Heavy-duty efficiency Fleetguard Fliters

HEAVY-DUTY EFFICIENCY

Fleetguard Filters Pvt ltd, Pune is India’s leading manufacturer of heavy-duty air, fuel, lubrication and hydraulic filters. Fleetguard is a JV with Cummins Filtrations Inc. and that was founded in 1987. Philip Yorke talked to Sadashiv Pandit, the company’s Executive chairman and CEO about its latest high-tech filtration products and move into new markets.

AS a JV with Cummins Filtration Inc., Fleetguard Filters is an original equipment company that supplies state-of-the-art products to the world’s leading automotive and industrial engine and equipment manufacturers. Fleetguard operates five modern manufacturing plants in India, which are located at Hosur, Jamshedpur, Pune and Sitarganj and Dharwad. The company also manufactures coolants and related chemical products for a broad variety of commercial engines that provide a wide range of applications for markets such as the automotive, industrial equipment for construction, mining, agriculture, marine applications and power generation sectors.

Optimised, analysis-led design

At Fleetguard Filters, virtual modelling and performance simulation is the key step to their product design development process. Analysis Lead Design (ALD) tools developed in FFPL, achieve this goal by design and performance evolution, as a result of the specific requirements demanded by its multinational OEM automotive customers. Fleetguard told Industry Europe that there are two main steps required for any design evolution: the ‘validation step’, and the ‘verification step’. In fact the verification step becomes an integral part of the company’s product development process. Fleetguard believes that virtual modelling /coordinated development process significantly reduces lead-times and the overall costs of any new product development project.

In addition, Fleetguard offers unique, dedicated service proposals for its customers and guarantees the availability of all its products with a minimum inventory of products held at various customer locations. The company provides ‘single window’ operation for all customer requirements related to filters and coolants. The company works in close collaboration with its delivery partners to help them to improve their profitability and their return on investment (ROI) through better resource optimisation.

Today Fleetguard operates five state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities each of which is dedicated to the manufacture of specific set of products. The most recent investment has been in an advanced, fully automated facility in India that specialises in the design and manufacture of automotive filters and systems for new generation emission control engines.

Innovation driving exports sales

Since its inception in 1987, Fleetguard Filters has placed a high priority on innovation and efficiency. The company began by design-

ing and manufacturing filters for equipment used in the mining and construction industries before moving into the lucrative automotive market in the 1990s.

Today the company is a market leader in the development and manufacture of heavy-duty filters for the commercial truck industry.

Mr Pandit said, “Our export sales continue to grow as a result of our innovative products and competitive pricing policy. In Europe our presence is being enhanced through Cummins Filtration network. For this important market we are working on new technologies to meet the latest, and most stringent EU emissions regulations. Our new Plant covers more than 100,000 square meters and it will be producing sophisticated filtration products that contribute to the Euro V and VI standards.

“In addition, our plants are fully automatic and conform to ISO /TS certifications including ISO 14001 and other certifications focussed on the automotive components industry. We have our own R&D and advanced testing labs .We provide training programmes for our OEM customers.

Mr Pandit added, “Care of the environment is an integral part of our company culture and mandate and we are proud of our record when it comes to recycling and the saving of energy and waste water. At Fleetguard we plan to use solar panels extensively and also optimise the availability of our natural sunlight. Furthermore, we look after our local communities where we are aware of our social responsibilities as well as the safety and health of our employees and their families.

“We are very much a technology-led company which is both flexible and dynamic and where we are able to customise products and create innovative solutions and filtration systems for our customers.

Customisation is important for our OEM truck manufacturers [European /USA/Japanese origin], where new models in their original form are not designed for use on Indian roads and its rough terrain. Therefore we customise solutions for any new models to suit the challenges of the Indian market.

“As far as the future is concerned we will continue to invest heavily in new product development in order to stay ahead of the field and will continue to grow organically. As far as Europe and other world markets are concerned, we are very optimistic that exports out of India will have our footprints. n

For further details of Fleetguard Filters’ innovative products and customer services visit: www.fleetguard-filtrum.com