Carraro widens India scope
Completing 20 years of its operations in India, the Carraro Group has laid the foundation of a new production area in-line with its growth plans for the market.
Celebrating 20 years of operations (to manufacture axles and transmission systems) in India, the Carraro Group has announced that it has laid the foundation of a new production area at its Pune (Ranjangaon) plant. Measuring approximately 5000 sq.m., the new production area will be operational in 2021. It will specialise in the manufacture of portal axles for compact tractors with engines up to 75 hp. With the portal axles said to be in good demand in India for consumption in agricultural equipment, the new production area will also include a warehouse to help optimise internal logistics and further elevate customer satisfaction. Designed to up the overall efficiency of the operations, the new production area is expected to considerably widen the scope of the Group’s operations in India. Catering to clients like CNH, Caterpillar, John Deere, Mahindra & Mahindra, Escorts, Same Deutz, Sonalika, Erkunt, Tata Hitachi, Manitou, and Bull Machines among others, India accounts for one of the few key markets outside Italy. Entering India in partnership with Escorts and then setting off on its own, the Campodarsego-based Group is looking at an increase in local activities by 50 per cent through the new venture. The new production area, expressed Enrico Carraro, Chairman, Carraro Group, will not only help to widen the portfolio but also help to organise stock levels in a better way. He mentioned that the number of
people working in India is equal
to the number of people working across all the Italian facilities of the company. Stating that India is an essential point of reference and first destination market for the entire group, Carraro officials said that they have always found the market here of much interest. Sensing potential in the agricultural sector because of the progressive increase in tractor volumes, the Group is continuing to invest in India.
Dynamic market
Happy to have chosen Pune as the location for its operations in India because of the proximity to many industries and suppliers, the Carraro Group has seen its turnover in India exceed Euro 150 million. With the availability of skilled manpower, the Group has come to find out that India is a very dynamic market. Investing in an R&D centre with about 55 engineers for product
design, it is chalking out plans to expand the same. Looking at a dynamic vision in-line with the changes taking place in India, the Group is taking pride in the fact that it achieved Euro 100 million worth of sales for the first time last year in India. Starting operations in India as an export-oriented unit, it has come to find that the Indian operations are contributing a good deal to the global business. Structuring its
organisation in India across two business areas -- design, production, and marketing of transmission systems, and design and production of specialised tractors, the Carraro Group has acquired new capabilities over time.
Producing axles and transmissions for agriculture and earthmoving machinery, and a wide range of gears for sectors like auto, material handling, agriculture and earth moving
equipment, the Group has come to produce vineyard and orchard tractors between 60 and 100 hp aimed at third parties like John Deere, Massey Ferguson, Claas, and Carraro Tractors. Going beyond its core business of precision gear manufacture using advanced gear milling, honing and heat treatment machinery, the move to build specialised tractors amounts to a decisive strategic activity. Continuing to find out the
needs of the agricultural market and to anticipate their needs, the Group is looking forward to making a lot of axles for mechanisation of tractors in India. The business of transmission systems in India contributing 80 per cent to its consolidated turnover, the Carraro Group is among the top three reference brands worldwide, according to Andrea Conchetto, COO.
Increasing the scope and capabilities
With the off-highway sector representing over 80 per cent of its turnover, the Group has come to cater to the automotive sector, including CVs. It is into material handling as well and has come to provide products and services in an integrated manner. Said to provide tailored design consultancy based on an application, and an ability to codesign, the Carraro Group is offering solutions like design, development, prototyping, validation, and production. Investing over Euro 100 million in India in terms of Capex, it has seen the Indian operations develop into an important reference point within the Group’s global engineering platform. It is thus pursuing a strategy to maintain a high level of market penetration using an excellent range of products both in terms of technical content, power range, and application.
With the investment plan and related operational expenses in terms of head counts for engineering development and system operational management designed to support strong growth, the Carraro Group, according to Andrea, has covered much ground. “Our second plant, dedicated to the production of gears, sold around 1.1 million pieces last year. It set an example by being integrated into the local supply chain,” he added. Stressing on the use of top-class machinery to guarantee exquisite quality required by its captive applications and those of third parties in India, Europe, and the US, Andrea mentioned that Carraro Technologies has grown progressively to become a centre of excellence in the design and development of cutting-edge technological solutions. Working in an integrated way with the main
R&D, and with other innovation centers of Rovigo, Qingdao and Buenos Aires, the Carraro Group is betting big on its Indian operations.
Pushing for local content
Stating that the overall research and innovation expenses for the year 2018 amounted to Euro 22.4 million (3.6 per cent of the turnover, Andrea mentioned that an amount of investment is being carried out in automation with the view to granting higher output cells. Achieving around 80
per cent localisation in terms of transformation and supply chain, the Carraro Group is hoping to drive the Capex gifted high tech transformation asset more. To do so, the Group is engaging with many suppliers to increase localisation levels. Revealing that India is a second-largest hub after Italy, Tomaso said, “We have three main hubs in Italy, China, and India. India as a huge market is an important industrial hub from a business point of view.” With an eye on electrification, the Group is directing strategic changes in of its Indian operations.
Watching its customers turn to electrification and hybridisation, the Carraro Group is keeping a close tab on how and which markets respond first. Witnessing the trend of electrification and hybridisation rub on the agricultural and earth moving equipment sectors, it is looking at how government incentives and price positioning is effecting a change. “Not all markets and all geographic areas will be ready for the ‘electric revolution’,” said Conchetto. Much will depend on government incentives and price positioning, he added. Of the opinion that countries like the US and Western Europe with high spending capacities are likely to adopt new technologies for applications first and foremost (in areas like greenhouses and maintenance work in restricted traffic areas), Conchetto mentioned that there will be a gradual expansion to more efficient energy conservation systems. Testing the electric and hybrid version that could be of interest to certain markets over others, the Carraro Group, revealed Conchetto, is listening to the specific needs of each market as it seeks to grow. “It is only then, that we will be able to give adequate answers to our customers. It is only then, that we will continue to push in terms of innovation and create increasingly efficient and ecocompatible products,” he averred. Aware that the agricultural and earthmoving equipment in the future will need to deliver higher levels of productivity by significantly reducing emissions, the Group is looking at many disruptive technologies not far away.