Magazine
Over the last few years, India’s auto-parts industry has experienced significant growth. Accounting for 2.3 percent of India’s GDP, this industry employs as many as 1.5 million people. In 2017, the total value of India’s auto-part exports stood at $10.9 billion as compared to $10.8 billion the previous year. India’s total automotive industry has expanded by 14.3 percent since 2016, due to an uptick in aftermarket sales, reaching a level of $43.55 billion. Thanks to increased exports to emerging nations, stronger worldwide growth, and owing to the high development prospects in all segments of the vehicle industry, the auto component sector is also expected to rise by double digits in FY22 and is expected to reach $200 billion by FY26.
One of the leading automotive machined components and assemblies supplier, MT Autocraft is one of India’s largest manufacturer of transmission Shifting Shafts, Shifter Forks, Shift Tower and other machined components for Automotive and Farm industry. Renowned for its state of the art equipment, technology and extremely skilled team dedicated towards delivering quality, MT Autocraft thrives on Innovative automation and Kaizens which makes it one of the most competitive suppliers in the industry.
“I started this company in 1983 in small town of Parwanoo. This was the time when getting a job was considered to be more prestigious than being an entrepreneur. Nonetheless, I started and here we are. Today, I look back with profound satisfaction when I realise the employment opportunities MT Autocraft has created in and around Parwanoo. Looking at happy faces of our people and their families makes our existence worthwhile. The ability to be one of the best employer in this region since years is one of the most important social responsibility programme which I and my team has.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for us is not the event but duty. We are always at the forefront and lead the local initiatives time to time. We have also adopted couple of primary schools and work very closely with local bodies for the various skill development programs & subsequently absorbing local talent pool in our operations. Continuously making people employable and to provide them opportunities to grow, are our main focus are and this creates difference in the lives of many,” speaks Anil Sehgal, Founder, MT Autocraft.
The Current Market Landscape
Today, the automotive machined component and assembly companies have reached to the point where they are able to compete globally which was not the case couple of years back. The auto ancillary industry has benefitted immensely from India based MNC OEMs customers. OEMs from across the world have now developed their supplier base and are continuously guiding and pushing the component industry to adopt world class manufacturing practises at par with their global supply chain to adopt localisation.
As a result of which, now we are ready to play a major part in global supply chain realignment, necessitated due to various external factors like covid, & changing world order. According to the Automobile Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA), automobile component export from India is expected to reach $80 billion by 2026 and this is getting possible due to increased confidence of global customers with Indian component manufacturers.
While the Indian component manufacturers have been able to compete on cost, the major problem which most clients have been facing today is the sustainable quality & delivery performances. Over the years, industry has invested significantly in cutting edge process technologies. Also, the significant investments and resources have also been directed towards the zero defect strategies. “We at MTA have been known as a Quality supplier since our inception.
The focus at MTA has always been QUALITY FIRST and due to this acute focus on quality which has been top driven, the consciousness has been inculcated deeply in our DNA. To add to this, safety is paramount focus and we consider it as a part of our Quality Focus approach. Being OHSAS18001 and ISO14001 certified, we have always considered high safety standards at our
plants as more of the hygiene factor. Our global customers who visit our plants acknowledge this and praise us for our safety focussed attitude,” highlights Anil.
Today, MT Autocraft produces more than a million shafts type parts per month for Automotive and off highway (Tractor) OEMs. It is also number one supplier by volume for forging shifter forks for tractor segment. Recently, the firm has also have also been selected to be the part of Hyundai motor India supply chain for a very critical assembly.
Aligning Strategies to Meet Inception Objectives
Anil says, “Man, Material, Machine, Method are the four pillars of manufacturing and having our operations in Himachal Pradesh, we are fortunate to have access to the resource pool which is loyal, reliable, skilled & associated with us since a very long time. We have very less employee churn out ratio and this helps us ensure that we are consistent.” Today, MT Autocraft has positioned itself as one of the strategic partners with its OEM customers which includes Maruti, M&M, John Deere, Eaton & many others. You need to be consistent performer in order to win the customer’s confidence to be their strategic single source partners. It’s an achievement in its own and MT Autocraft has touched this benchmark with its unique offerings.
For a very long time, MT Autocraft has been manufacturing & supplying ‘built to print’ parts for our customers. However, off late, customers are expecting their suppliers to take more responsibilities and offer solutions rather than only ‘built to print’ parts. Taking note of this, MT Autocraft has acknowledged and invested in state of the art design centre and brought multidisciplinary experts on board to help in developing various solutions. Subsequently, the firm has also continuously invested in building, in-house capabilities for critical process technologies.
“We realised it early on that Quality focus is the only way forward; nothing else matters. It is easier said than done though. You need to tune in the entire organisation to achieve this goal. Each and every member of organisation has to play their part. We have been the very early adopters of Industry 4.0 and leveraged technology to build in quality in our processes. With more than 400+ poka yokes (Mistake proofing) installed in our factories, we are one of the largest consumers of steel in the region.
Through our in-house machine development capabilities, we have got many process innovations and our machines are semi-automated, which not only ensures quality but also helps us in providing significant cost benefits through improved productivity,” expresses Anil. He adds, “With our belief that once you produce quality, the delivery is never the problem. Hence, we abide by this rule. We are committed to continuing with the same vigour during our next phase of growth, where we are going global & also diversified into aerospace sector through our wholly owned subsidiary ‘Crystal Precision’, which is based in Manesar-NCR. We have made sure that there are no overlap in operations of our automotive & aerospace divisions. This helps us to approach specific customer needs differently”.
With its team of dedicated professionals, MT Autocraft is continuously working on cost effective process innovation projects which makes the process robust and reduce the quality draw downs. With its focus always on making the robust manufacturing process which ensures that zero defects are produced most of the time, the firm is a name that most of its competitors look upto. MT Autocraft has also won many accolades from its customers on all these performance parameters and today, it is known to be amongst the top dependable suppliers to OEM customers. The firm’s differentiated focussed approach for aerospace products has helped it in delivering various critical precision components for HAL. Also, recently Crystal Precision has also been selected by GE Power as global supplier for Turbine Blades.
Renowned for its state of the art equipment, technology and extremely skilled team dedicated towards delivering quality, mt autocraft thrives on innovative automation and kaizens which makes it one of the most competitive suppliers in the industry
The Future Roadmap
MT Autocraft has been at the forefront of Indian component industry. The firm has left no stone unturned when it comes to approaching business opportunities with absolute dedicated focus, keeping long term sustainability at the core of every business decision. With all critical key processes in-house, the firm has been able to create an ecosystem within organisation where it can proudly claim that they are the one stop solution for its customer needs. While MT Autocraft is continuously making sustained efforts to increase its business with Off highway OEMs, they are also continuously growing its exports to diversify their automotive pie of business. During the pandemic MT Autocraft won a large business contract worth $30 million with Eaton Mexico & US.
Throwing light on the future roadmap, Anil shares, “The firm has overcome numerous stumbling blocks since its inception. Having successfully turned the doubts and dilemmas into their strength and developing a very strong local skilled resource pool with in-house developed semi automation having ‘Quality First’ mind-set, today, MT Autocraft is the first choice suppliers for OEM customers. Currently we are working on various EV powertrain projects where we are developing various Powertrain solutions. This new age company is called MTA e-Mobility which is working on various new age technologies related to EV Powertrains & battery management systems. For this company, MT Autocraft has big plans and product development is already in full swing.
With this, MT Autocraft aspires to think and operate the way new age start-ups think and that’s the way it will be approaching this business unit. While these are ambitious projects, we are moving ahead with classical way of product development process. We intend to launch our EV Powertrain solution for eLCV by end of this financial year. Not just this, in the years to come, we not only aspires to just lead the league but we also wish to be within top two suppliers in country for the part categories we produce”. Lastly, MT Autocraft believes that it is the people who make them and define them and MTA is one of the most equal opportunity employer in the industry that has opened new doors of opportunity for skilled people.
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