Emerging Auto Solutions & Technik (EAST) Auto has taken rapid strides in becoming a one-stop solution provider for automotive workshops across the country. Marching ahead with its three-pronged strategy of ‘Consulting’, ‘Training’ & ‘Equipment’, EAST Auto is looking to make a difference in the highly-competitive workshop equipment market in the country. Apart from recording decent volume sales for its well-recognized brands, namely, GYS, Snap-On and FESTOOL, the company is continuing its focus on the largely ignored aspect of training personnel in body and paint shop repair.
General Motors was the first OEM to sign an agreement for using EAST Auto’s training academy in Kolkata to empower its body and paint technicians with the state-of-the-art training program. Now, Tata Motors’ passenger car division has agreed to join hands with EAST Auto for a similar training partnership for enhancing the skills of its body and paint technicians.
We interacted with Mr. Rishikesh Sahay, CEO and Founder, EAST Auto, to gain further insights about the progress it has made on working with OEMs and its plans for the future. Says Mr. Sahay: “We intend to be the ultimate service solutions provider for the OEMs and have established the infrastructure for providing state-of-the-art training and equipping their personnel with the requisite skillsets. In line with our aim of sharing our knowledge on body shop and paint shop repair, we have tied up with another OEM in the passenger vehicle segment – Tata Motors. We have been officially authorized by Tata Motors to train their PV dealers in EAST India and will be training their manpower on all aspects of body and paint shop repair techniques.”
Talking about the response from OEMs for its training initiatives, he said: “It has been well appreciated by car manufacturers across the country. We are focused and are concentrating on the training aspect very religiously and that has been bearing results. We are also open to offering customized training for a specific batch of technicians at the dealership level.”
It was mentioned in the previous report that EAST Auto was already working with GM for similar workshop training and with some insurance companies for orientation. Of late, a handful of paint and insurance companies have approached it to utilize its training academy for paint process training.
Talking about the kind of training imparted to technicians, Mr. Sahay states: “We offer body and paint repair training programs on modern body repair processes validated by vehicle manufactures. The aim is to enhance the skill level of technicians in a body & paint shop by employing the most modern teaching methods using hands-on applications on modern tools, products and processes in body & paint shop, focusing on areas such as safety, damage analysis & estimation, dismantling & assembly, measuring, pulling & structural repair, welding, cutting & dent pulling, pre-painting processes, paint refinishing processes, and awareness on latest global technology.”
Talking about the long-term agenda of EAST Auto and how it wants to change the automotive service landscape in the long run, he explains: “Our aim is to give confidence to the dealers that our machines can really generate productive results. We are looking to add India-made products into our fold in order to be able to cater to the requirements of the mass market. That is not to say that we are compromising on quality. We are seeking technical collaboration from advanced countries like Europe, US, etc., but are also competent enough to develop global products at Indian costs. We have installed a spray booth at our training academy which is an India-made product developed by OBSS and will be catering to the OEMs. The paint booth has been approved by some of the major car manufacturers in the country. I was at Automechanika Frankfurt this year and have identified innovative products that will improve the efficiency and productivity of workshop. We will be announcing details of the same in the near future.”
Talking about the long-term potential that lies ahead in domestic garage equipment industry and how EAST Auto is planning to leverage the same, the garage equipment veteran says: “There is definitely a requirement in the market for training on body shops. I must acknowledge that there is a dearth of standardized educational institutions which could churn out the required kind of body shop technicians. The ITI people do not get any opportunity at the workshops because they are considered as freshers. The ground reality is that these technicians are not ready for this high-tech industry because they don’t have the skillsets required at the workshops. This is why we are trying to bridge the gap between the demand and supply (of skilled technicians) by training these freshers. Furthermore, there are three modules of training i.e. for freshers, intermediary level and advanced level. The manufacturing technology of vehicles has changed rapidly in the last decade and though the repairing and servicing levels are changing accordingly, it has to happen at a faster pace. This is where we are trying to support the market.”
For CV players who are eyeing similar prospects, there is an icing on the cake as EAST Auto has confirmed that the truck and bus industry has a tremendous potential and will be training its guns on them. The CEO assets: “The CV space is a big segment which has started opening up (in India). So far in the HCV segment, the focus has always been on wheel alignment and now it is moving towards body alignment and body repair. There are new and existing players coming up with ground-breaking products. The technology (for CVs) has changed very fast and we are open to providing similar training with similar equipment and processes as we do for the passenger car segment. The bodywork and paintwork are similar and though there is a big market for it already, the awareness level has to improve. The dealerships have to upgrade themselves before they upgrade their technicians. So far, we have not focused or contacted anybody but it is definitely on the cards. While our equipment are approved by some of the major CV manufacturers, we have done a good number of installations at Ashok Leyland body and paint workshops. Once we bag approvals from few more CV manufacturers, we will definitely be talking to more CV players for a similar win-win deal.”
Talking about the changes in the demand patterns of OEMs and its dealers, he shares: “One interesting trend that we are witnessing today is that vehicle makers are switching over from ordinary steel to High Strength Steel (HSS) and Ultra High Tensile Steel (UHTS) and further to boron, aluminium and even carbon fibre. From usage of 20 per cent special material and 80 per cent normal steel, the situation has reversed today with almost 80 per cent of the vehicle made out of special material. Not stopping there, as we move ahead, we are bound to see more of boron, aluminium and carbon fibre in vehicles, so it is very important to educate the technicians on the repair of bodies built using these materials. As there are not too many technical institutes for this, our training academy could play a critical role. It is open to all and dealers can send their technicians to get trained on repairing different types of material. Our idea is to educate the technicians with the right processes and teach them on how to use the tools in the right manner to get the optimum results.”
When asked about EAST Auto’s long-term objectives, Mr. Sahay concludes: “We are working on identifying locally-made products in order to offer affordable solutions for the mass market, in addition to the premium solutions we are already well known for. We intend to offer our solutions to multi-branded outfits so that they can offer cost-effective solutions to their end customers. If workshop owners start sourcing quality equipment made locally on a large scale, the quality of repair will improve drastically, making technology affordable and enable us serve a bigger customer base.”
By N. Balasubramanian and Avishek Banerjee