|
Mudhra Fine Blanc (MFB), a new venture of
Mudhra Pressings, has been set up to manufacture fine-blanked
components, mainly for automotive applications, at the SIPCOT
Industrial Park, Irungattukottai, Chennai.
This plant would supply highly engineered
components for safety-critical applications in passenger cars,
two-wheelers and other vehicle categories. The fully automated,
Rs 18 crore plant was inaugurated recently at SIPCOT Industrial
Park, Irungattukottai, by Fritz F. Boesch, chairman, Feintool
Group, Switzerland.
"India ranks among the fastest growing
economies in the world with a booming domestic automotive
industry and Chennai is a major automotive hub. We are very
pleased to be here and it gives us great pleasure to be
associated with Mudhra in this venture, for producing
high-quality, precision parts," said Boesch.
Mudhra Pressings was established in 1995 at SIDCO Industrial
Estate, Thirumazhisai, Chennai, as an integrated press shop and
tool room. Today, Mudhra has established itself as a leading
supplier of brake system-related components and sub-assemblies,
and other stamped and machined components to OEMs and their
tier-1 suppliers in India and overseas.
The braking, transmission and engine systems in automotive
applications require increasingly complex and high-performance
parts that demand a very high level of manufacturing technology
and design capability. In anticipation of this demand, Mudhra
has ventured into fine-blanking and set up a state-of-the-art
plant with equipment and technology support from Feintool. MFB
has already bagged orders in India and is in the process of
negotiating orders in Europe.
Fine-blanking is an advanced precision stamping process, by
which a component with precise geometry and smooth cut surface
can be produced without additional secondary operations. This
makes the process cost-competitive in high volume situations.
Fine-blanking finds numerous applications in the automotive
industry across a wide variety of systems (engine &
transmission, chassis and steering/ suspension, braking, seating
and door/ window components). The automotive industry is the
major user of fine-blanked components accounting for more than
80 per cent share; other significant sectors include compressors
(auto and non-auto), switchgear equipment, electronics hardware,
hand-tools and power tools.
"We were very clear from the project inception stage that we
want to establish ourselves as the fine-blanker of choice in
India. Our endeavour is to be the best in the business, not
necessarily the biggest. With this objective, we have partnered
with Feintool, the global leader in fine-blanking technology and
equipment, in setting-up this plant," said S Thyagarajan,
chairman, Mudhra Fine Blanc.
The company has invested Rs 18 crore in the first phase. The new
plant at Irungattukottai will feature fine-blanking presses from
Feintool Technologie AG, Switzerland. These presses represent
the latest generation of fine-blanking technology available
anywhere in the world, and would be the first of their kind in
India. This facility would establish MFB as a world-class
supplier of fine blanked components and systems to customers in
the automotive industry in India and overseas. MFB’s capacity
would be progressively ramped up to 100 mn components in the
second phase of the project.
With fine-blanking capability, Mudhra would be in a position to
address a wide spectrum of the customer's requirements in metal
forming, for precision, high volume metal stampings, in
safety-critical and other demanding engineering applications,
said Thyagarajan. The group’s tool design and manufacturing
capability would be further enhanced by additional investments
into the tool room. Mudhra’s group turnover from its existing
operations, fine-blanking project and expansion in the tooling
business is projected to grow three-fold in the next 24 months,
he added.
R Rangaraj
|
