the demand from traditional quarters like the staff and tourist buses, Eberspaecher has seen the demand for its ACs increase both at the OEM as well as the aftermarket level. If the rise in electric buses is creating demand for efficient bus thermal management systems among others, the company, which has been a supplier of bus AC systems to a variety of bus manufacturers like Volvo and Daimler, and a variety of bus bodybuilders, has been seeing its business in Asia, and India in particular, rise steadily. This is on the back of a demand for greater comfort in city buses and coaches. As compared to the old facility, the new facility of Eberspaecher is said to be more state-of-the-art when it comes to manufacturing practices. Enabling the company to double its production, the new facility measures approximately 6,000 sq. m. Facilitating more space for production and assembly, and for packaging and logistics, which would support Eberspaecher’s plans to introduce new product lines in India, the plant would now look at producing up to 7,000 bus air-conditioning systems per annum.
Expected to witness considerable traction in export activities, the Bangalore facility of Eberspaecher will see a considerable uptake in technology infusion as hybrid and electric bus ACs find room for manufacture. Employing 100 people, the Bangalore plant of Eberspaecher operates in highly competitive markets like Germany, Poland, Brazil, US, and Mexico. Claiming to be the world’s leading system partners for bus manufacturers, Eberspaecher, which unveiled the fifth-generation model of its AC 353 roof-mounted airconditioning system for large buses at Prawaas 2019, has been bolstering its network to expand to new market regions within India as well as in Asia. Revealing that they plan to produce electric airconditioning systems for hybrid and electric buses in the near future, Wels mentioned that the Indian operations will mark a strategic shift such that India acts as a hub for Asia. With a product portfolio that comprises of classic pre-heaters, ACs and complete thermal management systems, Eberspaecher, in India, is looking at a distinct advantage in terms of competition and an ability to control costs. Committed to providing highquality thermal systems, the company, which has more than 700 service partners worldwide, is looking at a significant increase in activity in India and much of Asia.